Wednesday, October 7, 2020

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,733: BB-Series Droid (BB-8-style droid, white body and red head)

BB UNITS BB-8-style droid, white body and red head
Galaxy's Edge Trading Outpost   3 3/4-Inch Action Figure - Target Exclusive
Item No.:
Asst. E9916 No. E9930
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Blue body, white and red head BB9 buddy
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $9.99
Availability: August 2020
Appearances: Galaxy's Edge

Bio: Collect stylized droids!  (From the packaging. There is no bio.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: This nameless BB-8 chassis BB Unit is a real charmer.   He's got a white body with red and black markings.   "This looks familiar," I thought.  My wife said "Isn't that the design on a German plane in WWI?"  And indeed she was right - it's very close to the coloring of the Red Baron, only with a little less red.  I assume that means we should assume this is a First Order droid, or an oversight.

Nameless Red Baron BB-8 redeco has a "barbell" piece between the head and body, giving him technically 2 points of articulation.  The ball has a flat bottom to keep it upright - the droid isn't weighted like Disney's droids, so you just need to put it down in the right position so it doesn't flop over.  It's a redeco of The Last Jedi BB-8 [FOTD #2,448] mold from 2017 (reissued in 2018), so it's sturdy and fits in the Vintage Poe Dameron X-Wing Fighter you probably skipped.   It's really cool and brings a lot of color to the generally drab and dull sequel figure line. 
Whatever your opinion of the movies, Hasbro did a bang-up job with the Disney-era movie line to start with - The Force Awakens was loaded with armored dudes, aliens, robots, troopers, heroes, villains, and everything you might want - minus obligatory droid repaints.  Rogue One was pretty good too, but The Last Jedi had a lot less going on (and so many reruns) while the less said about The Rise of Skywalker's toys the better.  Mostly because there's not much to say.   These droids expand that era of figures in a great way and I'd be curious to see if they can do more. The price is pretty good too - 2 for $10 is a bargain compared to Disney's $13 for one.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Target.

--Adam Pawlus


Day 2,733: October 7, 2020

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