Force Friday II saw a smattering of 3 3/4" figure releases from films other than The Last Jedi - the most exciting of which was the Force Link Imperial Probe Droid and Darth Vader set. It was on my Force Friday II huntlist, but it took me until a couple of weeks ago to finally pick one up from Walmart for $19.99US ($28.72NZ).
The Vader is an admirably good sculpt for only five points of articulation, and comes with a lightsaber, removable cape, and the now-obligatory embedded Force Link chip. Despite all of this, the ubiquity of Vader figures over the years means that he'll remain rather uninteresting for most collectors. But let's be honest. No-one is buying this set for Vader. The real attraction here is the Imperial Probe Droid, and it certainly doesn't disappoint.
It's been twenty years since we last saw a 3 3/4" Imperial Probe Droid - and by all accounts, it's been well worth the wait. In complete contrast to the rest of the 3 3/4" line, the Probe Droid comes with more articulation than you can shake a stick at. Each limb features at least two points of articulation, along with a rotating head and telescoping antenna (the latter of which took me an embarrassingly long time to discover). The exquisite attention to detail doesn't stop there, however. The sculpt and paint app is top-notch, and is honestly closer to the kind of thing you'd expect to see on higher-end collectibles. With a beautiful satin metallic finish, glossy black photoreceptors, and tiny wear-and-tear marks all over it's body, this model is about as close to screen-accurate as you can expect from something that - at the end of the day - is a kid's toy.
The Probe Droid adds some playability with a single spring-loaded missile. Like the Force Link A-Wing, however, this feature is well-hidden and doesn't detract from the aesthetics of the model. In fact, it's almost impossible to spot (it's that little round speaker-like greebly just above the legs). It is, however, awfully sensitive, and - on my Probe Droid, at least - prone to firing without warning.
To finish off the whole package, Hasbro have added a transparent display stand emblazoned with the Imperial cog on the base - again something we'd expect to see only on a much more expensive item.
Hasbro have really hit it out of the park with this set, which bodes really well for the impending Wampa and Luke Skywalker pack!
