Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,200: R2 (Gingerbread, Holiday Droid Factory)

R2 Gingerbread Droid
Star Wars Droid Factory 2024 Advent Calendar
Item No.: ???
Manufacturer: Disney
Number: n/a
Includes: R2 Gingerbread Droid, BB-8 Snowman, Chopper Penguin, Gonk Present, D-O Holiday, B2EMO present, R1 Holiday Bell, wreath, Santa hat, drink tray, scarf, tiny top hat
Action Feature: Glasses are removable, rotating dispenser arm, tray harness looks cool, removable third leg
Retail: $79.99
Availability: August 2024
Appearances: n/a
Bio: All different types of astromech droid populate the Star Wars galaxy. Each droid is different and has their own unique personality and colors. Open up the Sandcrawler to reveal and build 7 new droids to celebrate along with them for 25 days this season. May the Force be with you... and your droids! (Taken from the packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary: This R2 (Gingerbread Droid is arguably the reason you will want to buy this set - it's too good to pack in a giant $80 blind box. I hope they consider releasing it individually in the future, mostly because it's so good, I bet there will be a big market for it. And if not R2, maybe R3 or R5 - there's a lot of paint here and the general premise is just so good, I can't knock it - even if it is primarily a holiday thing.

The R2 mold has been repainted and sold so many times I don't need to tell you about it. You've seen the drinking variants too - the harness is packed with glasses, this time filled with milk to go with the cookie droid. A dispenser sits on his hat hole, it's a little loose but it swivels nicely. The details are crisp on his harness, and I wonder how it will hold up in the long run. Today, at least, it looks excellent.

The droid itself hits all the major notes. The brown plastic looks like gingerbread, with a tremendous amount of white paint providing fully painted panel lines and full panels in "icing." Some "candy" panels are also painted, with red, green, and even black elements. Everything looks pretty sharp, and the level of white paint is thick enough where it doesn't seem like the brown plastic is in any danger of breaking through.

I don't know if it will work in a non-holiday scenario, but it's such a charming design that I don't think it matters. It's a neat idea, it proves there are some opportunities left in the concept. You may not see this set as worth $80 - if it weren't for the stackable coupons, I'd have skipped this set this year. The concepts are mostly good, but the piles of holiday droids are stacking up - with nowhere to go.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Disney as they were offering both a discount code as well as free shipping. At under $70 delivered, it's pretty worthwhile. Try SHIPMAGIC or DISNEY25 codes to see if they still work.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,200: December 24, 2024