Are you ready for yet another potentially super-rare LEGO minifigure exclusive? I sure hope so if you’re a LEGO Star Wars minifigure completist, because last week LEGO released an ultra-limited new LEGO Star Wars minifigure overseas that has to be one of the most difficult-to-obtain Star Wars LEGO figures ever: the maroon protocol droid, TC-4 minifigure! A few of these TC-4 minifigures have shown up for sale online already, but if you want this incredibly-elusive LEGO Star Wars minifigure, it will seriously cost you…

In a pretty bizarre move, a Hong Kong Toys R Us store in China gave out a LEGO Star Wars minifigure last week to customers who made a qualifying purchase. Now, Toys R Us giving out a free promo minifigure with a purchase is nothing new–but what makes this particular giveaway rather shocking is the fact that it was for a previously-unannounced and never-before-shown LEGO Star Wars TC-4 minifigure… and only 150 were given out!

It’s not unheard of for LEGO to do insanely-limited exclusive minifigures–I don’t think anyone has forgotten the LEGO SDCC 2013 exclusive minifigures fiasco with the LEGO Spider-Woman minifigure and LEGO Green Arrow minifigure that occurred last year–but this particular TC-4 minifigure given out is theoretically 33 times rarer than last year’s sought-after Mr. Gold minifigure!

Fittingly, however, TC-4 is a protocol droid that appeared only in a Star Wars children’s book, as the droid was designed but then cut from the Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace movie. If ever there was a character more suitable to be a Star Wars limited release than TC-4, I don’t know who it is!

There is presently no word whatsoever on whether or not this TC-4 minifigure will be released elsewhere ever again, so buying one of the few LEGO Star Wars TC-4 minifigures that are for sale online right now might end up being a smart move in the long run. It’s certainly possible that this TC-4 minifigure will end up being available as a promo at the LEGO Store for the May the 4th 2014 event or during another promotion.

What are your opinions on the LEGO TC-4 minifigure and its future availability, LEGO Star Wars collectors? Is anyone going to take the leap of faith and order one of these first releases of the TC-4 LEGO while they’re available, or are you going to take your chances and hope for a future mass release of this very obscure protocol droid minifig?