R2-SHW (Antoc Merrick’s Droid) - TVC - Basic (VC260)

Is this what The Vintage Collection has come to, $17 crappy astromech droid repaints and limited distribution through the Fan Channel? Let’s face it. 2010’s TVC R2-D2 (VC25) had its charm over a decade ago, but Hasbro should have retired the dreadful tooling shortly after its release. The sculpt is limiting in how you pose it. You have to have certain pieces in place to gain the full functionality of its parts, and the shortened scale is the subject of much chagrin throughout the 3.75-inch collecting community. It’s universally accepted that the Build A Droid astromech droid tooling is superior in almost all ways, so why does Hasbro keep reaching for this tooling instead? It was evident to everyone that Hasbro would soon release an accompanying astromech droid to support the confusing yet popular 2021 TVC Antoc Merrick’s X-Wing Fighter Target exclusive release. And here it is, almost a year to the date later. But collectors might begin to gripe about how Hasbro brought it to life for us because it feels like a setback when the X-Wing Fighter and Antoc Merrick pack-in figure exceeded our expectations. Please welcome R2-SHW (Antoc Merrick’s Droid) action figure, a Fan Channel exclusive and available at most specialty outlets online and in stores. You shouldn’t expect to encounter any difficulty locating one.

R2-SHW (Antoc Merrick’s Droid) looks like R2-D2 with a red body. That may seem contradictory, but when you look at this new droid, you’ll likely see the resemblance too. As mentioned, R2-SHW is a repaint of 2010’s TVC R2-D2 (VC25) figure, one of the first figures released in the inaugural year of The Vintage Collection. Coincidentally, it appears that Hasbro tweaked some of the figure’s functions. Specifically, the third leg doesn’t fall randomly, as it does for 2022’s TVC ARTOO-DETOO (R2-D2) (VC234) or 2021’s TVC Artoo-Detoo (R2-D2) Droids version. They must have tightened up some parts to allow them to function as intended. The front panel door also stays closed better than its re-released predecessor. And we have to admit that the paint operations look tight and fresh, and it feels like a new figure in the line. So, we have to give Hasbro props when due. Still, the fact that this figure is $17.00 is nothing short of egregious. This exuberant pricing angers collectors, and it’s blatantly unfair of them to be greedy when the tooling has paid for itself multiple times over and would enable them to reduce the price of these exclusives. The figure falls short of interactivity with 2021’s TVC Antoc Merrick’s X-Wing Fighter because it is too short for the droid socket and looks lost inside.

Hasbro’s inspiration for 2010’s TVC R2-D2 (VC25) figure came from the “BAR2-D2” version of the character from Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi. But once you remove the bar and glasses, a reasonably standard R2-series astromech droid is underneath. So, turning this action figure into a character from another Star Wars source is expected. Hasbro cleverly based this R2-D2 figure on two consecutive scenes in Return Of The Jedi: the first scene when the droid is serving drinks on Jabba’s sail barge and the second scene when the droid is on the deck ready to launch Luke’s lightsaber hilt to him on the desert skiff. But all of those original accessories are missing for this release. There are also some aesthetics of the figure that has issues. For example, Hasbro has yet to perfect how the two halves come together. R2-SHW (Antoc Merrick’s Droid) has the same seam as many other astromech droids, and some samples’ pieces don’t line up nicely. Also, Hasbro has added wheels (two wheels on each foot like The Clone Wars R2-D2 figure) but no wheels on the third leg. Many may overlook this figure’s issues to fill the empty droid socket with a screen-accurate astromech droid. But with all of the figure’s sins, Hasbro should make the pricing more reasonable.