R5-D4

R5-D4, Arfive-Defore, or Red as Luke Skywalker called him, was a white and red striped R5-series astromech droid on Tatooine.

R5-D4, also known as Red, was one of the last droids produced in the low cost Industrial Automaton R5 line, a line plagued with malfunctions. As a result, R5-D4 was owned by many beings and in a constant state of used sale. His programming became jealous of other droids that were capable of serving without failure and had loyal masters.

The droid eventually came into the possession of Chief Nebit's Jawa tribe, that sold used droids to Owen Lars. He grew angrier as he suffered the abuse of the Jawas, but before he acted on that anger, a Power Droid on board Nebit's sandcrawler suggested that if he cooperated, he would eventually be sold to masters who had to be better than the Jawas. Aboard the sandcrawler, the new arrival R2-D2 sabotaged R5-D4's motivator, acting under the orders of Princess Leia aboard the Tantive IV to find Obi-Wan Kenobi by any means possible, even if it involved modifying other droids, an action usually prohibited by basic droid programming laws. Eventually, the sandcrawler arrived outside the Lars homestead. Owen Lars purchased the inexpensive R5-D4, but within seconds of the transaction, the droid's motivator malfunctioned. After Lars accused the Jawas of selling faulty merchandise, the Jawas hastily let Owen have R2-D2 as a consolation.

After failing to make a sale, the Squib trader Macemillian-winduarté stole R5-D4 from the Jawas, saving the droid from destruction at the hands of stormtroopers. R5-D4 then changed hands once again in Mos Eisley, being sold to Voren Na'al, Rebel Alliance historian and spy. While communicating with the droid through a datapad, Na'al learned a great deal about the sale of R2-D2 and C-3PO to Owen Lars. Na'al then refurbished the maltreated droid and installed an intelligence gathering software package. Decades of low self-confidence and jealousy were reversed: R5-D4 had a purpose. R5-D4 was placed as an intelligence gathering source in the office of the Imperial Prefect's administrative assistant in Mos Eisley. He continued to serve in that capacity, providing important and valuable data to the Alliance, until the Battle of Endor.

Figure Specs
Astromech droid R5-D4 was released individually carded during the Vintage Collection in February 2011. R5-D4 can be seen in Star Wars on Tatooine during the "purchase of the droids", where it turns out that the droid has a bad motivator.

Unfortunately, there is no bad motivator to be found on the droid. Rotating the dome has no effect here. There is no antenna or middle leg which moves in or out, and no "cable" which could be "reeled-in". The middle leg is removable though, so R5-D4 can be displayed in a standing or moving position. R5-D4 has the typical 5 astromech joints, with a swivel dome, two swivel legs and two swivel ankles. Each of the legs has a roll in it, so the little droid could be pushed around in a display. The dome of the figure can be taken off, which then reveals the droid's "cables" inside the body.

The paint application on R5-D4 is pretty lackluster. The droid appeared much dirtier in the movie, and the legs and the bottom of the body just don't have enough wear and dirt on them here. There is also no restraining bolt to be found on the front of the droid, and there is no "bad" motivator in the dome. There are also two holes on each side of the body, near the bottom, which is a left-over from the Build A Droid series astromechs. All in all, R5-D4 is not a bad looking figure, but it's not the definite version we've been hoping for. This really is a missed chance on Hasbro's behalf to deliver long-time collectors a definite (and well deserved at this point!) version of this fan-favorite astromech droid, instead of just repainting another sculpt.