R2-D2 - TSC - Basic (SAGA 010)

When you have a character like R2-D2 that essentially looks the same in every single Star Wars film, it may become cloudy to many in the basic figure line to start mixing or confusing them up with each other. For a droid that looks pretty much identical in every Star Wars film, the differences can become muddled. Besides the designation Hasbro puts on the packaging of the figure sourcing the droid, thankfully they also make that relatively simple for us via the way they decorate the figure or the accessories they include. It’s really a gift how well they are able to replicate these scene specific details. And it takes a lot to make things like a droid that looks the same new and fresh. They look for unique things that make the character scene-specific to a certain film. Whether it’s side rockets that protrude from the legs or the saws and other utility arms that come from the core of the body, R2-D2 does have very specific looks from film to film. This keeps the line invigorated and fresh. Instead of rehashing the line with the same figure year after year (with some figures this is unavoidable), we’ll certainly take these different versions of our favorite astromech with no complaints. For The Saga Collection, it was time for Hasbro to release a version of R2-D2 based on his appearance at Echo Base, based on the Battle Of Hoth, but R2 ended up looking more specific to his appearance on Dagobah. We’ll get to this more in a moment. Despite the small confusion, it still ended up becoming one of the most definitive versions of the droid yet.

We all know how awesome the 2004 VOTC Artoo-Detoo (R2-D2) (With Extension Arm) was. Because of how awesome that figure is, it makes complete sense why Hasbro would use this figure as a base to make other newer versions of him. As a result, The Saga Collection R2-D2 (SAGA 010) figure is a repaint of the 2004 figure. This time around, Hasbro has eliminated the extra panel and accessories and glue the remaining panel in place. The rotating dome still activates the up and down motion of the sensorscope. And then they gave the droid an incredibly realistic dirty paint job. This, in our opinion, is one of the best versions of R2-D2 with a sensorscope that Hasbro has released. In fact, many collectors consider this figure to be the modern update to 1982’s Artoo-Detoo (R2-D2) (With Sensorscope). While it’s a very likeable figure, it is certainly not without its flaws. For example, the dome is still shiny sterling silver and the large front eye utilizes the light-port technology (which we hope will disappear one day altogether) and is blue. (This large eye should be black.) But despite these errors, this R2-D2 still looks gorgeous. If you paid attention carefully to the film, Echo Base in general must have been a very dirty place. All of the Echo Base commanders and soldiers had filthy uniforms. So it would make sense that some of this dirt would transfer onto the droids. And as far as Hasbro is concerned, it does. But we think that despite the packaging’s notation that this is an Echo Base version of R2-D2, it may be more accurate to say it’s based on his appearance on Dagobah. But it’s more than the paint job as proof that we claim this!

Even though this R2-D2 figure has a stunning paint job that could represent his time at Echo Base and/or on Dagobah, it’s the included accessories which really solve this mystery. And we think they are some of the figure’s best attributes. Through The Saga Collection, Hasbro knew how to pad the basic figures very well. Sometimes the accessories were just as exciting as the figures. R2-D2 comes with repainted versions of the accessories that originally came with 2002’s Star Wars "Saga" Luke Skywalker’s X-wing Fighter (with R2-D2 figure). The original accessories were painted in a metallic blue-gray mixed color. But for 2006, Hasbro has gotten creative with the paint jobs and now they are a dark gray and the lantern has the center sections painted yellow to simulate the light it casts. And what is so nice about getting these accessories? Well, as we’ve alluded to already, R2-D2 easily doubles as a Dagobah-specific incarnation of the character. With an action figure stand and a holographic miniature figure, R2-D2 is truly a well-packed figure. If Hasbro can rerelease this concept again (a few years down the road or so) and fix some of its problems, we will truly have an incredible Episode V specific version of R2-D2. The great thing however is that until that does happen, this version of R2-D2 will fit in well and be a great version of R2-D2 for your collection. We really do adore this R2-D2 figure. You may be more critical of it, but we think it looks just perfect! And it doesn't mean that better won't come in the future. But we appreciate the efforts Hasbro made to make it different.