Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,358: BB-PR0UD (Pride Collection, Droid Factory)

BB-PR0UD Rainbow Edition
Star Wars Droid Depot Pride Collection
Item No.: ???
Manufacturer: Disney
Number: n/a
Includes: n/a
Action Feature: Pulls apart
Retail: $12.99
Availability: May 2022
Appearances: n/a

Bio: A In celebration of Pride and the company's Pride collection, The Walt Disney Company is giving funds as part of our ongoing commitment to organizations around the world that support LGBTQ+ communities. (Taken from the packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary: The first BB droid in the Pride Collection and the second in the line, BB-PR0UD predated BB-YOU [FOTD #3,063] by about a year. Both make use of the same mold, but the color patterns are a little different. BB-YOU seemed to be more of a general riff on the traditional Pride flag, while BB-PR0UD... I don't know. There are a lot of different LGBTQ+ flags, as seen in the fun parties or on the backpacks of your better friends, but I can't quite place the specific dark indigo blue (I think) plastic with the specific splashes of color unless maybe someone is a fan of the Indigo Girls? I come at this from a place of ignorance, so use that comment field if you are the designer or are better informed than I.


The indigo base figure provides the manufacturer with a challenge when it comes to paint. Dark plastic will bleed through bright colors unless you apply thick, even layers of pigment on top. Hasbro and 1980s toymakers tended to forget this, which is why your Battle Beasts Hardtop Tortoise's orange armor looks a little sloppy even when it was new. On the other hand, anything Onell Design does tends to have significantly thick shells of shiny paint covering any blemishes. This droid has some issues with the orange and yellow being a bit thin for my taste, but you might be fine with it given that it gives the droid's fresh coat of paint a vaguely weathered look. In addition to six rainbow-ish colors, this droid also has silver and black highlights on some of the panels.

If you pop off the chassis, an inner gray orb has numerous painted silver elements plus a few red and blue lights. Kudos to Disney for having done it, it's detail a lot of fans will never see and it was back when these guys were a then-princely sum of $12.99. (You'll remember, Hasbro usually included BB droids as accessories rather than full-fledged action figures when it comes to smaller figure lines.)

In hindsight, I really don't get why Disney didn't just rerelease the in-demand and still expensive rarity R2-RNBW. This is fine - it's a unique color of BB droid with a lot lots of bright color flourishes, and I can't complain about that too much. But as a collector with thousands of figures (and about 10 of the 11 Pride Droids plus honorary members) this doesn't add much new to the overall collection. I assume Disney is done with BB droids unless we get a cameo in Starfighter or the Rey movie, and I hope we get a protocol droid next year, because I don't know what I need with more BB-series droids. The good news is that it's inexpensive on the secondary market, so there's nothing stopping you from picking a unique droid up today.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Disney Store's web site.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,358: June 30, 2026

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,197: BB-8 (Holiday Droid Factory)

BB-8 Snowman
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: Balances, dome and ball halves are removable
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: Great concept, bad QC (on mine, at least.) The BB-8 (snowman) is a great design, but my sample can't keep it together. The bottom half of the droid slides right off - if you pick it up, it doesn't stay connected. If I swap out the core inner ball with another droid, the parts fit, there's just something about this one where it won't stay together. Your mileage may vary, of course.

This version of BB-8 - not a generic BB droid according to Disney's page - is left mostly white with subtle gray highlights you may not even notice. He has a tiny scarf and a new tiny top hat, which I think is going to be very fun for anyone who likes these kinds of props. One of his sensors has an orange carrot-like ring around it, his central black eye is super glossy, and there are three dots to represent some sort of coat buttons on the torso. It's incredibly simple, but it gets the job done and the BB ball body is perfect for a snowman. I'm kind of annoyed Disney didn't just sell this one carded because it would do well. Having said that, I still need to crack open R6-SN0, Disney's previous snowman robot.

In terms of escaping the trappings of the holiday, just turning around the head and leaving off the gear gives you a mostly plain white droid. It would look fine on any sequel-era display, or serve as great custom fodder. It's useful, it's cute, it more or less fits in - so it's a good design. I just hope yours holds together than mine.

