Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,713: Gonk Droid (Droid Factory Line Look)

COLOR-CHANGING GONK DROID The Droid Factory
Star Wars Disney Droid Depot
Item No.: No. ???
Manufacturer: Disney
Number: n/a
Includes: Power droid, some basins, and no instructions
Action Feature: Top of chassis pops off
Retail: $49.99
Availability: ca. July 2019
Appearances: n/a

Bio: All different types of droids populate the galaxy.  Each droid is different and has their own unique personality and colors.  Perform diagnostics and change the color of the droids!  (Taken from the figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!




Commentary:  A simple color-change redeco that scratches a Kenner itch, this Color-Changing Gonk Droid is going to cost you $50. Or more, because thanks COVID-19.   Always pays on time.  Always fits the bill.  He comes well-prepared.  Cube top, squared-off. Eight corners, 90 degree angles.   Flat top, stares straight ahead.  Stock parts, blockhead.

This mold is a lot like the previous Disney mold, which is a lot like the previous Hasbro mold.   It lacks the wacky eyes of the new 2020 Hasbro version, but has the legs that swing forward and sturdy feet.  He stands, you can pull off the dome and reveal what I assume must be some sort of printer parts or something.  It looks neat, and there's a hole in the top of his dustbin head that allows you to use him on a hook in the included playset.  Or in the sandcrawler.  Or even lets him wear a hat.  It's a hole that keeps on giving.

When heated, it's a pretty blah grey.  There are some nice textures thanks to the color-change paint, which makes it blue enough that it may serve as a stand-in for the 1979 Kenner blue Power Droid that you'll never, ever get from Hasbro at this rate.  I mean, maybe you will, but The Power of the Force '95 kicked off 25 years ago this month and Hasbro/Kenner still haven't completely updated the original line.  I wouldn't hold your breath.

For this reason, I would recommend this figure. It has a little playset thing with tiny fans and places to put water which you can pretend is paint.   It's interesting, but maybe it's just inflation because this seems pricey.  Kenner's vintage Droid Factory was $9.99 in the old Sears catalog around 1980, and that sucker came with parts to build tons of figures.  With inflation, it would be about $30 - and this is $20 more than that, with less stuff in the box.  "Clear box for water" isn't exactly an improvement, but there's a lot more paint and some electronics too.  Well, you decide, I guess.  $50 is a video game and this playset and figure seem more like a souvenir for kids or a collector's thing.  And if you want an old Kenner Power Droid, they're still pretty worthless - which is $20 by modern standards.

Collector's Notes: Mine came from my pal Shannon who picked it up at Disneyland.  Thanks Shannon!

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,713: August 4, 2020

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,701: BB Unit (Color-Changing Droids, Droid Factory Line Look)

BB Unit Color-Changing Droids
Star Wars Disney Droid Depot
Item No.: No. ???
Manufacturer: Disney
Number: n/a
Includes: 4 droids - RA-7 Protocol Droid, BB Unit, R2 Astromech, C1 Astromech
Action Feature: Pops apart, has weighted core, changes from black to red
Retail: $39.99
Availability: ca. July 2019
Appearances: n/a

Bio: All different types of droids populate the galaxy.  Each droid is different and has their own unique personality and colors.  These droids have the special ability to change color!  (Taken from the figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary:  It's different!  This BB Unit is basically BB-9E with a twist.  When chilled, it looks a lot like the BB-9E figure Disney sold in a 4-pack in 2017 - you got that one, right?  You didn't forget it existed and you bought it already, right?  Anyway, it has the same swivel neck, splittable ball, and an interior weighted ball cast in black with blue "lights" painted on it.

As a cold figure in black, it looks fine.  However, it's summer, so all you have to do is look at this BB unit and it changes to its warm colors - and they're great!  The figure changed to a nice red, and you can even see it peek out from behind the silver vents.  This is one of the better color-changes on these figures, with no weird fuzzy paint or colors that you just don't buy.  It's a clean transition with solid colors, so kudos to team Disney for engineering this mold well, and then for following up to paint it right too.

Disney really knocked this one out of the park, with its wobbly weighted based and perfect color change.  Get it if you can find it - it's fun.  The only thing that surprises me more than how much I like it is that we didn't see this kind of paint used on Onell Design figures first.   Also you'll need to get this one online.

 

Collector's Notes: I got mine from my pal Shannon. Thanks Shannon!  There are 2 droid 4-packs and 1 droid playset with a Gonk Droid at this time.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,701: June 23, 2020

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,691: RA-7 Protocol Droid (Color-Changing Droids, Droid Factory Line Look)

RA-7 PROTOCOL DROID Color-Changing Droids
Star Wars Disney Droid Depot
Item No.: No. ???
Manufacturer: Disney
Number: n/a
Includes: 4 droids - RA-7 Protocol Droid, BB Unit, R2 Astromech, C1 Astromech
Action Feature: Pops apart, changes from black to blue
Retail: $39.99
Availability: ca. July 2019
Appearances: n/a

Bio: All different types of Astromech droids populate the galaxy.  Each droid is different and has their own unique personality and colors.  These droids have the special ability to change color!  (Taken from the figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary:  I like to be impressed.  With the RA-7 Protocol Droid
I'm not too impressed.  The same great super-articulated build-a-droid construction is here.  You may have bought a few droids just like this one from the Droid Factory bins, 20 points of articulation but no color-change deco features.   The sculpting is still just as good as it was when the same basic molds hit in 2008 from Hasbro, the paint applications in the belly wires and the big silver eyes are sharp as ever, but there's a weird problem with the color change paint.

