R2-D2 - SW [Y/AOTC] - Movie Heroes (MH05)

R2-D2 comes to the rescue on Geonosis. The plucky Astromech Droid saves Padmé Amidala in the Droid factory just as hot liquid metal is about to be poured on her. Then Artoo repairs Protocol Droid C-3PO, whose head is accidentally placed on the body of a Battle Droid during a mishap in the factory.

There are many sculpts that Hasbro has made a small mint on but one in particular, 2005’s ROTS R2-D2 (III 48) figure, may rank somewhere within the top ten. It was one of the most popular figures when it was released in 2005 (even though it was based off of older figures before it) and was repackaged countless times in the Saga Legends line year after year. It’s a figure with a decent sculpt, fun electronics (lights and a plethora of sound effects) and was made with the kids in mind first. It’s a figure that lacks in articulation, but Hasbro did manage to squeeze in five points of articulation without compromising the electronics in any way. So for us the figure is a reigning champ when it comes to uniquely approached R2-D2 action figures. What’s more interesting perhaps is this figure’s history. As briefly mentioned, this version of R2-D2 wasn’t even all-new back in 2005. If you’re a longtime collector, you’re aware that Hasbro reworked the 1998 POTF2 Power F/X R2-D2 figure and made it specific to Episode III. (They did the same thing with 2002’s SW [S - P1] R2-D2 (Coruscant Sentry) (’02 #14) figure. But with some new paint, additionally new electronics and all-new sound effects, Hasbro cleverly made something old once again new.

They then added this figure to the Star Wars [The Phantom Menace 3D] line as part of the inaugural wave of Movie Heroes figures. Now, it’s been repackaged once again (looking identical to its 2012 release) for 2013’s Star Wars [Yoda/Attack Of The Clones] line look which sadly is an international exclusive only. The good news is that the figure is essentially identical to the 2012 version, albeit it does come with a different date stamp now. Regardless, you probably have this figure more times that you wish you did anyhow. While we’re not fond of the Movie Heroes “greatest hits” line, we have to give credit where credit is due. And this is an ideal figure for new Star Wars fans, and it’s still a great figure for collectors. When R2-D2 was part of the Star Wars [The Phantom Menace 3D] line, Hasbro gave him an all-new paint job. That same revised paint job has been applied here and it’s easy to match the figure to multiple scenes in Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones, which is what this line of figures intends to do. The figure may not have the power cords on the feet like the newer and more updated models do and of course the wrong eye port has the light-up electronics (when it should be black), but this is a fun action figure nonetheless.

As you probably know by now, Hasbro has not only updated the paint job, they’ve also updated the sound effects too. No longer content with a single digit count, Hasbro has crammed over 30 individual “phrases” into this updated but repacked version of R2-D2. That is simply amazing by our account. We kept pressing his button over and over and it endlessly had one new bleep and blurt (or multiples) after another. Obviously with time comes better technology, but even collectors can still be impressed with the energy that Hasbro puts forth in some of their products and their logic for determining which ones will receive updates. You won’t be able to change the batteries when they die, but this figure should still provide hours of play to kids and collectors. Again, we’re not completely sold on the concept of the Movie Heroes basic figure line. We think it needs a complete refocus and a new approach and add better figures to the lineup. But the Star Wars [Yoda/Attack Of The Clones] line will be short lived. The 3D release of Episode II has been canceled and Hasbro will be moving forward with a new concept of figures anyway. It will be an interesting year for sure.