Taking a break from the mainstream line I’m going to take a look at a Revenge of the Sith product that snuck out of nowhere and as soon as it was seen by collectors in the U.S. there was an instantaneous demand for import. What could spark this kind of reaction? Who’d have thought an R2-D2 figure would!?
Care of StarWarsShop.com, fans in the U.S. were fortunate enough to get an import of the remote controlled R2-D2 figure once exclusive only to Asia. The packaging even retains the Japanese text, but the figure really didn’t cost as much as one would’ve perhaps thought. Given the prices some SWS.com or Target Exclusives as of late where we’re paying $15+ for a single rehashed figure, this import Remote Controlled R2 is a breath of fresh air to collectors, even at about $25 shipped.
So how does “RC-D2” (Yes, I made that up all by myself) stack up against other R2’s in the modern line? Hell, does he even fit into the modern line? Well, I’m pleased to say this is a toy I haven’t stopped playing with since I opened it, and it proves that the Asian Toy Market is just so much fun and more innovative than our own at times. 
You gotta love this kinda stuff folks! Read on to see what I mean, and yeah I’ll touch on what could’ve been better on this figure too because there’s always a nit to pick.
PROS
-Sculpt: Without a doubt this R2-D2 is on-par with any of the modern line, and it easily blends with other figures. Stand a C-3PO with him and he’s great looking just sitting there before you tear up the tile with him, knocking Stormtroopers and whiney protocol droids (or farmboys) all over the place. The various panels and lines sculpted into R2’s cylindrical body are all there, some raised and some lowered, and they intricately show the myriad doors and gadgets hidden around the character.
I was actually surprised to see something that is to have so much functionality to it actually retain a lot of aesthetic appeal as well. RC-D2 is really comparable to the best astromech sculpts Hasbro’s ever done and you can’t ask for a whole lot more.
Some small flaws are there that I think are generally necessary to accept, but I’ll make mention of them here briefly anyway. Like for instance the “hoses” on the feet aren’t separate pieces like on the most recent astromech sculpts such as the VOTC R2-D2. Also, there’s a number of screws in the back of the figure for stability and access to the electronics inside should a problem arise. That’s a necessity though, and I believe the feet hoses are as the feet have working wheels that are fairly large set into them for stability and all that, so it’s safe to assume the hoses sticking in there would maybe inhibit the rolling of the droid.
Just comparing my RC-D2 to VOTC R2, I noticed that on the dome there’s a LOT more detail on the RC figure, which just really impresses me and makes me feel a lot better about the price. For instance the eyeport alone looks to have a lot more detail sculpted into it on the RC-D2 and its set off from the panel below it whereas it just blends in on the VOTC figure. The two halves of the domes seem to even fit together better on the RC-D2 figure rather than the VOTC R2. You got more than just a cheap looking astromech that can move with this figure. You get a nice looking figure to boot, and that’s a major plus.
-Paint Aps/Deco: The paint applications aren’t the most elaborate but there are a number of different colors, and the application is well done all around with little-to-no paint bleeding or straying. It is what it should be then. Short of some “carbon scoring” or general “damage” to him, there’s really not a lot more you could’ve done anyway since R2 is what he is as far as his “look”.
The blues on the figure are vibrant and bright, but appear to be the right shade. The VOTC R2 I’m comparing him with seems to have a darker hue to its blue pieces and they look too dark to me actually, so I give the nod to RC-D2 as being more accurate in color I think. All the blues on the legs, dome, and body seem to be well applied and have no bleeding or straying from their “lines” that I can tell. The paint’s a LITTLE thin in some places showing the white underneath but it’s very minor and only noticeable to me upon close inspection.
The silver dome, while not painted, is cast in the accurate “aluminum” color rather than a chromed dome, which I much prefer the aluminum look since it is what R2-D2 sported in the film. The chrome look is fun for nostalgia, but that’s what vintage collecting is for in my book, not modern stuff, so I like the accuracy there.
Hasbro made sure to paint the little silver highlights all over RC-D2 like he should have. Silver vents on the center of his torso, silver bits all along his legs, and all the paint is applied well without straying or bleeding again. It looks good and adds color to the figure. I really wasn’t expecting all the little paint details like that. They even made sure to get the red circle beneath R2’s “eye” and one on the back of the dome too. Lots of paint detail, so this is definitely something worth displaying with the rest of the collection.
