R2-D2 - TVC - Basic (VC25)

Celebrate the legendary Star Wars saga that changed the universe forever! This collection brings to life the incredible story of good versus evil that captured our imagination and took us to a galaxy far, far away. Iconic Star Wars heroes and villains are captured with incredible detail and premium features to commemorate each epic tale in the Star Wars saga. May the Force be with you!

"I am a Jedi, like my father before me." RETURN OF THE JEDI was a powerful conclusion to this epic saga of good versus evil. The whole world knows this film by its current title, which evokes the glorious return of the hero. But during filming, the movie was slated to be called REVENGE OF THE JEDI. Merchandise was developed based on this title, including Kenner action figure packaging. Then, late in production, there was a dramatic change. Shortly before the film was released, George Lucas decided the title should be RETURN OF THE JEDI. The final title carries a more appropriate emotional tone because, of course, a Jedi would not seek revenge.

To celebrate this monumental film and unique history of its title, we have created special packages of favorite characters from the movie, featuring the REVENGE OF THE JEDI title. May the Force be with you!

Hasbro made quite an impressive wave of figures based on Return Of The Jedi in The Vintage Collection. Only one figure could be categorized as a “first-time offering” in the sense that Hasbro never made this figure in the modern line previously. That designation goes to the glorious Wooof character. In contrast, Hasbro revisited the rest of the characters in the wave with new attempts at figures seen before in one way or another. Many were released very early in Hasbro’s long-running neo-classic collection of action figures. Hasbro first released Admiral Ackbar, Gamorrean Guard, Wicket, a Rebel Commando, and Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight Outfit) (or some forms of them) in The Power Of The Force “2” collection. But the first “BAR2-D2” figure didn’t see release until 2004 in the Star Wars “Saga” [Phase III] lineup. But after half a decade, Hasbro thought it was high time to revisit this iteration of R2-D2, and what they’ve done is create a fair to incredible new interpretation in a premium action figure line. Despite this, some aspects of it will likely confuse collectors. The first glaring detail to notice is that Hasbro sculpted R2-D2 in a smaller scale. We don’t care if this is or isn’t a more accurate or proper scale for our favorite astromech droid; we still think its stature is too short. We are more concerned with Hasbro introducing a new size this late into the action figure collecting game. We have a plethora of already fantastic astromech droids designed from the favorite 2005 ROTS R4-G9 (4 of 4) Sneak Preview mold, the 2005 TSC Early Bird Figures R2-D2 mold, and even some of the recent Build A Droid molds. Therefore, placing a smaller R2 unit next to these skews the line terribly.

Some say the disparity in size is very noticeable, while others cannot tell that much of a difference. We don’t want to be in this predicament, or have to make any decisions about that. Hasbro cleverly based R2-D2 on two consecutive scenes in Return Of The Jedi: the first when the droid is serving drinks on Jabba’s sail barge, and the second when R2 is on the deck of The Khetanna, ready to launch the hilt of Luke’s lightsaber to the skiff for Luke to save the day. R2-D2 comes with numerous accessories. It includes the dispensing attachment that affixes to the dome, the “serving tray or bar” that sits on the legs and rests on the dome, seven detachable drinking glasses, the aforementioned Luke’s lightsaber hilt, and a sensorscope. We give the figure a lot of credit for packing so much punch into a more petite figure, but the features aren’t that impressive. For example, you need to use the sensorscope or the hilt as a “tool” to push down the third leg. It’s the only way that the leg releases. And once either piece is in place, it essentially serves as a lock and prevents R2’s dome from rotating. In our assessment, the third leg either doesn’t come down low enough or is at an awkward angle because the droid can’t attain practical poses with all three legs on the ground. We’re incredibly picky about this, so it could just be our issue with how it looks, but something doesn’t look right. And while there have been other R2 units made in the line that are similar in size to this new R2, it is noticeably shorter than other figures from the modern era. Hasbro recycled nothing here. R2-D2 is all-new in every way, so we must give credit to Hasbro.

We completely dislike the front panel that opens up. We broke a sweat trying to get our large fingers to open the hatch, and once we managed to do so, we were disappointed by what was inside. Hasbro included a silver arm attachment that is essentially useless, but that is our opinion. There are also some other aesthetic issues with the figures. For example, Hasbro has yet to perfect the way the two halves of the figure parts come together. This brand-new R2-D2 features the same dome seam as many other astromechs, and the pieces in some samples don’t line up very well. Additionally, Hasbro added wheels, two wheels on each foot, similar to The Clone Wars R2-D2 figure, but omitted wheels on the third leg. This lack, of course, creates an unnecessary imbalance. So the figure has some issues that we find unfortunate. But if you’re a collector who displays figures, this R2-D2 figure should make you happy. We suppose we expected the world when Hasbro made an all-new astromech in 2010, and we presume we let our anticipation overtake our sanity. However, we still believe that the 2005 ROTS R4-G9 (4 of 4) Sneak Preview mold is superior. Of course, if Hasbro is looking to add scene-specific features to astromech droids, then we will have to sacrifice some of the standard features they include. Some features need to be removed to make room for newer ones. But this is the definitive “sail barge” R2-D2 for now. Hasbro claims this isn’t the modern update of 1985’s POTF Artoo-Detoo (R2-D2) with pop-up Lightsaber figure, but we vehemently disagree. It’s close. We hope that when they update that figure, they bring back the coins and use The Power Of The Force packaging, too!