2017 Droid Factory Build-a-Protocol Droid Series

[indysolo007]

Hey guys, I used to post here a while back (when there were actually finds to report). Some of you were kind enough to pick me up Disney figures in fact and I wanted to try to be helpful in return. I passed this along to JTA earlier but thought I should Post here too.

The Clone Wars droid set is now live on the Disney Parks Merchandise App. I was able to call the Parks Merchandise hotline yesterday and get this set and r3d0. Below you'll see the phone number and skus (which made it easier to locate. Chopper was not in stock yet but some people are reporting he was in stock today as well as the 40th set with 3P0 and r2. One person reported that they would not let him buy r3d0 when he called. I had no trouble when I called though (unless they don't send it). I hope this info helps!

Disney merchandise hotline (877) 560-6477.

sku numbers

Clone Wars set: 400000639703
R3D0: 400000732862
40th Anniversary Pack 400000733913
Chopper 400000677927

[JediJman]

Hey Indy!  Nice to see you around these parts.  Thanks for posting the info on this stuff.

[indysolo007]

I feel like I've had a virtual collecting hiatus after the Togue One stuff dried up. These droids are making things exciting again!

[indysolo007]

I picked up a few more protocols from eBay. Black 3P0 protocol, silver Vendor droid and a silver cz4 droid (they used the RA7 droid legs but I got it for cheap).

[indysolo007]

This one looks great! I need to cut off my protocol addiction haha

[indysolo007]

My last eBay ordered droid (for now) showed up today. I got him for cheap due to the wrong legs (ra7 legs). The leg difference is negligible.

[Rob]

How much on average are you spending on these?  I'm tempted, but don't want to spend $500 on protocol droids to collect 'em all.

I'm probably going to be going down to Tampa in the next few months to visit my family and am wondering if it wouldn't just be worth driving over to Orlando to buy some in person.

[indysolo007]

So far I've paid:

C3p0/r2 set: $23.48 (mispriced on eBay)
Chopper: $21 shipped off eBay
clone wars set and r3d0: $39 off Disney Parks App
Blue Protocol 22.99 ebay
Silver Vendor droid: 22.73 eBay
Black protocol: 22.73 eBay
Silver CZ droid: 14.50 (due to the ra7 legs)

I'd rather pay a little more and have them in hand than wait for a price drop. I have a second tier that I want but will wait until prices are lowered some or someone I knows goes to the park.

[Pete_Fett]

I'm probably going to be going down to Tampa in the next few months to visit my family and am wondering if it wouldn't just be worth driving over to Orlando to buy some in person.

While it's a little over an hour drive from Tampa to Walt Disney World, if you're going to be that close then IMHO, that's way better than paying 200% mark-up for each droid.

Do your family get annual passes? If they do, have one tag along, you'll be able to get a 20% discount on all merchandise purchased at the parks. (or at Once Upon a Toy over at Disney Springs)

If the parts show up at Once Upon a Toy over at Disney Springs (which according to the Disney Parks folks I spoke with at SWCO, they will be), you won't even need to pay for admission to Hollywood Studios...

[Rob]

Yeah I grew up in Clearwater, and my parents still live there.  I try to avoid going back home, but am on tap to visit at some point this year. 

We expect the Protocol Droid parts to stick around awhile right?

Thanks for the tip on the 20%, I'm not sure if anyone in my family has passes, but I'll ask around before I go for sure.

[Pete_Fett]

We expect the Protocol Droid parts to stick around awhile right?

Yes, the folks from Disney Parks were very excited to be expanding out into protocol droids and it showed when they spoke during their panel at SWCO.

They indicated that they want to have a constant presence of both Astromech and Protocol droids.

My thinking is that they will get into a groove of new waves of parts every 2-3 years. We had parts in 2012, 2015 and now 2017. There have been straggler parts, like for example, some new heads were added on to the 2015 parts around the time that TFA came out, plus they have thrown the holiday edition hats into the mix from the 2015 & 2016 droids.

So if I were to hazard a guess - new parts will be coming in 2019 to coincide with the opening of the Star Wars lands at both Disney Land and Disney World.

Next year will be nothing but carded figures, only now instead of it being all astromechs, I think there will be carded protocol droids released for certain events - I don't see any reason why they wouldn't consider having protocol droid exclusives for May the 4th, D23, Not So Scary Halloween or Xmas in 2018. And of course, don't forget that BB-8 as a Build-a-Droid comes out this summer around the time of the D23 convention, so there's always a chance that different versions of the BB unit would come out as well - since they once did a Holo R2, since Holo BB-8 shows up in Star Tours, that's my vote for the 2nd BB unit release.

[indysolo007]

A board member on rebelscum was kind enough to pick this guy up for me:

[Nicklab]

A board member on rebelscum was kind enough to pick this guy up for me:

This one reminds me a little bit of AP-5.

[indysolo007]

That's kind of why I wanted it. But I realize AP-5 has rounder shoulders and the clone wars-like connected visor. But it adds some nice variety to the Death Star droids (I have that purple comic pack version too)

[Meesa_Mike]

I just got back from Disneyland and wanted to post this for those who are visiting Star Trader for the first time. First off, I had an amazing time building my droids!!! It was the first stop I made when the park opened. Star Trader is located right next to Space Mtn. and is pretty close to the park's gates. It is the only store in the park that carries the B.A.D.s. Downtown Disney does not have them in their large Disney retail store. But the C-3PO and R2 2PK were also available in a store selling Star Wars and Guardians of the Galaxy merch in the Downtown strip. I didn't see the other exclusives here.

The bin holding the pieces is kind of small. I walked right by it at first, but it is located in the back of the store and relatively in the middle. The bin has 4 building stations. 2 of them had the astromech pieces and the other 2 had the protocol pieces. I was lucky finding all the droid pieces. I was able to build the 8 protocols I wanted and the black and orange R6 astromech. I also easily found R-3DO, Chopper, the 2-pack 3-PO with R2, and the 4 pack Clone Wars Droids. They are all located on shelves close to the B.A.D. kiosk. Chopper was the only one that was very close to being sold out and was only at the cashiers.

I do recommend having some sort of blue print of what you want, because it is kind of over-whelming fishing through all the different arms, torsos and legs - making sure they are the right ones. Having another builder with you is also helpful. And as the time went on, the kiosk became really crowded.

The prices were:
2PK R2D2/C-3PO - 24.99
Chopper - 12.99
R-3PO - 12.99
BYOD - 2 for 21.95

Star Trader will also hold them safe in their store until the end of the day while you visit the rest of Disney. I really love these droids and highly recommend any collector to go to the park just for this experience. It was AWESOME!!!!!!