BB-19H - Droid Factory

All different types of droids populate the Star Wars galaxy. Each droid is different and has their own unique personality and colors. This BB unit quietly observes the smugglers, brigands, scouts and spies in Maz's castle. Join BB-19H on his adventures throughout the galaxy.

May the Force be with you... and your Droids!

In 2017, Disney’s Droid Factory line introduced the BB unit in the 3.75” line, BB-8. The figure didn’t come with many features, nor articulation, but they designed a faithful action figure that looked very much like the on-screen character. Since that time, Disney produced many other BB units for the other Sequel Trilogy Star Wars film, The Last Jedi. A four-pack of BB units was produced for that film alone. Now, as part of Disney’s annual “holiday” lineup, the BB unit sculpt gets chosen for 2019, and they’ve produced a character BB-19H. The bio explains that this droid hangs in and around Maz Kanata’s castle, which means to us this is a The Force Awakens era Star Wars character. But most likely, it’s an “Expanded Universe” character, meaning it may never be part of the official canon as far as Lucasfilm Ltd. is concerned. BB-19H, the Christmas droid for 2019, has some holiday flare, but it might be one of the weaker droids made part of this series.

BB-19H has been approached like a Weeble. And as you know, they don’t fall. They’ve added a weighted piece that keeps BB-19H grounded no matter how much you throw it around. We give credit to Disney for working that feature into the sculpt, but that’s all this figure offers. There are no interchangeable arms, no dang “thumbs up” lighter, and no useful articulation here, aside from a swivel head. The droid also doesn’t come with any holiday props, which we find rather disappointing. However, BB-19H received a nice paint job. The two outer halves are semi-translucent. You can see the “weighted” inner ball underneath. Still, BB-19H disappoints. And that REALLY disappoints us. We’ve loved all of the figures in this line so far, so we’re upset about the disappointment. BB-19H breaks down into four separate pieces. They include a head attachment (with barely movable antennae), two body halves and the weighted gravity ball (which fits into the two halves like a carefully constructed puzzle).

BB-19H is unable to stand unassisted without the gold gravity ball inside of it. Besides, the two halves don’t snap together without it either. You’re dependent on the gravity ball to make this a functional action figure. The ball itself is beautifully designed and has a lot of detail etched into it. Disney also gave it some colorful paint application for lights and buttons. Whether this ball is based on some images from a technical “making of” book or some Sequel Trilogy “behind the scenes” materials is something we don’t know. The “insides” of BB-8 are believable and work well from that perspective. It’s just a shame the gravity ball prevents the figure from doing anything else meaningful in your collection. You may have a completely different take on this figure than us too. Retailing for $12.99, it doesn’t feel like collectors get their money’s worth here at all. We love the concept of “holiday” figures very much, but we feel that Disney should probably reserve the line for standard astromech droids only. Merry Christmas!