Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,246: J7R-T (The Book of Boba Fett, Droid Factory)
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J7R-T _The Book of Boba Fett Set_**
**_Star Wars_ Droid Factory - Shop Disney/Park Exclusive
Item No.: **_???_
**Manufacturer:** _Disney_
**Number:** _n/a_
**Includes:** _4 figures, drink harness, drum harness, salad harness_
**Action Feature:** _n/a_
**Retail:** _$44.99_
**Availability:** _May 2025_
**Appearances:** _The Book of Boba Fett_
**Bio:** All different types of astromech droid populate the Star Wars galaxy. Each droid is different and has their own unique personality and colors. These droids can be found in Garsa's Sanctuary on Tatooine. May the Force be with you... and your droids! (Taken from the packaging.)
**Image:** Adam's photo lab.
**Availability:**Click here to buy it at eBay now! ****
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Commentary:** The day I got **J7R-T** in the mail, I was annoyed. This was a day with the big Hasbro pulling-of-pre-orders-pre-price increase. My fellow droid fans missed out on this set due to little stock at Shop Disney - but more should be at the theme park shops if you're willing to pay the cover charge. Oh, and the Target _Retro_ set was cancelled across all pre-orders. It's a glass-half-empty kind of a day. The droid deco is new, the accessory is new, but there are some missing features and signs of cut corners abound. Also, this set came 3 1/2 years after the show was more or less done, and the box copy incorrectly places them at Garsa's Sanctuary and not Boba's Man Cave. I don't blame the copywriter, or the graphic designer who needs a kerning tutorial, because this is an obscure droid. If you didn't read Wookieepedia or the digital trading card thing, you wouldn't necessarily know who it is since this era of reference books is, as the kids say, mid.
That's a lot of complaining to get at "this is about what we expect from Disney these days." Shortcuts are common - they went with the best available mold, including the no-wire reversible legs. The dome not only lacks the antenna from the show, but is missing a ton of distinctive facial greeblies. I doubt anyone wanted to drop $10,000-ish to change the existing R5 head mold, but when you see the dome on the show it's got a big hologram projector beauty mark under its right eyes. It stands out, like Lemmy's mole. Also, keep in mind, it's my job to complain. If this weren't a collector toy presumably at least partially for adults, and designed by the IP holder 3 years late, I'd say "good enough!" If it were a toy sold at a store for kids, I'd go "it's good enough, it'll do." Disney got the deco right on the mark, and it's a really nice colorway. The dark red on the dark gray body looks really nice. After hundreds of droids, I'm always amazed when I can say "this looks different" - which I can't say about 2 of the other droids in this set. So while it's not accurate, it looks really cool... and if I treat it with the same standards I'd treat Walrus Man, I'd say it's worth a look for the asking price.
The waiter droid harness isn't bad. It has two rotating arms with two removable plates - I hope you like salad. I assume it's arugula, which can power your city for a year if it comes into contact with rugelach as the energy they release cancels out the matter in a blinding explosion. But I digress. It's a new tool, and was designed to work with the droid posed at an angle. Many of the drink trays don't do that particularly well - I prefer it this way, as the third leg can stay on board. The meal deco and sculpt looks very good, you can even see the cucumber rinds painted separately from the cuke guts. For its size, it's quite impressive. If you require an exact match for the show, this isn't it. It's good enough.
Between Hasbro and Disney, we've received very little non-_Retro_ from _The Book of Boba Fett_ since its conclusion in 2022. We got New Pants Boba, four flavors of Tusken Raider male, the Tusken lady, Cad Bane, Krrsantan, Luke, Fennec Shand, and Mando & Grogu. Everybody dropped the ball on droids (until now) and the many character actors (Jimmy James, Machete) and cool aliens (Boss Bossk, Mayor McCheese.) The show holds up well to a rewatch, and is one of the absolute best Disney+ series in terms of creature shop action. I'd love to see more toys from it.
[It has been noted I left off Bib Fortuna, which I would say is a _The Mandalorian_ character due to his not really being alive or doing anything beyond a clip show flashback for _The Book of Boba Fett_.]
Since Hasbro has seemingly almost completely abandoned droids in its lines, I don't anticipate we'll see a corrected" dome toy for J7R-T between now and the heat death of the Universe. I annoy myself bringing up the toy's shortcomings, because it's _fine_. I assume we're never going to get another automaton salad bar, and if my options are this or nothing? This is fun. It serves a new function (and entree) with colors we don't usually see. The price of the set is acceptable, particularly given the current economic condition that threatens to harsh my plastic mellow. I say get this set, and save your scorn for people who get in the way of you getting your toys, video games, and rock and/or roll.
**Collector's Notes:** I got mine from Disney. It was posted on May 4, and abruptly sold through. Check the theme park or eBay for this one. I hate directing people to eBay, but given the cost of admission (and parking, and a plane ticket, and a hotel) it might be your least worst option. At this point in my life I'd pay a small mark-up just to not lose 1-2 days of my life across state lines for a shopping trip.
**--Adam Pawlus**
Day 3,246: June 3, 2025
