PZ-4C0
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS
The toys from The Force Awakens were supposed to start out with a bang, but then Force Friday happened and turned out to be more of a fizzle. Since then, there’s been sort of a slow trickle of figures for each of the various lines. The 3 ¾ inch line seems to be getting most of the focus, with a handful of new characters being added with each assortment. Of course, until the movie’s actually released, we won’t know which characters are actually major parts of the film and which ones are background scenery. So, let’s take the gamble and see what we got, starting with one of the brand new droids, PZ-4C0.
THE FIGURE ITSELF
“PZ-4C0 is a constant fixture in Resistance base control rooms, offering tactical data and communications support during important operations.” So, there’s your background on this character. Check out that epic tale. Anyway, PZ-4C0 was released as part of the second round of basic 3 ¾ inch The Force Awakens figures. She’s part of the second assortment of the “Jungle” sub-set of figures. She stands about 4 inches tall and has 5 points of articulation. PZ has an all-new sculpt, based on her design from the movie. The design is a tweaking of the basic protocol droid design introduced with C-3PO, with a slightly more alien set of proportions. I don’t know that it’s a perfect design; the functionality of the neck joint is definitely a bit impaired; but, it’s pretty visually interesting, and definitely fits in well with the other designs we’ve seen so far. The quality of the sculpt is actually pretty good. The armored parts are more smooth, and they have a nice symmetrical balance to them, and the circuitry bits are well detailed and add a lot of depth to the figure. PZ’s color scheme is definitely another unique aspect of the figure. The main blue color is a nice change of pace, and the painted accents and scuffs are all pretty cleanly done, so that’s cool. PZ-4C0 includes no character specific accessories, but she does include two pieces for the weird build-a-thingy. These are a set of rocket attachments, and they can be placed on her legs, which makes for a sort of a nifty look.
THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION
Whilst on a trip to visit my family in NC, I stopped by the nearby Wal-Mart, which just so happened to have a few of the latest Force Awakens figures, PZ included. I had actually seen shots of PZ online and thought she had a pretty neat design, so I was pretty excited to find the figure in-hand. She’s actually a pretty fun little figure, and one of my favorites of the smaller-scale TFA figures I’ve picked up.
The Figure In Question 
I like the figure although I’m skipping the 5 poa TFA figures. If she comes out in the Black Series, though, I’ll probably snap her up. She has a very cool look and I liked her brief appearance in Moving Target.
I have to say that I hate these ridiculous build a weapons though. Surely there is something more interesting that could be included with figures than this. Kind of makes me long for the Comm-Tech chips of the Ep 1 figures, the blast effects of the Ep II figures, or the cool bases of the EP III figures.
Yeah, I can totally get sticking with one scale. It’s certainly easier on the wallet, at least. Part of me sort of wishes I’d done that, but I do actually enjoy the 5 POA guys. I hate the weird gimmick pieces, though.