R5-A2 Wave 5 Build-A-Droid The Legacy Collection Basic Figures Wave 5
Item No.: Asst. 87535
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: n/a
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: n/a
Availability: January 2009
Appearances: Star Wars
Image: Adam Pawlus' back yard, which looks more like Yavin IV than intended.
Bio: R5-A2 was an abandoned astromech droid who roamed the streets of Mos Eisley on Tatooine. He was checked for the Death Star plans and received a memory wipe. (Stolen from Wookieepedia.)
Commentary: I always thought R5-A2 was a funny droid before I even knew his name. Why? Well, R5-D4, in the original Kenner line, was a lame robot that was basically "not R2-D2." If you wanted an astromech, you had two options, and R2-D2 was clearly superior despite being off-model and generally crappy. And this droid looked like R5-D4 left out in the sun. Kudos for Hasbro releasing such a potentially useless and oh so very orange robot, even if the fact that Hasbro made a toy of it is the most notable thing about this particular automaton.
The figure comes in four pieces-- the dome comes with a central leg, and each outer leg plus the body come separately with other figures (see below). There are no action features to speak of, aside from the ability to swap his parts out with other build-a-droid figures. While nothing to sneeze at, this figure is obviously made for a core group of collectors that will buy every droid Hasbro makes. Which, in turn, means they're going to choke down a whole mess of other figures. For a robot which appears in the desert and promptly disappears, it's nice to see Hasbro make it. Even if it's missing the dirt and sun-bleaching that would make sense for an aimless desert wanderer. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy it exists, but the one thing these droid parts are sorely missing is a dirty paint wipe. Which, I admit, sounds positively filthy.
To date this is the only R5 figure released in the build-a-droid format. The body and limb molds are shared with numerous other figures, though.
Collector's Notes: The figure's parts shipped only in three case mixes, dubbed "wave 5." Figures that may include R5-A2 parts include Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker (Sandstorm), Commander Faie, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke Skywalker (Stormtrooper), Han Solo (Stormtrooper), Dice Ibegon & Trinto Duaba, Wioslea, Pons Limbic, General Grievous, Jawa & WED droid, Spacetrooper, Felucia Star Corps Clone Trooper, Kashyyyk Trooper, SCUBA Clone Trooper, Quad Cannon Clone Trooper, EVO Trooper. Obviously, ask the seller which part(s) are included prior to purchase. While not essential, it is a striking little droid.
--Adam Pawlus
Day 1,088: August 14, 2009
I've always liked the R5s almost better than the R2s (even though in the movie, they were all R2 units). Maybe it's their faces, or the more interesting shape of their heads, or just the cool fact that in the Star Wars universe, R2-D2's cousins are everywhere. While some weathering might make him more true to the movie, we can imagine that the figure represents him in earlier, better days.
ReplyDeletelike myself into buying more figures we don't want. I should shoot myself for spending $40 for a phase 3 Dark Trooper on Ebay, except that it means I can take the $90 worth of Walmart repacks back to the store today.~~ Now if they'll just pony up that little green and white R2 that wanders on the screen for a millisecond before r5-a2,...
ReplyDeleteI needed this figure for my landspeeder interrogation diorama. At least it was partitioned into other cool New Hope figures I wanted. The whole "Build a droid" concept is a shameless grab at suckers
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