#r1 unit

[aardwolfpack]

R1-G4 meets Robby the Robot in this photo by FranMoff.

[aardwolfpack]

Astromech droids from the collections of Vader’s Wingman (top left), MonCal (top right), and Matchity (bottom).

[droidspotting]

DAY 85: GRAY MOS ESILEY R1 UNIT

Episode IV: A New Hope

There's a lot of stuff wandering around Mos Eisley if you go peeking into the background. In a few shots, we see the hard-to-believe-its-mobile R1 unit, but look closer and you find that there's more than one! One seen clearly in the Special Edition's “rearing ronto” shot looks a lot like R1-G4, which was last seen at the Jawa Sandcrawler, but additional shots show a second unit! Like many of the Gonk droids in the settlement, this R1 droid is largely slate gray, and we can see rust-red markings on its dome in one shot.

This is a simple redeco, and I'm all for giving Hasbro an excuse to whip out the R1-G4 mold again. They did an excellent sculpting job on that one and I would have no problems buying it again.

Thing is... this one seems like it'd have something of a chance. It's from the very first Star Wars movie, which right out of the gate gives it an unnatural advantage. It's part of a crowd scene full of aliens and droids, also popular. It's a simple mold as well, only a handful of parts.

Here's hoping.