Hasbro made quite an impressive wave of figures based on Return Of The Jedi in The Vintage Collection. Only one figure was “all-new” in the sense that he wasn’t ever made in the modern line until this release (the glorious Wooof), while all the others were revisited attempts on figures released very early in Hasbro’s long-running neo classic collection of action figures. Admiral Ackbar, Gamorrean Guard, Wicket and Rebel Commando (a version of him) and Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight Outfit) (or at least a some of him) were all first released in The Power Of The Force collection. But the first “BAR2-D2” didn’t see release until 2004 in the Star Wars line. But after a half a decade Hasbro thought it was high time to revisit him and what they’ve done is create a fairly awesome action figure, but there are just some things about it that will likely confuse the heck out of collectors. The first glaring detail to notice is that R2-D2 has been sculpted in a smaller scale. We actually don’t even care if this is or isn’t a more accurate scale for our favorite astromech. We are more concerned with Hasbro introducing a new size this late into the game. We literally have a plethora of already fantastic astromechs designed from the favorite R4-G9 mold, the 2005 TSC Early Bird Figures R2-D2 mold and even the recent Build A Droid molds. So putting a smaller R2 unit next to these just skews the line terribly. Some say the difference in size is very noticeable while others cannot tell that much of a difference. We just know we don’t want to be placed in this predicament to decide.
Hasbro cleverly based R2-D2 on two consecutive scenes in Return Of The Jedi: the first scene when he is serving drinks on Jabba’s sail barge and the second scene when he is on the deck ready to launch Luke’s lightsaber hilt to him on the desert skiff. R2-D2 comes with a lot of accessories. He comes with the dispensing attachment that affixes to his dome, the “bar” that sets on his arms and rests on his dome, seven detachable drinking glasses, Luke’s lightsaber hilt and sensorscope. We definitely give the figure a lot of credit for packing so much punch in a small figure, but the features he comes with aren’t that impressive. For example, you need to use the sensorscope or the lightsaber hilt as a “tool” to push down his third leg. (It’s the only way that leg is coming down.) And once either piece is in place, it essentially serves as a lock and prevents R2’s dome from rotating. In our own assessment, the third leg either doesn’t come down low enough or is at an awkward angle because he can’t attain the best pose with him with all three legs on the ground. We’re extremely picky about this so it could just be our own issue with how it looks. But something just doesn’t look right. And while there apparently have been other R2 units made in the line that are close to this new R2’s size, he definitely is noticeably shorter that the more modern units. Nothing has been recycled here. R2-D2 is new in every way, so we give credit to Hasbro for that!
We completely dislike the front panel that opens up. We broke a sweat trying to get our large fingers to open up the hatch and once we got it opened we were disappointed by what was inside. Hasbro included a silver arm attachment that is essentially useless, but that again is just our opinion. There are also some other aesthetics of the figures that have issues. For example, Hasbro has yet to perfect the way the two halves come together. This brand new R2-D2 has the same old head seam that so many other astromechs have and the pieces in some samples don’t line up that great. Also, Hasbro has added wheels (two wheels on each foot like The Clone Wars R2-D2 figure) but no wheels on the third leg. This of course creates unnecessary imbalance. So the figure has some issues that we find unfortunate. But if you’re a collector that just displays figures, this R2-D2 figure should make you pretty happy. We suppose we expected the world with Hasbro making an all-new astromech for 2010 and we suppose we let our anticipation overtake sanity. We still think that the R4-G9 mold is superior, but of course if Hasbro is looking to add scene-specific features to astromech droids then we are going to have to sacrifice some of the standard things they include. (Some features will have to go to make room for newer ones.) But this is the definitive “sail barge” R2-D2. Hasbro claims this isn’t the R2-D2 (With Pop-Up Lightsaber) modern update, but it’s awfully close. We hope that when they do update that figure that they bring back the coins and use The Power Of The Force packaging!
Collector Notes
R2-D2
Status: R2-D2 is an all-new figure.
Articulation Count: 9 points
Articulation Details: swivel dome, 2 swivel legs, 2 swivel ankles, sliding third leg, swivel third leg, hinged door, articulated arm
Accessory Count: 11
Accessory Details: drink dispenser arm attachment, drink tray, 7 drinking glasses, lightsaber hilt, removable sensorscope
Date Stamp: 2010
Assortment Number: 21486/97568
UPC: 653569528654
Retail: $7.99 USD
Market Value: Click here to check the latest prices based on listings.