Anthony Daniels and GL explained in the commentary on the Original Trilogy SE VHS version of A New Hope that the reason why 3PO has a silver leg is because he's essentially made out of "junk". He's never quite been matched up properly.

DM out

I have that same figure and DM is right its because he is made out of whatever could be found. Although you would think Anakin being a Jedi or Padme being a Senator would be able to cover him better than that.

(continuing from Dark Moose's comment) granted he was fully gold-plated in Episode III, almost 20 years passes between the two. I don't know if there's anything in the EU that covers this minor detail, but I'm sure somewhere in there something might have happened to the plating on his right lower leg, and he needed a replacement and Captain Antilles couldn't find/afford a gold one (I wonder if it's just gold paint or if his coverings in RotS are supposed to be really gold.) I doubt he lost his entire leg, although it is possible.

I think in The Clone Wars series it said that 3PO had gold plating. So his covers are all gold.

In reality, on the one of the first days of shooting ANH, Daniels took a step and the plate you are talking about drove into the top of his foot. It had broken and needed to be replaced. They didn't have time ot get it the exact color, so replaced it ith silver, thinking, since the Star Wars universe is supposed to look aged and realistic, it would just blend in!

I think that in The Clone Wars series it said that 3Po had gold plating.S all his covers are gold.

That doesn`t make sense.You can see the silver leg right in the picture.

That doesn`t make sense.You can see the silver leg right in the picture. I know that is my question sith_youngling. Why is it like that???? What happened to make it that way??

What happened between Ep 3 and Ep 4 that made him have a silver leg?

And here I thought the EU authors had already answered every discrepancy out there. I'm sure someone will come up with something somewhere along the line! There's still a TV series and more novels on the way.

SAME COMment as dark moos.And I also have the figure your talking about.

R U KIDDING ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HAVE YOU SEE ANY BEHIND THE SCENEs OF C-3PO????????????????????????
I'm sorry. that part of the costume was defective so they just left it that way through the OT for continuity.

P.S. I'm just jealous that you have a hyperspace account and i don't. Please forgive me for my outrage.

well i cannot explain how his leg changed between ROTS and ANH, just another disadvantage of makin 4 5 6 first. But Anthony Daniels does explain why his leg is silver.
He says it's because 3-P0 is made of junk and not exact pieces. To me that doesn't make sense... Why would he get fake coverings from people like Padme who isn't poor? And even if it was junk, its amaxing how he is all gold wth one silver leg...doesn't sound like junk

i understood the first time around, 4sbwithu2.
i think the best explanation is that the gold plate simply got replaced somewhere along the line.

Okay, lets clarify here.
Some people seem to be mixing Expanded Universe (EU) explanations with Behind the Scenes (BTS) explanations.
The behind the scene explanation has been given.
-Anthony Daniels who plays C-3P0 broke the original piece in ANH and hurt his foot. They had to use a silver piece to replace it. This does not explain how it fits into the Star Wars universe though.

CONTINUED-->

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The Expanded Universe explanation was given in the context of just IV, V, and VI
Which was that he was made from scraps.

The fact that George wrote 4,5,6 first should have made it easier for him to align the reason in the 3rd movie, not harder, because he could go into the third and make it silver for some reason.
Since he did not, we have to go with the following.
At the time of ANH, C-3PO was now being repaired with junk, and for that to make sense with the 3rd movie, I suspect that Bail Organa was pressed for resources, and wasting gold plating on a droid was not the best use of resources.

Conclusion: The old explanation still has a leg to stand on (pun intended).

Let me tell you that gold can turn a silvery colour in certain conditions.

In ANH there's the following exchange:

Luke: It looks like you boys have seen a lot of action.

C-3PO: With all we've been through, sometimes I'm amazed we're in as good condition as we are, what with the Rebellion and all.


Somewhere along the line he lost a shin plate. They didn't have a gold one. They had a silver one. He got the silver one.

I think that he is just poorly put togehter. They may not have had a gold replacement for something as worthless as a protocol droid. remember, the alliance was running low on supplies, and a protocol droid is hardly important.

to blue jedi 32 :

I agree with sith_youngling that doesn't make sense

he has a gold leg because padme did that for him the clone waqrs series was between epi2 and epi3

If you watch TPM closely, when Anakin and Padme are in the shop and the camera pans to Jar-Jar doing whatever, in the back is a body for a protocol droid with one exception: the lower right leg. It stands to reason that Shmi somehow got a replacement leg for the body and fitted it to C-3PO after the rest of the body was...stealthily removed from the shop. The legs not being the same would make a difference and after the gold sheen wore away over the years, the silver would become more apparent.