-Glass Eye Port: R2’s “eye”, or whatever it is, on his dome is actually a glass. It’s an LED too, but I’m assuming it’s the receiver for the remote control. It lights up red when it’s in motion, which is just great, and when he’s not rolling the clear eye looks really ultra realistic. Something about it just looks especially detailed to me and I had to just cite this as a positive.
It’s a small thing but I just love this figure so much this had to get a nod from me.
-Availability & Distribution: StarWarsShop.com didn’t make these tough to find at all. The pre-order went up on the RC-D2 figures and they were easy to get in and get your order set up. They shipped well too, arriving fairly quickly via Fed-Ex with no fuss or muss that I’ve seen, and they were packed very nicely too (though the packaging is very sturdy on its own it seems). I like it when a good toy is easy to find, so I applaud the efforts of SWS.com to bring this overseas exclusive to our doorsteps as they did. This is what a fan club store is all about I think!
-Packaging: The box this item comes packed in is very nice. While it would’ve been nice to have a U.S. version with U.S. writing that I could understand, I’m not complaining about it in the slightest. The box is an oval shaped translucent orange package that was easy to cut open with a razorblade and retain for storage of the figure.
The packaging is a lot more than most anything we get here in the U.S. It’s even better than the VOTC I think. The figure and saber controller are held and displayed well inside, and look really nice. The orange plastic matches up well to the cardboard Revenge of the Sith Lava inserts inside, and the menacing Vader mask behind R2. The packaging makes the price that much more “worth it” in my eyes and it’s some of the only packaging for a toy I’m going to be saving to display the figure in.
-The Remote Control: I’m not sure how to list this thing. I guess it’s an accessory, but not really since it doesn’t “go” with the figure really. So I’m just going to take a little time to look at this piece since it’s integral to the figure but not something I’d really display with it in a diorama or whatnot.
Basically the remote is just a great little detailed piece. It’s not the classic “Remote Control” that comes with some toys (a box with some control sticks on it), but rather it’s a small lightsaber with an “on-off” switch, and 2 buttons to control turning/spinning and forward movement of the RC-D2 figure. It’s simple to operate, easy to hold and maneuver the droid with your fingers… I guess you’d say it’s ergonomic? Even for adult hands it is easy to manipulate the buttons, so that’s a major plus for this little item I figure.
The control even features a fair bit of detail in its own sculpt and it looks a lot like Luke or Anakin’s lightsaber. It’s a nice little extra that the control is appealing to look at and matches with the figure if you’ve just got him sitting up on your shelf. It’s easy to see it and know that the saber has some ability to control the figure obviously, so that’s a neat bonus that everything matches.
The control also is the “sound effects” feature of the RC-D2 figure. When the buttons are pressed to move R2 around, sounds emit from the base of the controller. That’s a nice little added realism to R2’s trek across your kitchen floor I think.
-Remote Controlled Action Feature: This is the meat and potatoes portion of this figure, easily. The whole reason everyone wanted this thing was because it’s a tiny remote controlled R2-D2, and the feature does not disappoint.
The R2 moves on smooth fabrics (table cloth), tiles, flat surfaces (wood), etc. Also the dome swivels back and forth and the eye lights up as he’s in motion. That’s a whole lot going on, but does it work well? So far I’ve not had any major complaints about the features at all. The eye’s particularly neat because it sits colorless, and I’ve come to the conclusion it’s also the receiver for the remote control, but when the RC-D2 is on the move his eye is lit up all read. It’s really quite fun.
The droid rolls smoothly forward, and he spins like he’s whipping donuts in the Wal-Mart Parking Lot after midnight! I’ve even gotten him to topple because of the speed, which I think is amusing. I didn’t catch him doing that one in the movies either, but it’s still funny to watch.
The front wheel is the only one that reacts to the commands from the controller. The foot spins 90 degrees to turn the droid, and rotates back fixed forward for moving straight ahead. The concept is rather ingenious when you see it in action, and works very smoothly. The front wheel (the wheel on the center leg) is rubbery so it gets some traction and moves the RC-D2 figure right along the floor at a good pace.
I’ve had very few complaints I can find with the figure’s RC features so far. I’ve noticed though that sometimes the function (forward or turning) you’re doing will sometimes stick and he’ll keep rolling a couple inches after you’ve let off the button, or continue spinning. Nothing major and he’s not rolling along out of control.
