Artoo-Detoo (R2-D2) - TVC - Basic (Exclusive)

A DROID designed for mechanical rpair and data storage. He uses his collection of tools to get out of tight situations.

Wow. 2010’s TVC R2-D2 (VC25) figure is painfully out of date. One of the first “The Power Of The Force” modern replacements in The Vintage Collection, look at 1985’s POTF Artoo-Detoo (R2-D2) with pop-up Lightsaber, and you’ll see. Collectors warmly embraced the figure for a spell, but now the design is obsolete, and the tooling is overworn to the point that collectors refer to it as a useless action figure. The gimmick no longer functions as it should. The third leg doesn’t support the figure if your life depended on it. And the lack of the “pop-up” hilt accessory ruins what magic the figure has left. Artoo-Detoo (R2-D2) also has a scale too small. You already know that the 2010 designs of See-Threepio (C-3PO) (VC06) and R2-D2 (VC25) were “one-offs.” This detail was confirmed in an interview Jedi Temple Archives had with their creator (check it out HERE). So, it’s time to put this tooling to bed forever and high time to design all-new figures on a better scale with the rest of the figures in the lineup. Not only is Artoo-Detoo (R2-D2) too small, but it’s boringly painted. Hasbro didn’t do anything to bring this figure to life, and nothing is exciting about its presentation. The R2-D2 figure from 2007’s TAC Luke Skywalker/R2-D2 (No. 06) Comic Packs set has received more love than this figure.

As we’ve mentioned, Artoo-Detoo (R2-D2) is obsolete, and it’s time to break its molds. Hasbro should never use this mold to produce the character again. The third leg is unusable and doesn’t support the weight of the figure. It’s essentially useless. You get a tiny bit of support when the figure is posed, rolling on all three feet, but you’ll become frustrated as the third foot starts making its way up the droids’ body cavity. It isn’t delightful. For reasons unknown, Hasbro decided only to include the periscope accessory. If the original 1985 Droids Artoo-Detoo (R2-D2) figure is based on 1985’s POTF Artoo-Detoo (R2-D2) with pop-up Lightsaber, then why didn’t they include the hilt of the original 2010 TVC R2-D2 (VC25) figure and include it here. It makes us so mad. We also noticed that the periscope functionality has started to deteriorate as well. It doesn’t stand up straight in the droid’s dome all that well anymore. The tooling is no longer up to the same quality as over a decade ago. The paint operations on Artoo-Detoo (R2-D2) are fair. But there is nothing special to note here at all. Artoo-Detoo (R2-D2) from the Droids cartoon series is wonderfully animated and appears to have more color than this action figure, so we’re disappointed that Hasbro didn’t look beyond the obvious to give this figure the best paint operations possible.

Then collectors have to contend with the price. Do you believe this thing is $15.99? What are we paying $15.99 for here? The tooling has paid for itself many times over, and there is no way anyone can tell us the coin is that expensive. You’d think it’s real gold or something. What does save this figure from certain doom is the packaging. Just look at it. Is there anything more glorious in this awful world we live in today? Hasbro faithfully replicated the classic artwork from 1985 with a few changes and enhanced the graphics making it look better than it ever has. What a magnificent time to add three carded Droids characters into The Vintage Collection. We only hope that more characters are on the way and that Hasbro delves into the Ewoks line next. They already have a bunch of action figures they can repack into the new Ewoks graphics before working on new characters like the Duloks. Overall, we’re happy to see See-Threepio (C-3PO), Artoo-Detoo (R2-D2), and Boba Fett added to Droids cards in The Vintage Collection. They all sport the awful Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary, but we suppose having the logo ruin the packaging is better than not having the packaging. Suppose they could only figure out a cost-effective way to give us all-new tooling for the droids. That’s what we genuinely need next.