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 3,197: December 12, 2024

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,086: BB Droid (Silver, Advent Calendar 2022)

BB DROID Droid Cosplay
Star Wars Droid Factory
Item No.: ???
Manufacturer: Disney
Number: n/a
Includes: Silver BB droid, Nutcracker R5 droid, Gold R4 droid, Giftwrapped Power Droid with bow, Elf R6 Droid with hat, C1 droid
Action Feature: Comes apart
Retail: $69.99
Availability: August 2022
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 6 new droids to celebrate along with them for 25 days this season. May the Force be with you... and your droids!" This droid is optimized to function in the sparsely settled, unspoiled frontier world of Vandor. Join R6-SNO on their adventures throughout the galaxy! (Taken from the packaging. Yes, the one quotation mark and reference to R6-SNO, who is not included, was on the box in three languages.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary: It was Thanksgiving last week, but it's not December yet, so let's look at the Advent Calendar BB Droid. While some of you say that the gold R4 droid is a bell, I don't buy it - but I could buy this one being a bell, or maybe a snowflake, or just a riff on a traditional ball ornament. Or not. I guess I have no idea what the authorial intent is, but the author is dead so I guess I'll just say it's a nice silver ball robot.

Riffing on the BB-9E head on a BB-8 body, you get a blue-gray metallic plastic robot with painted metallic blue and matte white highlights. The design doesn't feel holiday specific - if you squint you could probably place it at another holiday, or just as a robot rolling around in a post-Empire galaxy. Since the mold is nothing new, you're buying this for the colors and I'd say they're just fine. (Maybe it's a snowflake?) There's a lot to like here in its simplicity. It's not an eye explosion like the elf or nutcracker, it's not painfully obviously Christmas incarnate. You can let this little one roll around anywhere you like, and I can admire that - expanding the universe is something Star Wars should do more often, although it can be tough to do. If you come up with something too weird it's uncomfortable, but within the context of a droid redeco that adheres to the coloring book lines we've seen before it's easy to like this droid. You can put him in a sandcrawler, or under a tree. Options are nice to have, especially if you don't celebrate Christmas and just want a nice little new droid.

For those of you who don't have any BB droids from Disney, they're sort of like Weebles. The round ball robot cracks open like a plastic Easter Egg with a weighted ball inside. Curiously, the weighted interior ball has a lot of silver paint that you'll never see after you assemble it. I'm sure a lot of collectors will express admiration for attention to detail, but I'd rather not pay for paint applications I'll probably never see after I buy it. I wouldn't mind if Disney started to mold these things in color so we can - I hope - put off a price increase a little bit longer. (The exterior paint is perfectly good, don't change a thing, Disney.)

Somehow this figure is more interesting as a "Christmas" droid that's not very "Christmas" than it would be as a random grab of parts out of a bin. The silver top of the head and bright white around a big black eye give him just enough life that it seems he could go beep at any second now. For you reading this in the future, he has no given name. How you'll find it on eBay I don't know - Sandcrawler Advent Calendar BB Droid? Blue Silver BB Unit? Good luck. But do find one, if you are so inclined. He's part of a big set that's arguably worth getting if you swing that way, and I'm more willing to accept a droid with open arms if it's smaller and more reasonably priced. And this one is.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from some guy on eBay for a lower price!

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,086: November 30, 2023

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,063: BB-YOU (2023 Pride Collection)

BB-YOU Pride Collection Disney Exclusive
Star Wars Droid Factory
Item No.: ???
Manufacturer: Disney
Number: n/a
Includes: n/a
Action Feature: Comes apart
Retail: $14.99 $9.98
Availability: May 2023
Appearances: n/a
Bio: In celebration of Pride and the company's Pride collection, The Walt Disney Company is giving funds as part of our ongoing commitment to organizations around the world that support LGBTQ+ communities. (Taken from the packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Click here to buy it at eBay now!    

Commentary: While other Pride droids have been colorful and pretty distinctive BB-YOU is the one I could've missed and not been upset to have missed. At $15 it's a little pricey - it's on clearance now - and it looks like BB-8 was entered in a coloring contest. You can make out various colors from the Pride flag(s) on it, but it's effectively a normal white BB-8 with some minor changes. It's boring - and I've looked at pages and pages of awesome, colorful flags for all sorts of things. There's no reason for these to be dull when they could just have reissued R2-RNBW and made a lot of people happy with zero effort.