If you notice, not only is one leg silver in the OT, but his entire shell is no longer shiny. When ANH came out, GL did it because a shiny droid would reflect all the camera crew. It also seemed more realistic that the droid be aged from the battles with the empire, etc. Since the republic was no longer the way it was in the PT, many things changed. Remember, Padme had many different outfits to wear, but Leia had only two or three of her own outfits for all the OT. She was given outfits by Jabba the ewoks and probably by Lando in Bespin. If the gold plating turned silver, money, nor time to make everything look new for a droid wasn't important. They were focused on stopping the empire and keeping a low profile as rebels.

yes i am very jealous to that every one else have a hyperspace account and not me

He has his silver leg because of his work with the Rebels as many of you have said. Notice that a ton of protcol droid in the Star Wars movies are silver. Perhaps his leg was injured, or lost, and the Rebels didn't have any gold plating, but had silver because of all the siver doids they used. Hopeuflly that answeres your question

well perhaps they just painted him and in the ages that passed betwenn ep. 3 and 4 the paint went out.

I don't think that you guys are getting the question. In Ep. 2 and 3 he is completly gold. Everything including his leg. I the Clone wars cartoon it says that 3P0 got all new platings in gold because he was with a senator. Padme. So he would look me distinguished. So we all know he had complete gold. But in ANH his leg is silver. That is what I would like to know why.

It's like this, if you start watching the star wars specials in the Discovery Channel, or see the extras in some of the dvd's (I'm not sure if they explain it there), you would dyscover that C-3PO is made out of SCRAP.

That's right, our golden android is covered with "garbage", and when they covered him with the gold pieces and saw that there wasn't enough "gold" they used the "silver".

His insides may have been made out of scrap, by Anakin, but his gold plating was not scrap. He was plated in gold because he was attached to a senator. Nowhere else in the movies do we see another gold-plated protocol droid. Not that they might not exist, but it at least shows that they are not common. All other droids of that model, that we see, are silver. It stands to reason that, "what with the rebellion and all," he could have become damaged. If they had to replace his lower right leg, they most likely would not have been able to get a gold-plated leg. Thus, he got a silver one. Since there is no official explanation for the change, that I have seen, I feel that is the best guess we can go on.

In the Clone Wars II animated series, C-3PO had all gold plating, as he did in ROTS, yet in ANH, he has a silver shin plate. Didn't one of his legs fall off or something in ANH? And I think that threepio's plating is solid gold. Quote: "When one is in the service of a senator, one must be presentable."

I also have that same action figure.

Also, if his plating was actual solid gold, wouldn't people always be trying to strip him all the time?

Actually, the gold plated protocol droid is not rare, just a bit more uncommon than the gold model. The only other 3PO protocol droids we see are TC-14 and E-3PO (on the Trade Federation Control Ship and on Bespin.)

Quote from the Essential Guide to Droids: "3POs stand 1.7 meters tall and are incased in a glittering, burnished body shell of gold, silver, white, and a handful of other hues."

Also, if his plating was actual solid gold, wouldn't people always be trying to strip him all the time?

Not really, when your with a senator I doubt people try to steal your droids. To many witnesses.

Kitfistosalive I was wanting to know what exactly happened to make him lose his leg. I know he went on adventures. I was wondering if anyone knew exactly how he got a new leg. You need to clam down man and lay off the steroids they are making you alittle short-tempered.

I didn't mean people would be stripping him while with a senator, I meant later, during the OT. Like, after they landed on Tatooine, I think Owen would rather strip gold off of him than just leave it on there, and act like it was nothing. I think it was some other kind of metal that was gold-colored. If it actually is gold, than that makes everyone's reaction to him very unrealistic.

Watch the droids cartoons! they dont stay under the owenr ship of captain antillies they have weird adventures together including 3po commanding a rebel droid army!!! plus most people dont notice droids any way, it was probably a repair R2 made, (you never know the droid might have been colourblind and identified things by electronic impulses

I cant belive you guys, the question is if anyone knows exactly what happend. Not speculatoin about the rebelion or the droid cartoon. Is there a exact story. "He fell in a gorax hole and it bit his lag off", "a pirait stole it for money." ,"some beast took a leak on it that changed its color." Something exact. I dont beleve there is such a story but i to would like to know

Maybe it will come up in the television series. Let's wait and see!

MTFBWY

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Thank you bliv333 you actually understand the question.

why must people ask so many questions??

Maybe it will come up in the television series. Let's wait and see! youll be waiting a long time. its due to be ready in 2007.

R2 was polishing up old Goldentop when he accidentily used a polish that caused the discoloration. In Episode 3 he was all shinny gold. In AOTC he was a tarnished color.