R2-D2 and the theory of Flight

Presenting the R2-D2 and the Super Battle Droid from the Star Wars 30th Anniversary Coin Collection. A few weeks ago a good friend of mine Ed Geronia posted the question "Why is it that R2-D2 does not fly in Episodes IV-VI?"

To the uninitiated, R2-D2 first took flight in Episode II in the Droid Assembly plants of Geonosis. R2-D2 then again in the hangar of General Greivous' flagship in Episode III where we find this actual scene where R2-D2 sprayed a pair of Super Battle Droids with fuel before igniting his Brooks Propulsion Booster Turbines and setting fire to the Super Battle Droids, destroying them in the process - though we only have one Super Battle Droid in the diorama.

R2-D2 was also depicted as flying in the Clone Wars -in fact Anakin Skywalker actually rode him (I know, weird.). And he is again seen flying this time in space in the Expanded Universe (Star Wars Legacy of the Force) where he saves Luke's Skywalker's Grandson Cade Skywalker from floating to his death in a sun.

I honestly don't recall him ever flying in the books, but I could be wrong.

Anyway, my theory as to why R2-D2 fails to fly again in Episode IV, V and VI is that 18 years of civil war does take a toll on society. Parts, material and consumables becomes scarce or re-prioritized. It probably was deemed unnecessary to provide R2-D2 with the fuel he needed to fly. This was further compounded by the fact that in Episode IV, R2-D2 was destroyed by Darth Vader while serving as Luke Skywalker's astromech droid in his Death Star trench run. The Rebel Alliance might not have had the parts to fully restore R2-D2 to his former glory - note that R2-D2 is not a "stock" R2 unit. The Royal Naboo Engineers were highly known for tinkering with their droids.

Ed's friend Adrian Arcega went to back up my theory further by citing that Star Wars Inside Magazine that said that Industrial Automations - the creators of R2-D2 only gave the droid a 20 year warranty - which explains why, when he was being loaded onto Luke Skywalker's X-Wing for the first time, he's referred to as "beat up" and that Luke might prefer a new one.

Now the diorama above actually features two - not one, two - Star Wars 30th Anniversary figures - that came with 30th Anniversary Collectible coins. R2-D2 was number 4 in the series, and the Super Battle Droid was number 8. They're part of my 1st batch of my Star 30th Anniversary Coin Collection.

The R2-D2 figure is a pretty standard R2-D2 model with the ability to lower a third leg by twisting his head around, allowing him to run on the dowels underneath.

Note that his Brooks Propulsion Booster Turbines do not fold back into his body. R2-D2 as an action figure can stand on his own. The Turbines attach to the "Flames" via simple mounting pegs:

But the real surprise in this duo is the Super Battle Droid! Save for the poor feet articulation and the fact that it's always so damn hard to make Star Wars Battle Droids of any kind stand up, his articulation is excellent! Waay above what I expected (I actually didn't know he had this kind of articulation till I shot him). The Super Battle Droid can actually kneel and twist his torso!

The Super Battle Droid's pretty bad ass - except for when he's on fire:

But the real joy is when R2-D2 and the Super Battle Droid are arm-in-arm with each other:

Truly one of the greater tandems to come out of the Star Wars toy machine. The Star Wars 30th Anniversary Revenge of the Sith R2-D2 with Collector Coin is still available on Amazon for US$ 4.49 (Roughly PhP 189 plus shipping). The Star Wars 30th Anniversary Revenge of the Sith Super Battle Droid with Collector Coin is available for - get this - US$ 0.88 (Yes, PhP 37 plus shipping - practically free). But I think the two of them together are priceless. 

Note: there is a small flaming piece that attaches to the leg of the Super Battle Droid that I forgot to place.