2-1B Surgical Droid 30th Anniversary Collection Basic Figures
Item No.: Asst. 87500 No. 87546
Number: #0806
Includes: Stand
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $6.99
Availability: Early 2008
Appearances: Revenge of the Sith
Image: Adam Pawlus' toy shelves.
Bio: Palpatine takes the gravely wounded Darth Vader to Coruscant. A team of surgical droids, including a 2-1B series droid, uses diagnostic and surgical equipment to treat Vader's injuries, attach mechanical limbs, and encase him in the black armored suit that he'll wear the rest of his life. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)
Commentary: While droids are, in theory, popular it seems that 2-1B really isn't. Sure, the model of droid surgeon was used to repair Luke Skywalker's severed hand and was instrumental in the creation of Darth Vader, but ultimately, Darth Vader's prosthetics expert isn't as exciting as, say, his personal army of troopers. That isn't to say our friend here isn't a good figure-- far from it. While shorter than previous releases, he's pretty good overall. He has knee and elbow joints, plus ball elbows. These are firsts for this great figure, and while his coloring is more subdued than his 1997 and 1981 ancestors, he's still pretty distinctive. For example, his poking tool thing is his arm, rather than an accessory. He has ball-jointed ankles. Oh, and the texture is pretty good-- although really no better than the original. As medical droids go, this is a fine one, but given that the Kenner releases are practically worthless it stands to reason you shouldn't pay a lot for this one. There's a lot of personality here, and he's instrumental in any "birth of Darth Vader" scenes you may choose to recreate with toys, but there's not a whole lot else you can do here.
Collector's Notes: A (so far) one-timer, this figure came and went in a hurry at the top of 2008. No doubt intentionally, as the figure's brisk sales freed up room for some future shipments of new (and old) figures which weren't quite as hot.
--Adam Pawlus
Day 864: October 6, 2008
I agree that this figure's value will probably only go down as the years go by but man I still love it. It's one of those figures like the Firespeeder Pilot, Tion Medon, CZ-4 or the Tantive Antilles that will always be one of my favorite figures even if ebay says I shouldn't think so. I wish they'd release a version in the future though that had a light up mid-section!
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