While I am looking for a C-3PO...

[Dark Marble]

...how tough should I be on the condition? I am looking for the original figure that will make a nice display piece to stand with the rest of my figures but these seem to be in shoddy condition generally.

I collect loose, and don't need it to be perfect, but I don't want one that looks like it has been fished out of a toilet or off a roof? Any advice or suggestions on what to by more of less critical of? Or maybe the best question is what are the chance of me finding a good one that won't break the bank?

[JediTricks]

Somewhat tough. The vintage 3PO I currently own may be the one I originally got back in the '80s, I honestly don't remember at this point if I replaced that one or not. But I can tell you this, the limbs were SUPER loose back in the day, and sure as heck didn't get any better over time, the guy can't hold up an arm or even stand up straight most of the time (I actually can balance him standing up perfectly straight actually, but it's really a balancing act).

That said, the one I own today, 30 years after I first got a 3PO, and with zero care while loose, has held up visually pretty well. The only visual note I feel need mention is that the gold color gets very faded, so if you want one that's more brassy and not basically off-silver, you need to be careful.

I would assume another thing to watch out for is chipped vac-metalizing around the joints, but I haven't personally experienced this.

[Bel-Cam Jos]

Oddly enough, the Removable Limbs Threepio seems to not get as loose. And since it's a "newer" figure (from 1980, not 1978 ), there might not have been as many thrown around or faded. Unless you're specifically looking for the "regular" figure, then my comments were useless.

[LusiferSam]

JT nailed it with the limbs. Unless you want a figure off the card the limbs will be loose. I remember something about the card had instructions about loosing up the limbs.

As the paint, I think as long as it looks gold you should be ok. It's the removable limb version that really fades bad. It's my experience the paint holds up pretty good. My not 100% sure, but I don't think Kenner used a vac metal finish on C-3PO. Anyways, if he looks gold it should be fine of your collection.

[plasticfetish]

...how tough should I be on the condition?

You can be as hard as you want probably. Below is the 3PO that I've had for 30+ years, and it's held up pretty well.

And I wouldn't worry about price. They're not exactly rare.

[JediTricks]

Mine is even more faded than that.

Oh, that reminds me, I've seen a few of those around that had rusty rivets in the back. Obviously you need to watch for that.

[Bel-Cam Jos]

Oh, that reminds me, I've seen a few of those around that had rusty rivets in the back. Obviously you need to watch for that.

I went to school with a Rusty Rivets. What a jerk.

I bought another C3PO several years back; I have no idea how faded (if at all) it is now. But my "original" one is missing a hand, and was almost silver when I last saw it (my friends and I used him as K3PO before we knew that was the white Hoth base protocol droid's name).

[plasticfetish]

Not sure about rusty rivets, but I hear that R2-D2 can have rusty innards. (Ouch.)

It's funny, because I can tell that I must have taken extremely (perhaps even unreasonably) good care of my small C-3PO, but my 12-inch figure is very tarnished and worn.

[JediTricks]

I bought another C3PO several years back; I have no idea how faded (if at all) it is now. But my "original" one is missing a hand, and was almost silver when I last saw it (my friends and I used him as K3PO before we knew that was the white Hoth base protocol droid's name).

How the heck did it lose the hand? It's a fat arm compared to the real mccoy, I figured that'd be pretty difficult to snap off. Then again, the hand is a flat coming off a cylinder, those are easier to break.

[Bel-Cam Jos]

How the heck did it lose the hand? It's a fat arm compared to the real mccoy, I figured that'd be pretty difficult to snap off. Then again, the hand is a flat coming off a cylinder, those are easier to break.

I really don't know. I was pretty careful with my figs in those days. But since it's a "smooth" break, I'm guessing it cracked somehow, and then I filed it down. I guess it was me who first influenced Lucas' obsession with chopping off hands.