R2-D2/C-3PO - TFA - Two-Packs (Snow)

R2-D2: A loyal and dependable astromech droid well equipped for starship repair and computer interface, even after decades of service R2-D2 continues to be full of surprises.

C-3PO: A fastidious and worry prone protocol droid, C-3PO longs for more peaceful times, but his continued service to Princess Leia keeps him in the frontlines of galactic conflict.

We imagine we could start off this review with something cliché like “these are (or aren’t) the droids you’re looking for….” oh wait… it looks like we just did. Many of the new products in The Force Awakens line have been pretty decent to date. It’s more than evident that Hasbro has come very far with the five points of articulation range of figures. They look better, feel better and ultimately excel for what they are. The trail to get to this point was long and arduous. Some of Hasbro’s worst offerings ever were some of the earliest 5POA figures. Thankfully, Hasbro has addressed the learning curve and are now nagging out quality budget action figures for kids and collectors. And aside from wishing for more articulation to be included with these action figures, the room for complaining has been getting smaller and smaller. We’re happy about that, even if The Force Awakens line isn’t everything we wanted it to be. It is definitely a little difficult to process that super-articulation is no longer the norm, but the exception. And despite 3.75” super-articulation action figures hanging on by a thread, Hasbro has found ways to work them into the general marketplace so that collectors have opportunities to secure them for their collections. Where Hasbro “annoys” us however is with the old sculpts repainted to be The Force Awakens specific.

We’re talking about the R2-D2/C-3PO Two-Pack set. Sure, the new paint operations make these sculpts look better than they ever had and some new tooling on C-3PO completely sets him apart from the past sculpt. But in all honesty the sculpts are a little too antiquated for our tastes. We feel that main characters such as R2-D2 and C-3PO deserved to be sculpted from the ground up so that Hasbro could provide the community with sculpts that don’t feel so animated in nature, and include sculpts that mirror the high level of detail that has been included with other figures like Captain Phasma, Kylo Ren and the First Order TIE Fighter Pilot just to name a few examples. But instead of getting treated to all-new sculpts, the R2-D2/C-3PO Two-Pack is mostly just a repainted rehash of 2013’s SW [DV/ROTS] R2-D2 And C-3PO (Tantive IV) (MS05) Mission Series set. We weren’t ever too fond of the sculpts of these figures, but with better paint jobs it’s easier to see just how simple they are. Hasbro has upped the ante with detail in The Force Awakens line, and now it feels like these figures need to play catch up. We're not discounting the new tooling, but it doesn't seem enough was done. They definitely feel like they’re figures from a past era, even though they’re not even two years apart from the Two-Pack version. So, we’re hoping that R2-D2 and C-3PO get the royal treatment in the collector focused The Black Series line (both scales of course).

Despite wishing for completely all-new sculpts, we must admit that the paint jobs on both R2-D2 and C-3PO are much improved. One of the earliest “visual” leaks from The Force Awakens was C-3PO’s burgundy/maroon/red arm. While there has been subsequent proof, Hasbro also confirms that this is indeed true. Other than the color of his left arm changing, no other differences exist from previous iterations of C-3PO. Hasbro eliminated one of the better paint operations on C-3PO. The three “bulbs” of light in each photoreceptor have been replaced with solid yellow eyes to make for a very bright and glowing effect. But details like in the belly wiring are crisper and cleaner. And his golden shell has a metallic like finish which helps to take away the sting that the figure hasn’t been vac-metallized. R2-D2 is probably the simplest action figure in recent memory. He too receives some clean paint operation updates, but yet still feels like he is lacking because of the simple sculpting. Together they make a great pair of course. Is anything really more iconic than this droid duo? They’ll be popular no matter what. Released at a staggering $14.99 MSRP, the only thing that won’t jive with collectors in the cost. This set is easily $10 or less. It’s sad that a new movie doesn’t mean a new lower cost for new Star Wars action figures.