 The same mold has been sold for years, so you can put a hat on him, pop the head off, or split him apart to see a weighted silver ball inside. The head turns too, but that's all there is to it. As of right now BB-8 (and friends) feel like the Ewoks as the 1980s went on - the time for this is over, there will be a day in the future will people want BB-8 again, but people are probably very over it and Grogu may not be far behind given his lack of standout mischief on The Mandalorian last season.

Once you get past the significance of a Pride figure, of which there are many better options unless this particular one has specific significance for you, I'd say spend your money on the Astromech set (also on sale) or something else. I'd still buy a BB droid painted like the heart on the packaging - red on top, violet on the bottom, other colors in between - but I don't want another white BB-series droid with color highlights ever again. I've got plenty. I want something else now.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Shop Disney at full price, but as I write this it's on clearance. $10 or under is a fair price for it, $5 really would be ideal given how small the BB figures are.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,063: September 12, 2023

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,924: CB-23 (Droid Depot set, The Black Series)

CB-23 Droid Depot Set
The Black Series Galaxy's Edge Exclusive Action Figure
Item No.: No. F3400
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Babu Frik, Pit Droid, Battle Droid with blaster and antenna backpacks, K-7R1, and CB-23
Action Feature: Weighted Base
Retail: $74.99
Availability: March 2022
Appearances: Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge and Star Wars: Resistance
Bio: A maroon and turquoise BB astromech unit, CB-23 is a member of the Resistance and serves as Poe Dameron's co-pilot for a short period of time while BB-8 was on another mission. (Taken from the packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: I don't have anything to complain about here. CB-23 is another - and one of few - figures from the Star Wars: Resistance cartoon to make the transition to the 6-inch line. Considering that the show came and went with the sort of enthusiasm you reserve for a sneeze, it's kind of amazing that Hasbro gave us a new droid dome to go with this BB-8 retool. The BB-8 mold hasn't been used very much at this scale, and it's kind of amazing to think after 7 years this is only the second BB droid in this particular size class. I assumed we'd have had a BB-9E by now, but no.

If you missed Star Wars: Resistance, that's OK, I suggest you keep missing it. The show was the most colorful Star Wars has been since Ewoks and/or Droids, and was loaded with neat vehicles, cool aliens, and some excellent costumes along with some of the most dreadfully dull stories aimed at young kids you'd expect to see. The tie-ins to the sequel trilogy were few, but given how they can't actually spoil anything or tell you anything in the show you were left without a lot to go on unles you really loved the characters. While I could hang out with Flix all day long, he has yet to get his own spin-off.

CB-23 was BB-8's replacement, and is a pretty nice figure. The red roly-poly body has the same weighted mechanism we saw with BB-8, and there's no dirty deco or battle damage. It's just a nice clean robot with a newly-tooled dome, complete with wonderful blue highlights, a silver cap, and other painted silver and black detailing. I'd make some comment or snide remark about it if I could, or even say it's amazing, but it's just kind of exactly what you would and should expect out of this kind of a retooled action figure. The colors are all nice and bright, the paint is mostly incredibly clean and the antenna are, for some reason, almost translucent. But everything looks good. As a glorified accessory, this robot is charming and more colorful than most figures we tend to get.

There aren't many landmarks I can point to and say "this is awesome!" Top-to-bottom, it's an incredibly decent little robot that serves as a reminder that the designers behind Resistance did a great job and there may be some gold to mine out of the show if we ever get to a point where anything goes in action figures again. (It won't, so don't get your hopes up.) I wouldn't recommend this figure for the price of the boxed set, but it's nice enough that if you were going to buy the set anyway, it's not going to tick you off. It's good! You'll like it.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Shop Disney.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,924: May 12, 2022

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,910: B5-SL

B5-SL Mystery Crate
Droid Factory Single Droid Action Figure
Item No.: ???
Manufacturer: Disney
Number: n/a
Includes: Crate package/stand
Action Feature: Comes apart
Retail: $14.99
Availability: January 2022
Appearances: Galaxy's Edge

 
Bio: B5-SL was a BB-series astromech droid with a black sensor and blue and brown paneling. Like all BB-series units manufactured by Industrial Automaton, it stood 0.67 meters tall. During First Order's occupation of the planet Batuu in 34 ABY, B5-SL spent time in a caged area of the Droid Depot in Batuu's Black Spire Outpost while the depot's owner, Mubo, ran a diagnostic scan on the droid. (Stolen from Wookieepedia. Packaging has no copy and no Star Wars logo.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Weight in sealed package: 110 grams.

