Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,517: R2-F1P (Droid Factory Line Look)

R2-F1P Bright, Orange, Panely
Droid Factory Solo: A Star Wars Story Boxed Set
Item No.:   No. 63488
Manufacturer: Disney
Number: n/a
Includes: 3 more droid figures
Action Feature: Breaks down into 5 separate pieces
Retail: $29.99
Availability: April 2018
Appearances: Solo: A Star Wars Story

Bio: All different types of Astromech droids populate the Star Wars galaxy.  Each droid is different and has their own unique personality and colors.   These four new Astromech droids are featured in Solo: A Star Wars Story.   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:  While there are numerous painted details that show R2-F1P is more than just R2-D2 with orange panels, to the naked eye, it looks like R2-D2 with orange panels - or R3-A2 with an opaque dome.  The kind of fans with every droid to date will no doubt shrug at a white droid with a silver dome and orange panels, but it might be of interest - newer fans will probably find a lot to like.  Orange droids are in short supply outside the Disney range, so the white body with numerous orange panels on the front and back could be exciting.  The arm orange doesn't quite match that on the ankles or body, making it an oddly mismatched droid for an otherwise clean robot.

The base body is the same Disney has offered us for years, complete with wheels in the feet and a lack of wires to boot.   The left foot has a silver box painted, making it an asymmetrical but subtle detail on a body that's pretty paint-by-numbers otherwise.   The eye has a silver box around it, which certainly makes it a little more distinctive but perhaps not enough to make it a must-buy, can't-miss, slam-dunk of a figure.  It does seem to be true to the reference photos, but as of my writing this I have yet to purchase my copy of Solo for home viewing - so I can't find it in the movie, and there's no good reference outside the packaging.  Seeing the contrasting oranges and silver rods painted on the removable central leg shows me that Disney is willing to make a set like this look as good as possible when compared to the available reference material - but that doesn't automatically grant it significance.

I don't even know where it comes form in the movies - the look could be something from Corellia or Kessel, or somewhere else entirely.  I would love the packaging to highlight something as simple as an affiliation next time, mostly because I'm sort of beyond the stage where merely getting a robot in new colors is exciting and compelling - the first hundred droids is enough to do that to you.   I've been more admiring of Disney's weirdo designer robots to match candy or other real-world things, because at least those have some sort of meaning and oddly do get retconned into the greater galaxy at large.

I find the set itself worth the $30, particularly if you're not overwhelmed in droids.  I assume we'll stop seeing these if Episode IX is the last "new" movie for a while, as Lucasfilm has been uncharacteristically silent about its plans for new movies after 2019.  Maybe instead we'll get some Indiana Jones figure sets.  These have been interesting sets at really good prices - so I would love to see the format adapted to serve us more than just astromechs.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from eBay.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,517: September 18, 2018