STAR WARS Black Series R2-D2

Presenting R2-D2 from the Star Wars Black Series.

Now note that this is supposed to be a part of Hasbro's new 6 inch series, but R2-D2 is still to scale so he's about 3 inches tall instead.

Even his box is smaller.

So you might feel that you're being cheated out of buying a smaller figure in what it supposed to be a 6" series of toys.... and it does feel a bit that way... but can you imagine what you would be scrambling for if they decide one day to release an X-Wing fighter big enough for the Black Series Luke Skywalker to sit in?

I guarantee you'll be scrambling then for a Black Series R2-D2.

And if they never bother....well.... R2-D2 makes for a nice paperweight.



The Black Series R2-D2's blister card simply reads "R2-D2 is a plucky and loyal astromech droid that takes part in many of the momentous events in the Galaxy. Beep BEYoop whyEET bip beep beep!" Have no idea what that last line means or why they even bothered with it. I don't speak droid.


But he is indeed the astromech droid that does partake in almost all momentous moments in the Star Wars Universe: From the escape from Naboo; the Battle of Geonosis; to the Anakin's "betrayal" by Obi-Wan Kenobi; to the death of Obi-Wan Kenobi; the destruction of the 1st and 2nd Death Stars; of to the Battle of Hoth; the re-birth of the Emperor and the fall of Luke Skywalker to the Darkside, to the founding of the Jedi Academy; the 4 year Yuuzhan Vong conflict; the 2nd Galactic Civil war and the rise of Darth Caedus (Jacen Solo); to, eventually, Cade Skywalker.

Now the Black Series R2-D2 comes with what you see here:



A pair of detachable Brooks Propulsion Turbines - that we discussed in R2-D2 and the Theory of Flight - an extendable (plug-in) Periscope; an extendable (Plug-in) Sensor, and; Luke Skywalker's lightsaber from Return of the Jedi.

Which is paltry in comparison to the list of items that R2-D2 carries based upon his wookieepedia entry.


What's to like about the Star Wars Black Series R2-D2?

Well the detailing I suppose. It really loos like all his hatches are about to pop open - and two of them actually do.

So where do we start? Ahhhhh.... The Black Series R2-D2 is a very classic R2 toy design. Twist his head around and he lowers his middle, third leg that will allow you to roll him away on small dowels beneath his feet. Open the two hatches on his chest and you can pop out his Universal Computer Interface arm on one side, and a handy Mechanical Grasper on the other.

Pop the panels off the top of his head and you can display both of his extendable (plug-in) sensors and Luke's lightsaber.

Here's the Black Series R2-D2 with his sensors extended and Skywalker's lightsaber in place:

Pop the panels out from the sides of the Black Series R2-D2's legs and you can attach the Brooks Propulsion Boosters:

And here's the Black Series R2-D2 with everything extended:

What's NOT to like about the Star Wars Black Series R2-D2?

Well.... sadly it's a problem of "that's it?" I spent so much money buying a Black Series R2-D2 that does nothing that we haven't seen before from a regular sized R2-D2?

Hell the regular 3.5" R2-D2s have light & sound effects nowadays, the Black Series R2-D2 doesn't (ANY LIGHTING EFFECTS YOU SEE ARE FROM PHOTOSHOP). When you think about it, there is even room to add more novelties and gadgets such as the arc-welder that we see in the R2-D2 bar.

And I'm unfortunately not a fan of the twisting head to lower the third wheel because it hampers his pose-ability when the wheel is lowered (Turning it in one direction raises the wheel so you're stuck with a limited range).

And what's with the pop-off panels? Something this big should not have required pop-off panels, the panels should already be part of the extending accessories. I'm really afraid I'm going to misplace parts when it comes to the Black Series R2-D2.

So seriously the only really good reason to have him is because he looks great next to the Black Series Luke Skywalker 

This particular Star Wars Black Series Luke Skywalker was purchased from Toy Kingdom for PhP 1,699.75 (Roughly US$ 38.83). He's available on Amazon for US$ 24.85 (Roughly PhP 1,093.40 plus shipping).

You might want to buy something else.