Commentary: With a tough to read name sticker, B5-SL is a blue BB-8 redeco. Is it worth $15? No. But you know what droid completism is like. Or at least you used to, there are probably five or so you don't have and can't get at the very least thanks to Disney making some of these guys impossible to get. This one is just absurdly difficult to get, so I begrudgingly suggest it's worth getting.

In 2020 Hasbro put out some swell droid 2-packs for $10, including a blue BB-9E redeco that was pretty nice - for that reason, I can't say this is a great deal. But it is a nice figure, with lots of dirty grime over the blue and coloring that recalls a faded, buried old R2-D2 action figure. Our roly-poly blue buddy has a big blue eye I absolutely love, plus silver highlights that mostly match the theme park robot. You'll notice some panels and elements that don't quite match... which is a shame, given there was no shortage of available reference material. The figure uses the heavier Disney body with the heavy weighted ball inside the 2-part shell, with a dome on top complete with hat hole. You know what to expect here.

The figure's value is entirely placed on deco. If you want more droids in various colors, it's worthwhile because there aren't any others that look quite like him. The dirty wash looks great, the blues may remind you of well-loved and faded pants, plus the big blue eye is a distinctive change from the usually black orb. I like the blue band around the top and the blue 5 o'clock shadow around the face too. It's just a cute little guy.

I am glad this figure exists, but I would rather it be in a gift set or in some non-concealed packaging so you could get one if you want one. It's kind of cruel to do at a theme park, but at least if you get one you can go home happy knowing you don't have a similar or identical droid at home. You can, however, be angry Hasbro didn't make it in a 2 for $10 bundle at Target. It is what it is, and it's OK enough to not get too fussy about either way. The last few years have been a repaint-heavy market for Hasbro and Disney in this scale, so let your love of color be your guide as to if your wallet gets opened or not.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Shannon who got them from Disneyland. Thanks Shannon!

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,910: March 24, 2022

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,899: JB-9 (Droid Factory Mystery Crate)

JB-9 Mystery Crate
Droid Factory Single Droid Action Figure
Item No.: ???
Manufacturer: Disney
Number: n/a
Includes: Crate package/stand
Action Feature: Comes apart
Retail: $15.99
Availability: January 2022
Appearances: Galaxy's Edge
Bio: n/a (Packaging has no copy and no Star Wars logo.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Weight in sealed package: 110 grams.

Commentary: A friend of mine got me a smattering of Droid factory Mystery Crates, which seem to be utterly terrible packaging - I assume these will tank unless they have an amazing point-of-sale display. It's a $15 gray box with no mention of Star Wars or what's inside. Upon getting these I sorted them by weight, with these generally being about 103 grams (astromechs) and 110 grams (BB droids.) JB-9 is the latter, heavier thanks to the weighted ball.

The figure comes packaged in a stackable, connectible crate. When you open it, the base has a place for a name plate sticker. A black "Droid Depot" bag holds a figure and the sticker, and your robot comes in pieces - this is the first time Disney BB droids were sold in a way where the end user has to assemble the parts. The core ball has some blue lights painted on it, but it's mostly plain gray. Assembly is easy - connect the two shell pieces over the weighted ball, and plug in the head. Simple.

JB-9 doesn't exist in the movies or streaming shows - so far as I know - and currently supposedly only exists as something at Disney parks around Galaxy's Edge. I've never been to it, so I can't say if it's true. That would make this yellow, gray, and silver souvenir a copy of something that you might have seen if you went to the right spot of the theme park, but to most fans, it'll just be another robot. And it's OK - but the pictures make the real deal look cooler, with school bus yellow painted parts and darker, more metallic panels around the vents. This isn't to say it isn't any good, but it's almost a different thing. The gray plastic doesn't really register as bare steel or anything like that, but it looks decent.