My RC-D2 could use a line-up at the local garage too as he pulls to the left a little bit when he’s trying to roll along straight. He almost reminds me of old footage of ILM guys trying to get R2-D2 to roll down the halls of the Tantive IV but then he falls over. Even the ILM droid pulled to the left it seemed so can I really complain that my $25 mini R2 does too?
Like I noted, it does fall over if you spin it around a whole bunch, but I think that’s more a positive than a negative. It’s easy to topple over if it hits something though, or hits a bump in some tile the wrong way. It’s really fun and challenging to try maneuvering the figure though, and I wish they came in different frequencies so you could have astromech races. Hell I’d even customize one as a racer droid. I know that concept would go over well at my local collector meetings.
So in a nutshell, the Remote Control feature for this figure is every reason in the world to like it, much less the other positives. It rolls well, it turns, it’s got sound and lights, and it wasn’t really all that expensive ($25-ish shipped) considering it’s an imported electronic RC 3.75” figure. That’s really, a lot of figure crammed into $25 when you think about it. I’m actually going to compare it to these little mini-RC cars out there just to see what kind of prices they pull in since that’s about as close a comparison as you can find.
CONS
-Accessories: Of course there’s some negatives to every figure but there’s very few with this one and none of them have been a major impact on my opinion overall. Still they need to be mentioned, and the first one is a generally complete lack of accessories.
RC-D2 comes with the remote control, but nothing more than that. I’m not really sure what you could pack in with him though. Perhaps some orange cones for maneuvering around? Maybe a drink tray accessory would’ve been neat to snap to his shoulders since that’s one of the scenes I remember him rolling around in most. I’d have liked something but it’s not a huge deal. I’m going to try adapting a Bar2-D2 tray to him I think, just to spice him up a bit.
-Articulation: I’m not sure what they could’ve done, though I think some articulation was possible with this figure really. I don’t know what good articulation would’ve been though, ultimately, as the center leg must be fixed for the RC feature so ultimately I’m ok with no articulation on this figure.
Yes, for the first (and likely last) time I am saying that articulation lacking is an ok thing. I mean, hey, we have how many R2’s now so it’s not like they haven’t perfected the droid really so I’m ok with this R2 being fixed.
The only moving parts on the figure don’t move on their own (only via the feature, and don’t try moving them as they feel fragile enough they’d snap). The dome swivels during play from left to right via a motor, but it can’t be moved by hand. The same goes for the center leg which moves to turn the droid and make him spin, but it doesn’t move by hand, just during use of the RC feature.
Still it’s impossible to really complain about the figure’s lack of articulation, even if it could’ve maybe had shoulder joints and some pivoting ankles. It’s minor flaws since the main point of this toy is to make it roll around the floor and just have fun with it that way, and I’m more than happy with that since I’ve got Bar2-D2 to serve as a perfectly good basic R2 figure.
OVERALL
So there you have it, a review of a figure outside the mainstream line. You can’t help but love StarWarsShop.com for importing this little beauty to us too. If they’d focus on this level of quality for their exclusives instead of poor excuses for repaints from Hasbro, I think they’d have a lot of backing from the fans as a “fan dedicated” place, but that’s just my opinion. I applaud them for hearing a million fanboys cry out in terror at the thought of trying to get this, then suddenly silencing them by coming through on importing RC-D2 themselves.
I’m honestly considering getting a 2nd of these droids just because I’d like a custom painted astromech to roll around a Mos Eisley Diorama that isn’t R2-D2. Yes I’d shell out another $25.00 for another one of these, and yes I’d take it apart and paint it. God I need help with this addiction!
The R2-D2 Remote Controlled Figure is without a doubt one of the most fun things to come out of all of the 2005 products we’ve seen, and that’s up against some stiff figure competition too when you think about it. I simply can’t stop chasing my cat Tarkin around with this figure! He has already knocked him over a couple times in anger. Maybe it’s Tarkin’s payback for the Death Star? I don’t know.
If you have not ordered this, you’re wasting time you shouldn’t be. Get an order in and tell them JediDefender.com sent you, because this is one figure you have to have. This is probably the last innovative R2-D2 figure we’ll ever see, and boy he went out on a good note!
