Sunday, January 27, 2013

Equal Opportunity Astromech: The Power Of The Jedi R2-Q5 Is Just The Black R2-D2!

The Good: Fair sculpt, Fair detailing, Decent articulation, Neat accessory, Fair collectible value
The Bad: No sounds (some later models did have them!)
The Basics: The Power Of The Jedi R2-Q5 is a neat, obscure astromech droid that fleshes out one’s Star Wars toy droid collection well.


If R2-Q5 is not droid you know by name, it does not mean you are no longer an Alpha Star Wars geek. Instead, it just means you probably have a life or do not collect the Star Wars droid toys all that religiously. That said, there is a surprising amount of R2-Q5 merchandise on the market, though to be fair, most of it is just recolored R2-D2 merchandise. After all, R2-Q5 is just a black astromech droid with orange highlights.

For those unfamiliar with R2-Q5, it is the droid, which appeared exclusively in the background in A New Hope (reviewed here!). R2-Q5 is an Imperial astromech droid seen on the Death Star.

The 4" R2-Q5 figure was part of the Power Of The Jedi toy line and was one of the improved astromech droid sculpts, which allowed it to fit in very well with the newer figures . . . even now!

Basics

R2-Q5 is a barrel-shaped black and orange droid, seen working for the Empire in the middle of A New Hope. The figure stands 2 1/4" tall to the top of its glossy black-domed head. R2-Q5 is molded to have the surface details of the various compartments and light fixtures that the droid is seen with in the movie. The Power Of The Jedi R2-Q5 is a clean version of R2-Q5, which makes sense given how this droid is seen only on a nice clean Imperial military facility. The figure is made entirely of hard plastic.

This toy is a good sculpt, looking exactly like the droid, with its central foot down! The dome of R2-Q5 is made in a glossy plastic that looks very clean and all appropriate details on R2-Q5 are painted an appropriate orange, gold or sliver-gray, depending on the console/port. This R2-Q5 looks good even stacked up against the newer sculpts of Astromech droids.

Accessories

R2-Q5, Imperial Droid, comes with a hologram of the Death Star. The red plastic sphere is detailed to look like the Imperial planet destroyer (or, more accurately, the holographic projection of it!). The translucent red sphere comes atop a clear plastic stand which does not tip easily. It is almost the same height as the droid, which enhances the concept, that the accessory is a hologram projected from the astromech droid. Honestly, there is little one can do with an astromech droid, so the fact that R2-Q5 comes with any accessory is pretty cool!

As a Power Of The Jedi figure, R2-Q5 comes with a Jedi Force File, an eight page mini-magazine that focuses on the droid, its enemies and allies, and play scenarios for it!

Playability

The four inch toy line was designed for play and R2-Q5 is good in that regard, at least for the subject. R2-Q5 is exceptionally well-balanced. R2-Q5 lacks significant articulation in general, but the figure is accurate for the droid from the film! When the figure is posed flatfooted, it is solid as far as the balance goes, especially with the front leg resting against a flat surface! It comes with only three points of articulation, all of which are simple swivel joints. R2-Q5 has joints at the shoulders and head. This robot’s head appropriately turns three hundred sixty degrees. In addition, the barrel rotates on the “shoulder” joints for posing it in different ways. The little droid may be posed in more outlandish poses on playsets because of the holes in the soles of its feet. They may be stuck in pegs on various playsets.

Collectibility

R2-Q5 is part of the Power Of The Jedi four-inch series, a series of Star Wars action figures that was not incredibly common. R2-Q5 was sufficiently produced and has appreciated in value some. One suspects there is not a huge market for obscure Astromech droids and this is probably capped out at its collector’s price, but if one can find it on clearance or get a good deal on it, it is not a bad investment figure. It is, however, very unlikely to explode in value . . . ever.

Overview

R2-Q5 is a solid, worthwhile Astromech droid, though it is nothing truly extraordinary.

For other Star Wars droid figures, please check out my reviews of:
Power Of The Force R2-D2 with sensorscope
Original Trilogy Collection R2-D2 (Dagobah)
Discover The Force Destroyer Droid

8/10

For other toy reviews, please visit my Toy Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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