The head is molded in gray with yellow painted panels, while the body is molded in yellow with some silver and grey paint. Also, some excellent brown weathering on the body - it's subtle, and they did a good job with it. The display stand has four indentations - three for astromech feet, and one for a BB ball. It's a really neat package overall, with too much packaging and arguably a too-high price tag for a mystery figure. (After all, Hasbro recently sold us 2 BB droids for $10 as Target exclusives.) I think robot completists are going to love these, but there are so few left after Disney pulled it's 1:4 astromechs in that ride vehicle - heck, even I haven't been able to get those yet! But I like this, and if you can get it at or around $15, you may want to add it to the droid pool.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Shannon who got them from Disneyland. Thanks Shannon!

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,899: February 15, 2022

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,804: CB-23 (Droid Factory Line Look / Droid Depot)

CB-23 Disney Parks Exclusive
Star Wars Droid Depot
Item No.: ???
Manufacturer: Disney?
Number: n/a
Includes: n/a
Action Feature: Comes apart
Retail: $12.99
Availability: October 2020
Appearances: Star Wars: Resistance

 
Bio: All different types of droids populate the Star Wars galaxy. Each droid is different and has their own unique personality and colors. A maroon and turquoise BB Astromech unit, CB-23 serves the resistance as Poe Dameron's co-pilot. May the Force be with you... and your Droids! (Taken from the figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: With the parks largely closed and my pals unable to go places, I got CB-23 when a damaged cardback showed up on eBay. The price was right. This uses Disney's BB tooling, but gives us a new head and the first and perhaps only release the robot will ever see. It would not stun me if this is the last time we ever get a figure from Star Wars: Resistance either.

By 2021 nobody needs nor do they want another BB droid. I think everybody got over the sequels for a while, and right now want to wallow in the post-Return of the Jedi splendor of The Mandalorian. For those of us who just need everything, this little robot is a nice addition to the droid pool since he got a new head. The red head now has a flat silver top with a few wires, lights, and panels I didn't notice when watching the show. It looks like someone customized it. The dome is missing a little yellow box on his left side, but other than that matches the packaging rendering quite nicely with the cheery colors. The unique dome makes this an easy choice to pick up, provided you aren't yet over countless repaints and retools of robots.

The body is largely the same as BB-8 other than the colors, and it looks fantastic. If you pop it open, there's a weighted engine ball inside molded in red with silver highlights. Why did Disney bother to paint something you may never even know you can see? I have no idea. I assume to make you think you got your $13 worth, especially since Hasbro did a series of 2-packs last fall for a mere $9.99 each. There's no weighted ball or removable head, but on the other hand, you got two for ten bucks.

There's not a lot new here other than head and colors, but that's what tends to serve as a good redeco in Transformers. Normally you don't even get a new noggin. I don't assume we'll get a lot from Disney's largely ignored second animated child, despite it being jam-packed with awesome alien designs and some really cool periphery characters. Also, some of the most boring heroes and villains. But we got a handful of neat figures, and this droid is one of the few I was left wanting once the line ended. Now where's Jim Rash: Bird Man, and Neeku?

Collector's Notes: I got this from eBay.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,804: April 22, 2021

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,745: BB-Series Droid (BB-8-style droid, black and silver body, black and silver head)

BB UNITS BB-8-style droid, black and silver body, black and silver head
Galaxy's Edge Trading Outpost 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure - Target Exclusive
Item No.: Asst. E9916 No. E9935
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: BB-9-ish-droid in red with some white and silver
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 BB Unit is your obligatory black repaint. If you collect toys, you know of this and maybe you've even got a shelf of black Scourge/Nemesis Primes, black Cobra Commanders, black Stormtroopers, black astromechs, black Clone Troopers, black Wolverine, and it's my understanding that sometimes they even make black Batman figures now. As a sub-category it's kind of cool - I used to have a black toy shelf in a bookcase before I moved away to work at Entertainment Earth forever ago, and still haven't put those back up.

The pattern is usually some level of taking a red (or white, or blue, or green) toy and wanting to paint it black. It's something that works - they sell, people like them, and they tend to look cool. Sure it's a cash grab, but when the thing you're collecting is an evil clone or an in-universe mass-produced consumer good like a droid, it just plain makes sense. The black absorbs a lot of detail, but the silver on BB just pops - the panels have a lot of lovely paint, and the antenna looks swell.

