R2-D2 - Elite Series

A resourceful astromech droid, R2-D2 served Padme Amidala, Anakin Skywalker and Luke Skywalker in turn, showing great bravery in rescuing his masters and their friends from many perils. A skilled starship mechanic and fighter pilot's assistant, he formed an unlikely but enduring friendship with the fussy protocol droid C-3PO.

Well, we just discovered what the highlight of the Elite Series line is to date: R2-D2. The Elite Series R2-D2 awes. It inspires. And it makes us appreciate a line we were just about to dismiss. Disney’s strongpoint is droids apparently, and this is evidenced by the Elite Series R2-D2. By itself it is a dream. But sadly next to C-3PO as well as the other figures in the Elite Series line, R2-D2 is indeed too big (width and length). Although this is amplified by some inconsistencies in how the other characters were designed, there is no getting around that the Elite Series R2-D2 is just too dang large. Take for instance C-3PO’s midsection not being long enough (the wired midsection specifically). Perhaps if that was increased a bit, then something like this would diminish the disparity that exists between the two droids. But again, no matter how you slice it, R2-D2 is just “too gigantic” by comparison. However, that doesn’t make us adore him as a standalone figure.

This die cast metal sculpt is beautiful, the best Disney has done yet, and the paint operations are even nicer. They’re clean and evenly applied when they need to be, but then they’re also sloppy thanks to the final washes the figure has been given to make it look like R2-D2 has actually done something in space. He just looks amazing. And one enhancement that the Elite Series R2-D2 received that nearly every other figure DID NOT receive almost makes us frustrated. Those “holes” that are left from screwing the two halves of these figures together that have aesthetically destroyed almost all of these figures in the past has now been rectified with R2-D2. Disney actually “spackled” the back of R2-D2 with plugs that we have been wanting to see applied to all of the others. And it looks divine. Sure, you know something is “covered up” but the hole-covering allows your eyes to flow across the figures body almost uninterrupted which makes us very, very happy collectors. In short, the back of R2-D2 looks very pleasing to they eye.

The articulation of the Elite Series R2-D2 is also simple, but exactly what this figure needs. The dome swivels. Both legs swivel. And all three feet are attached with hinge-joints. But the awesome feature here is that R2-D2’s third leg is spring-loaded and can stow inside of the figure’s body so you can have R2-D2 stand on two legs alone. The third leg remains completely hidden until you press it in again which will eject it out for a three leg pose. Again, this is unexpected but makes us totally happy collectors. Like all Elite Series figures, R2-D2 comes with a black Star Wars display base and the figure looks beautiful stand on top of it. Between the excellent sculpt and stunning paint operations, R2-D2 is easily the greatest figure in the Elite Series line. We’re impressed beyond measure and that isn’t an easy task since we really had resistance to this line from the start. This figure is so incredible that we hope that Disney decides to make other astromech droids based on this sculpt. That would probably be the smartest thing they can do.