This is the first one of these color-changers I've found to be a little disappointing.  The cold color - black - is fine.  You look at it, and it's a perfectly nice shade of black with a mild texture on it for the color-change coating.   When heated, the blue looks frosty and worn - it's kind of gross.  I've seen this weird fuzz grow on some 1970s vintage figures, and it's a lot like that.  Only it's not mold, it's the paint.   For whatever reason the torso comes across just fine, but the head and limbs all have this odd white frost on them.

While these sets are mostly great, I would not recommend this specific figure as a shining example of how these things work well.  At best it's OK - for the 21st century I expect better out of my color-change paint.  At least it doesn't smell funky.  I've got some color-change indie toys that could melt the wallpaper off your kitchen.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from my pal Shannon. Thanks Shannon!  There are 2 droid 4-packs and 1 droid playset with a Gonk Droid at this time.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,691: May 19, 2020

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,690: R2 Astromech (Color-Changing Droids, Droid Factory Line Look)

R2 ASTROMECH Color-Changing Droids
Star Wars Disney Droid Depot
Item No.: No. ???
Manufacturer: Disney
Number: n/a
Includes: 4 droids - RA-7 Protocol Droid, BB Unit, R2 Astromech, C1 Astromech
Action Feature: Pops apart, changes from white to blue
Retail: $39.99
Availability: ca. July 2019
Appearances: n/a

Bio: All different types of Astromech droids populate the galaxy.  Each droid is different and has their own unique personality and colors.  These droids have the special ability to change color!  (Taken from the figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary:  Time to get back to the color-change droids!  This R2 Astromech is, clearly, R2-D2.  Or is close enough.   You've seen this mold oh so many times, and there are no obvious tooling changes here.  You've got the wheeled feet, the articulated dome and ankles, the swivel arms, and of course the removable third leg.   The proportions are pretty consistent for this and almost every major droid since 2005, with the same advantages and shortcomings we've been getting from Disney since they produced their own droids.  The detail is similar to Hasbro's figures, but softer and you don't get the wires on the feet.   It's a downer, but I'm betting most fans won't miss it.  The fact that the dome is right on the money for most of us is going to be enough.

The core figure is great, but you're buying this one for the color-change paint.  With a body molded in white plastic, the figure is coated in a unique red pigment that either turns white or clear - I am not sure which - with heat.  Put the figure in the freezer for a pinkish red R2-D2, hold it in your hand for a plain white robot.  The color sticks quite nicely if you don't handle it, as it seems to require somewhat extreme temperatures to change.  Your hands or fridge should do the trick.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from my pal Shannon. Thanks Shannon!  There are 2 droid 4-packs and 1 droid playset with a Gonk Droid at this time.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,690: May 14, 2020

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,666: BB Unit (Color-Changing Droids, Droid Factory Line Look)

BB UNIT Color-Changing Droids
Star Wars Disney Droid Depot
Item No.: No. ???
Manufacturer: Disney
Number: n/a
Includes: 4 droids - CZ, 3PO, R4, BB
Action Feature: Pops apart, changes from white to blue
Retail: $39.99
Availability: ca. July 2019
Appearances: n/a

Bio: All different types of Astromech droids populate the galaxy.  Each droid is different and has their own unique personality and colors.  These droids have the special ability to change color!  (Taken from the figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary:  These sets are pretty fun.  The BB Unit doesn't take any cool narrative possibilities with its design, but you do get a basic BB-8 white droid that turns blue when chilled.  If you want basic BB-8, it's good - the blue color change is an added bonus.

This is the same mold Disney has been using for a few years. The neck is articulated, and there's a weighted ball inside two sphere halves for the body.  You can take him apart and get four pieces which can be mixed and matched with your other Disney-made BB units.   I can't say it's overwhelmingly thrilling - but it's understandable.   The blue BB unit looks like something you could put in the background of a diorama, or throw in an X-Wing.  

If you don't have any toy BB-8 droids, this is one of the better ones because you get a basic version that can change color. It does something - most figures don't do a whole heck of a lot.  It has the hole on the head for hats or claws, and it can wobble around.  It's a good set if you're interested in such things, and I think you should be.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from my pal Shannon. Thanks Shannon!  There are 2 droid 4-packs and 1 droid playset with a Gonk Droid at this time.  "Warm" colors on the droids are their movie-like state.  "Cold" colors tend to be a lot stranger.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,666: February 20, 2020