The head is cute - but that's a pro and a con. BB-8's head can't not look cute in these colors. There's nothing menacing about it, it looks like the adorable round beeping robot just had a goth phase where it's still just as adorable as always. Maybe if the eye was red it could look more menacing, but that big black eye just reads as permanently cute. Blame Funko for popularizing them. The body doesn't look wildly different from BB-9E, but the added silver does pop nicely.

Overall I'd say this was a great program with 9 worthwhile droids - even if some looked alike in weird ways. Disney put out a few of its own BB units in various colors, some of which Hasbro has yet to touch, so there's plenty of room to grow and make new colors with these robot bodies. I hope they do so - and I'd recommend getting this set if you can still find it for ten bucks.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Target.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,745: October 28, 2020

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,741: BB-BOO20 (Droid Factory Line Look)

BB-BOO20 Disney Parks Halloween Exclusive
Star Wars Droid Factory
Item No.: ???
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: n/a
Action Feature: Comes apart
Retail: $12.99
Availability: August 2020
Appearances: n/a
Bio: All different types of Astromech droids populate the Star Wars galaxy. Each droid is different and has their own unique personality and colors. This droid resides at the sun-bleached dunes of Pasaana amongst the native Aki-Aki. Join BB-BOO20 on his adventures throughout the galaxy! May the Force be with you... and your Droids! (Taken from the figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: A theme park exclusive in a year where you probably shouldn't go to theme parks! BB-BOO20 follows an interesting and odd pattern of Halloween releases since 2016, when we got R2-B0016, which was followed by R3-B0017 in 2017, R4-B0018 in 2018, and R5-B0019 in 2019. Rather than do the less recognizable R6, R7, R8, or R9 droids they just skipped ahead to the BB-style. Why not? (And hopefully they'll go back and do R6 droids, as they started to appear in the films.)

The gimmick this time is to make the build-a-BB mold look like a pumpkin - and Disney succeeded. The orange ball has silver markings (I would've gone with black or some sort of glow in the dark paint) while the head is green, to look like the stem from the vine. Sort of. I admit, when I first saw this it didn't read to me as a pumpkin at all, and certainly not as a jack-o-lantern. It looks neat, the colors are charming, but it's not quite as obvious as the ghostly, skeletal, or candy corn predecessors. And I still don't know R2-BOO16 was going for other than looking like the colors you would assign to a Halloween-themed tag cloud.

Inside, BB-BOO20 has a bone-like core. I appreciate that. Or maybe they were trying to go for a pumpkin seed/gut look? They could have left it unpainted, but instead took the pea soup green plastic core, painted it with some boney highlights, and painted some inner lights on top of that. This is overkill - but if they're going to charge you $13 for a BB unit that's probably really only worth $5-$7 tops, at least you got some extra paint out of it. Even if you can't see it.

The holiday droid category is fascinatingly weird - some of these guys look like they could fit in with your movies, and Disney certainly did write a little story placing each and every one of them off-camera in movie or TV settings. I don't think it's essential, in part because I don't believe Hasbro is ever going to build-out The Rise of Skywalker or Pasaana, and "holiday" stuff is kind of an odd duck here. I could see this guy rolling around on a sail barge or in the back of a Sandcrawler, but he doesn't have a great place in a diorama just yet. But he's orange and green, so I love the colors and it's the kind of weird and ugly thing I love in my droid collection. My ridiculously large droid collection. Did I mention Disney alone offered more droids in the last decade than Kenner made total kinds of figures in the 1970s and 1980s?

Collector's Notes: I got this from a third-party theme park seller. Which I'd recommend - $20 or so for a $13 figure is quite the mark-up, but shipping, tax, parking at a theme park, $7 doesn't seem quite so bad.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,741: October 21, 2020

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,738: BB-Series Droid (BB-9-style droid, black and white body and black head)

BB UNITS BB-9-style droid, black and white body, black head
Galaxy's Edge Trading Outpost   3 3/4-Inch Action Figure - Target Exclusive
Item No.: Asst. E9916 No. E9931
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: BB-8-ish-droid in purple
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 BB Unit is the Moira Rose/Tim Burton/1930s Disney edition  in black and white.  It has the same basic nuts and bolts as the other BBs, but looks a bit more like a soccer ball.  The head is very similar to BB-9E.  This new one has a bit more silver on the head and none of the red or blue, but seems to be more striking thanks to the extra metallic paint.  Even the antenna are painted!  Details seem a little less sharp, but things are basically all in the same places.

