Thursday, September 30, 2010

A Very Basic R2 Unit, R2-X2 Still Has One Surprise In Store For Toy Enthusiasts!



The Good: Good sculpt, Good articulation, Good playability.
The Bad: Price seems high for such a small figure
The Basics: Painfully average, R2-X2 is a standard R2 unit for the new Legacy Collection of "Star Wars" figures.


On a recent trip home from Michigan with my wife, I was in a Star Wars toy buying mood. I had a little bit of extra cash from my job, we had had a great time traveling and most of the major chains of stores seemed to have been discounting the Star Wars toys from the Legacy Collection with the Droid Factory parts. This was especially exciting for me as this was a series of figures I had largely neglected getting. I had not been terribly impressed with some of the recent Legacy Collection figures, like the recast Jawa (click here for my review of that!). As well, I specifically avoided a number of the new The Empire Strikes Back figures because on the back of many of their cards were pictures of R2-X2 and I figured it must be a hard-to-find droid which would limit the ability to complete the one droid (HK-50). So, when we stepped into an Ohio store and found several R2-X2s on the pegs near others from that wave of Legacy Collection, at discounted prices, I knew it was my time to get into that series!

For those unfamiliar with R2-X2, this is not a surprise at all. R2-X2 is not a character, it was a background droid seen for a moment at the end of A New Hope (click here for my review of the film!). R2-X2 is an R2 unit (like the heroic R2-D2) that is green and white instead of blue and white and it was loaded into an X-wing fighter for the climactic Death Star assault in A New Hope.

Yes, they're up to doing background droids. Still, Hasbro does just enough to make this diminutive droid worth buying.

Basics

The R2-X2 figure is well-detailed, which is to be expected as it is the same mold as the Legacy Collection R2-D2 figure. The little droid stands 2 1/2" tall as an action figure, which made me feel there should have been more than the one figure in the pack! R2-X2 was released in 2009 as part of Hasbro's Legacy Collection with the Droid Factory bonus. The droid is cast in fairly soft plastic for the legs, hard plastic for the barrel of the droid.

This toy is a fairly impressive sculpt; for a character that was seen ridiculously briefly, this looks just like the picture on the package! The head is good and it features all of the appropriate rings and panels of an R2 unit. R2-X2 is cast in solid dark green and it looks distinctly like the briefly-seen droid. It features detailing on the legs including the molded wires or hoses on the feet which represent an extraordinary attention to detail for such an action figure.

Accessories

R2-X2 comes with no accessories that go with the actual figure.

This figure was part of the "Droid Factory" line of the Legacy Collection figures and the basic premise was that for every six figures you bought, you'd get a seventh which would be assembled from parts in each of the six toys in the collection. R2-X2 comes with right leg of the HK-50 droid. This is a skeletal humanoid droid (which reminds me of a Terminator!) and the leg is articulated at both the knee and the ankle!

Playability

The four inch toy line was designed for play and the R2-X2 is quite good in that regard. This Legacy Collection figure has impressive balance! Flatfooted, this is a very balanced toy and it is hard to tip the R2-X2 over. R2-X2 comes with only six points of articulation, but they are pretty much all one may expect from an R2 unit. There are joints at the ankles (all three), shoulders (if that's what one calls the top of an R2 unit's legs where they attach to the barrel) and head.

And for whatever improbable poses one might find where he will not remain standing, there are playsets with foot pegs which fit into the holes in either of the R2-X2's feet.

Rather neatly, R2-X2's middle leg ascends and descends by turning the droid's head around. To lower it fully, one twists the head clockwise until it clicks and to raise it one turns it counterclockwise. This is a neat playable aspect and, as far as I know, is unique to R2-X2. As well, the bottom of each of the feat has a tiny wheel in it, so the R2-X2 figure may roll along with realistic astromech droid realism!

Collectibility

R2-X2 is part of the 2009 Legacy Collection four-inch series, a series of Star Wars action figures that was not incredibly common and this is the only version of R2-X2 to date. Truthfully, though, most fans aren't looking for more R2 units and odds are this one sells as well as it does simply because people are looking for the additional droid part.

R2-X2 is BD52 in the Legacy Collection.

Overview

R2-X2 is a fine little figure for fans fleshing out the entire Star Wars universe, but it is not extraordinary. It does, however, represent about all one can do with an R2 droid figure.

For other Star Wars figures, please check out my reviews of:
Legacy Collection BD50 Wing Guard
J'Quille
Power Of The Force 12" Lando Calrissian

5/10

For other toy reviews, please check out my index page by clicking here!

© 2010 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.



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