Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 1,593: R2-Q5

R2-Q5 Remote Control
The Legacy Collection (US Target Exclusive), The Saga Collection (Japan)
Item No.: Asst. TBD No. TBD
Manufacturer: Hasbro (US), Tomy (Japan)
Number: n/a
Includes: Lightsaber remote
Action Feature: Beeps, moves, lights up
Retail: $16.99 (US), $20 (Japan)
Availability: 2009 (US), 2006ish (Japan)
Appearances: Revenge of the Sith

Bio: R2-D2 is a robot. (Whatever, man.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' tackle boxes. Pictured is the US release.

Commentary: R2-Q5 came out and did well in 2001, so Hasbro tried it again in 2009 with this remote-controlled version, itself a repackaged Tomy release from a few years earlier. This 3 3/4-inch scale robot has pretty much no meaningful articulation, but will beep and whistle when you activate his remote accessory. That's pretty much why you want this, to have a "living" droid in this scale. It's quite glossy and the deco is good, in many respects it's slightly superior to the 2001 carded non-electronic release of the character. I thank mostly the brighter metallic orange paint. It's neat but honestly, one RC droid is plenty.

Collector's Notes: These droids took a while to sell through at Target, but eventually went away. On eBay the Japanese release sells for as little as $6, so don't overpay for this one-- like anyone who bought it at retail did.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 1,593: July 22, 2011