4-LoveOfMoney

Legend has it that 4-LOM stands for 'For love of money.' Makes sense, as this droid was one of the bounty hunters sent after Luke Skywalker, Han Solo et al by Darth Vader in one of the most famous scenes in The Empire Strikes Back.

When this action figure was originally released, this former protocol droid was labeled as 'Zuckuss' on the card, and the insectoid alien character we now know as Zuckuss was labeled as 4-LOM. I imagine there are some old-schoolers out there who still refer to these guys by their mislabeled names, much like I still cling to the names Walrus Man and Hammerhead like a grumpy old man with an audio cassette collection.

I did not have 4-LOM as a kid, but always loved the concept of a protocol droid gone wrong. I also always loved the insect-alien head on this guy. Just another level of cool that comes from the designers and builders on the original trilogy, and the forced creativity of not having an unlimited budget and CGI effects back in the good old days of Star Wars movie making.

I found this one at the flea market recently for fifty cents! He's in near perfect condition, and I am pretty excited to finally have him in my collection.

When the Power of the Force line of the 90s/2000s came out with 4-LOM I did grab him at retail. Ironically, this is not that one. I went through a Star Wars purge a few years back and got rid of a ton of SW stuff, including my POTF 4-LOM, but always regretted it. So a couple years ago I found him again mint on card for two bucks at (where else?) the flea market.

Hard to believe I paid four times as much for the newer 4-LOM than for the original! But at least the new guy has his weapons.

The modern version is of course much more detailed, but still has the same 5 POA...wait, I think his waist turns, so the new guy has 6. But the original has so much more charm. Maybe that's just nostalgia talking.

I believe there has been at least one more updated 4-LOM released by Hasbro, with probably eighteen thousand points of articulation or so. Maybe someday I will track that one down too.

Either way it's fun to have these two. Because two 4-LOMs are better than one!