R2-SERIES ASTROMECH DROID Silver Dome with Green MarkingsStar Tours Droid Factory Customizable Figure
Item No.: No. ???
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Head, 2 legs, torso, central third leg, optional hat
Action Feature: Comes apart
Retail: $10-$12
Availability: 2012
Appearances: n/a
Bio: These figures do not have specific packaging or configurations. As such, we will be treating each dome as a unique "figure" as that part is the most plentiful. At this time there are 25 domes and while Hasbro sometimes seems to indicate they are not Hasbro product, they do have Hasbro copyright markings and as such we are classifying them under the Hasbro banner.
Image: Adam's photo hole.
Commentary: Effectively the same basic design as R2-A6 or R2-N3, Disney's Green R2-Series Astromech Droid may be paired with a green plastic body (pictured) or a white body with green markings. Anything else is an abomination.
The dome is the best build-a-droid dome of this style, as the Royal Starship Droids set's R2-N3 lacks the big red dot under the eye. (The red dot? Very important to me.) It adds a lot of character to the robot's face, which has a wonderful big black glossy eye surrounded by a nice rich green. As such, it isn't identical to your other green R2 units, particularly if you use this unique body with silver markings. It's wonderful. The silver is clean, plus a couple of panels on this dome's right-hand side are painted green while R2-A6's were left silver. Were it not for the option of the green plastic body I would still be delighted by the design, but the choice of a different canister makes it far more interesting.
What's more, he has a hat! You can pick any hat you would like, but this awful green Yoda cap is one of the most delightful things I've ever seen. It's based on a real hat sold in the 1980s to fans looking to advertise their chastity to the world around them. Droids, being chaste, simply look adorable wearing such a thing. The paint is clean, the logo is perfect, and remember: droids building droids is just perverse. You need unpaid non-human alien labor to do those kinds of jobs.
Collector's Notes: Arguably not essential, it is a nifty build form the hugely frustrating Disney Hollywood Studios-exclusive Droid Factory line. I adore the idea. I abhor the execution. Extra special thanks to Mike, Shannon, and what I assumed were a few terrified Disney Cast Members in helping me to assemble my set of the first 25. More are supposedly en route for 2013. I sincerely hope they either a) get cancelled or b) are bought by some generous soul out there who I can pay back in full (and a little something for their trouble) because it's expensive to go to Orlando when you live in not Orlando.
--Adam Pawlus
Day 2,012: February 28, 2013
You hope they cancel the 2013 Disney Build A Droids? I didn't even know they were confirmed. How many are there going to be?
ReplyDeletep.s. I think this green dome goes better on the white body with green highlights. The green body is kind of an olive green, a different shade from that on the dome.
Only two more 2012 Disney Build A Droids to review in Figure of the Day.