Disney Exclusive Build-A-Droid Factory

[Pete_Fett]

I spent some time tonight looking over the colors of the droids from Disney and comparing them to the previously issued Astromech B-A-Ds...

Surprisingly the only body that appears to be identical to anything we've gotten from Hasbro to date - is the R2 Trunk in white w/blue highlights - and that matches pretty closely with the R2-D2 recently issued in the Royal Starship Droids DTF pack. The white w/blue legs though are a lighter color blue then the dark blue used for R2 in the Royal Droids set.

The White w/Green pieces of R2-N3 from that same pack are a darker forest green, compared to the lighter color green of the Disney white w/green pieces.

And lastly from the Royal Starship Droids set - the all red body R2 is in a darker/deeper red color than the all red body pieces that are part of the Disney BAD set. Just like the Orange in the Disney is more of a Yellowish-Orange, the red in the Disney set is more of a Orangeish-Red in color.

The White w/Red color we got from the Vintage R5-D4 is the same as the Red coloring of the White w/Red parts from the Disney BAD set, but the R5-D4 trunk also has blue highlights in addition to red ones, so the R2 Trunk in white w/Red highlights from the Disney set is unique in that regard.

The only other close call would be with the DTF figure G8-R3 - which is more of a "Yellow" color than the "Yellowish-Orange" color in the Disney pieces. The legs on G8-R3 also feature black highlights mixed in with the yellow ones, whereas the Disney legs are just White w/the same yellowish-orange.

Lastly, there was some comments based on the group shot of droids from the back of the packaging that the all blue trunk and legs were the same color blue as the Legacy R3 BAD. I'm happy to say that the blue trunk and legs in the Disney set are a much darker blue than the Legacy blue R3.

So while some of the parts have similar colors to previously issued BAD parts from Hasbro, they aren't exactly the same colors - so, for better or worse, borrowing a phrase from Adam Pawlus, the Disney parts are just new enough to make you mad... 

[Jesse James]

Thanks for the review Pete, it's the most in-depth perspective so far...  I (we) really appreciate your personal experience with all this.

[Phrubruh]

Great review Pete! Did the build a droid replace the build a lightsaber display?

[Pete_Fett]

Great review Pete! Did the build a droid replace the build a lightsaber display?

No it's still there - in the Tatooine Traders, the Build-a-Lightsaber display is on your left right as you enter the store.

Conversely if you're coming from the Star Tours exit, you'll come down the ramp and if you hang a right the Build-a-Droid station will be directly in front of you and if you go around that station to the right, the Build-a-Lightsaber display will be on your right, before you exit the store.

I hope that makes sense...

[JACKOFTRADZE]

thanks Pete for the time you took to share the info. Just looking at your picutres gives me an early idea of what I need to hunt for. I like some of the combos alot some look like droids we already have which tells me I may not want every single part.

At some point a master picture/combo list is really needed for this line.

[CHEWIE]

That was a great review, well done Pete!

I can't imagine the headache I might feel trying to track all the different droids to be made, if I was there, I'd probably make a handful of droids, and then slam a beer for each one.

[Pete_Fett]

At some point a master picture/combo list is really needed for this line.

If I have the time this weekend - I'll try my hand at starting such a resource.

Based on the Curto part list, I have everything except for the Black w/Silver right leg, 10 domes and the four additional "funny" hats. So that's 56 parts out of 71 that I can photograph and put up somewhere.

I can't imagine the headache I might feel trying to track all the different droids to be made, if I was there, I'd probably make a handful of droids, and then slam a beer for each one.

Hmmm, hadn't thought of that, although, I would definitely be totally blitzed if I did that for each of the droids I built... LOL

[Qui-Gon Jim]

Great reporting Pete!

Someone just HAS to hook this dude up with at least that right leg he's missing for his dedication!

[Jeff]

So that's 56 parts out of 71 that I can photograph and put up somewhere.

You've still got my e-mail addy - if you take the pictures, we'd be glad to host/post an archive of close-ups of the different parts.

[Pete_Fett]

You've still got my e-mail addy - if you take the pictures, we'd be glad to host/post an archive of close-ups of the different parts.

Definitely - it does look like I did come up short the R3 clear dome w/red highlights - someone who had droids built on Friday was able to get that dome.

The really strange thing is that the domes that came in on Sunday did not include that dome at all... 

[Hobbie]

I was interested in your comments about the different tones of the red, blue, and green parts.  Any chance you might be able to do a side-by-side with the previous R2-R9, R3-M3, etc?

[Pete_Fett]

I was interested in your comments about the different tones of the red, blue, and green parts.  Any chance you might be able to do a side-by-side with the previous R2-R9, R3-M3, etc?

I took a couple quick shots just now to demonstrate a couple of questions I have seen in various places regarding the color variances. I have to dig out my R3-M3 from my Imperial display case, but I had handy R5-D4 from my Tatooine display and the droids from the Royal Starship Droids box set (since they were all still on my desk)...

So first up: "Can you make an R5-D4?" Well sort-of. If it matters to you that R5-D4 actually has blue highlights, then, technically the answer is "no"...



As you can see in the pic above, the White w/Red R5 droid (on the right) I built at Disney is ONLY White, Red with a few hints of Silver. The R5-D4 (on the left) we got in the Vintage line last year also has deep-blue highlights so that he is more screen accurate with the droid from the movie.

Next up - I mentioned specifically the shade of green from R2-N3 (left) vs. White w/Green R2 pieces at Disney (right) ...



As you can see the green used for R2-N3 is a darker green than the green of the Disney pieces. The Green from the EP1 12" R2-A6 is somewhere in between these two figures, so you could, if you were so inclined, make the droid on the right and name him for your packaging "R2-A6" and call it a day...

Lastly, let's look at R2-R9 vs. the All-Red body parts offered at the Disney Build-a-Droid experience... R2-R9 is on the left and the All-Red Droid from Disney is on the left...





As you can see R2-R9 is cast in a much darker red colored plastic than the Disney parts. In fact, as I mentioned in another post, the "Red" color at Disney is more like an Orange-Red, with the "Yellow" color of their parts being more like an "Orange-Yellow". I took the side shot to show how where highlight colors are (or are not) present on the Hasbro part is not necessarily where they put highlight colors on the Disney part - focus specifically on the lower-part of the leg near the foot and you'll see what I mean...

Depending on your point of view, this is the nice thing about the Disney parts, they are mostly different colors from what we've gotten before.

I apologize for the quality of the pictures, I took them with my phone. I'll dig out the digital camera later this week and see if I can take better shots.

[P-Siddy]

So, being that the torso is BAD, I wonder what the price would be if someone were to build a monster droid (with four arms)?  Would it be more, or would it be the same if the person skipped out on a middle leg and hat?

[Darth_Anton]

Thanks for the comparison pictures Pete! Seeing the differences in some of the shading helps me prioritize what I want. I can put those on the back burner while focusing on ones with more unique paint schemes.

[Phrubruh]

So, being that the torso is BAD, I wonder what the price would be if someone were to build a monster droid (with four arms)?  Would it be more, or would it be the same if the person skipped out on a middle leg and hat?

My guess is if a kid made a droid with four arms, middle leg and hat, Disney is going to let him do it. It is about the experience and magic of making something at the Magic Kingdom. Disney isn't going to quival over fifty cents of plastic because a kid was creative.