The body deco is unique.  There's a white plastic ball with black circles and unique silver markings inside, making it look almost like a whole new droid body. (But not head.  You've seen heads like this.)   Like the others, the ball is flat on the bottom and it won't roll of your desk or shelf without a good push.  That's pretty much all you can ask for.

While not amazing or vibrant, it totally looks like something that could be rolling around in Maz' castle on Takodana.   Perhaps the droid is pals with Bazine Netal, which should be a figure and isn't yet.  (Hasbro really nailed most of The Force Awakens, didn't they?)  I'm thrilled Hasbro got to put out new color droids instead of more of the same, so if you're into that too you can maybe still find these sets.  Somehow.  I feel for you future eBay and Amazon people thanks to the lack of names on the boxes, one of my big pet peeves is naming toys or toy lines in such a way where they may be impossible to easily track down on eBay.  One of my holiest of molies is a 6-inch Solo: A Star Wars Story Han Solo in the little yellow box - I have no idea if it came out in the USA, and may never find out.  (I also need to get the Rise of Skywalker-era ones, but I digress.)

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Target.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,738: October 15, 2020

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,737: BB-Series Droid (BB-8-style droid, purple body and purple head)

BB UNITS BB-8-style droid, purple body and purple head
Galaxy's Edge Trading Outpost   3 3/4-Inch Action Figure - Target Exclusive
Item No.: Asst. E9916 No. E9931
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: BB-9 with black head and white body with black markings
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 BB Unit is striking.  The body is a BB-9 style, the head is the round BB-8, and the whole thing matches nicely.  Mostly in purple, white and black markings make this figure pop like... well, nothing in particular.  Purple is a scarce color in Star Wars outside of things related to Mace Windu or Imperial Dignitaries, so seeing it on a droid certainly makes things interesting.

The flat bottom keeps the figure from flopping over, but it'll still tip if you nudge it. The only moving part is the head, which is appropriate - there's not a lot to the deisgn.   Hasbro or Disney's colorists did a great job making this look interesting,

The figure is a mix of BB-8 and BB-9E parts from a The Last Jedi-era multipack, but the deco is all new.  I love how the white pops against the purple, and it's something that doesn't look like anything else in my Star Wars collection.  I could see this rolling around in any one of the dioramas made of random figures, or maybe running errands on a battle station somewhere.  In this particular 2-pack, this is one is the clear winner.   I'd love to see more bright colors of droids down the road.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Target.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,737: October 14, 2020

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,734: BB-Series Droid (BB-9-style droid head, BB-8-blue body and white head)

BB UNITS BB-9-style droid head, BB-8-blue body and white 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: Red head BB-8 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-9-style BB Unit is a gem.  The body looks like blueprints, the head looks like R5-D4 - it's clean, and it looks like an accident!   You might recognize the mold from the twice-released BB-9E [FOTD #2,446] which first premiered in The Last Jedi and, as far as I know, doesn't appear anywhere else yet.  Since the packaging has it as part of Galaxy's Edge, which seems to be a large collection of elements, who am I to argue?

This pack swaps up the head and body - so you get a blue BB-8 body and a white BB-9 head here, giving it slightly different construction consistent with the "droid factory" ethos you may have seen at a theme park bin.   I appreciate the move for more variety.   The only moving part is the head and neck, making this a three-piece construction with a "barbell" between the head and body.  The round body has a flat base, but Hasbro's droids were never weighted like the Weeble-esque Disney figures.  It's good, but not as robust as the theme park tooling.  Given that it's cheaper - and for now, easier to get - maybe you should just happily gobble these little guys up while you still can.  This wave of 3 two-packs is the biggest BB expansion in the history of this style of droid.   Before now, each movie got a couple of droids tops - The Last Jedi introduced a grand total of three new on-screen figures via the Disney and Hasbro toolings.

I would argue these guys are probably worth the money - BB droids were previously used mostly as accessories.  You get one or two full-size figures with a BB (or two) before, so two for $10 is certainly reasonable.  Hasbro and Star Wars don't typically do a lot of bright colors, so it's a nice change of pace to see something like this - it's different, it's fun, and it seems right at home in your dioramas.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Target.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,734: October 8, 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