The Good: Excellent coloring detail, Great sculpt, Cool accessory, Very cool light and sound function, Good articulation
The Bad: Head does not turn
The Basic: So close to perfect, the Original Trilogy Collection R2-D2 figure is one of the variant figures of R2-D2 that still stacks up today!
I do not, in any way, hate R2-D2. As far as merchandising for Star Wars goes, however, R2-D2 is a tough figure to improve upon once you’ve gotten it right. Unlike C-3PO who evolved many times over the course of the Star Wars Saga, R2-D2 was pretty much the same throughout, albeit with some interesting accessories or abilities that were not always evident. It did not surprise me to discover that I had only reviewed the Power Of The Force Freeze Frame R2-D2 (reviewed here!) before now. I liked that R2-D2 for its added accessories and abilities. The only other R2-D2 I seem to still have in my collection is the Original Trilogy Collection R2-D2. This is R2-D2 as the droid appeared on Dagobah.
For those unfamiliar with the R2-D2 as he appeared on Dagobah, when Luke Skywalker landed on the swamp planet in the middle of The Empire Strikes Back (reviewed here!), R2-D2 falls out of Luke’s X-Wing Fighter. After heading toward land, he is eaten by a swamp creature and violently regurgitated, ending up exceptionally muddy.
The 4" R2-D2 figure is pretty impressive in both its muddy detailing and its light and sound effect.
Basics
The R2-D2 action figure is a decent sculpting of the familiar droid from the Star Wars Saga. Here, he is cast in a familiar fashion, but with an LED for his “eye” and then painted to look like he has been tossed through the mud on Dagobah. The figure stands 2 7/16" tall and has no special molded features to make him seem at all special. The figure is made of hard plastic for the main barrel and soft plastic for the legs and feet. The two different types of plastic may be why the whites underneath the mud do not quite match from barrel to legs.
This toy is an amazing sculpt, looking exactly like the little droid, R2-D2. R2-D2 is well-detailed in his coloring detail, with every nook and cranny molded on and then painted an appropriate blue or silver-gray. The figure’s coloring for the main droid is perfectly appropriate and Hasbro was very attentive to the detailing around all his little ports on the droid’s front and sides. The entire figure is then slathered in brown paint to look like he is completely splattered by Dagobah mud. The figure looks very cool as a result.
Accessories
R2-D2 is realistically outfitted for a droid stuck on Dagobah: he comes with only his stand! The Original Trilogy Collection figures came with stands, including the Dagobah R2-D2. This stand, however, is a three inch long by two and one half inch wide brown patch that looks like swamp ground. The stand includes the log Yoda sat on and R2-D2 stood next to and is textured to look like ground! As well, there is a peg, which fits the hole in either of R2-D2's feet!
Playability
The four inch toy line was designed for play and R2-D2 is as good as one might expect in that regard. The figure is generally well-articulated and has excellent balance when off his stand. This R2-D2 figure comes with only four points of articulation, but Hasbro makes good use of them! He has joints at the “shoulders,” and ankles. Like most Star Wars figures from this time period, these are all just simple swivel joints.
This is a great figure for posing or for play. As well, it does have decent balance on or off his stand.
The key play selling point of this R2-D2 figure is its light and sound function. Pressing the front panel – depending on how long you press it down – yields one of two sounds. This R2-D2 screams, just like the droid did in The Empire Strikes Back! This R2-D2 also does random R2 chatter and the eye light – which is a simple red LED – lights up. Both of these sound effects are very cool and the figure is powered by 3 1.5V A76 watch batteries. They are very easily changed by unscrewing the back panel and replacing them. I had minimal play time with my R2-D2 when I first picked it up, so the batteries in mine still work!
Collectibility
R2-D2 is part of the 2004 Original Trilogy Collection four-inch series, a series of Star Wars action figures that was not very common at all, but largely recast figures that had been previously released by Kenner. Hasbro sought to improve the old figures by having a greater attention to detail, coloring and accessory detail and proportion. As such, this R2-D2 is a distinct improvement as far as balance, detailing and accessories from the earlier R2-D2. Released as Original Trilogy Collection (2004) figure #04, this figure is a good idea for those who want cool alternate versions of the main characters.
Overview
The Original Trilogy Collection Dagobah R2-D2 is a great alternate R2-D2 figure from the usual clean version of the droid. It remains one of the figures from the Original Trilogy Collection worth picking up!
For reviews of other 2004 Original Trilogy Collection figures, please visit my reviews of:
01 Luke Skywalker (Dagobah)
02 Yoda
03 Spirit Obi-Wan
018 Bespin Princess Leia
019 Cloud Car Pilot
020 Lobot
9/10
For other toy reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!
© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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