R2-D2 - ROTS - Basic (III 48)

R2-D2 accompanies Padmé to Mustafar as she tries to persuade Anakin to return to the side of good. The loyal astromech droid witnesses a tragedy that has monumental consequences for the galaxy.

If you have any doubts that Hasbro didn’t have complete access to all of the details in the plot for Revenge Of The Sith, look no further than the card back description to the electronic R2-D2 figure. Sadly, a very non-canon series of events are described, none of which happened as stated. R2-D2 didn’t accompany Padmé to Mustafar. C-3PO did (along with Obi-Wan Kenobi stowed away). R2-D2 arrived with Anakin Skywalker (technically Darth Vader at this point in the film). R2-D2, the one and only electronic basic figure in the Revenge Of The Sith line, is a very welcomed addition because it seems that both kids and collectors warmly receive any action figure of R2-D2 that lights up and makes sounds. Articulation obviously suffers with these types of figures. The wires inside prevent some parts from moving completely and we believe there are many collectors who don’t like to sacrifice this in lieu of bells and whistles. Still, it is absolutely a very good sculpt of our most favorite astromech droid, so it’s possible that collectors may just overlook some of the faults we’re addressing.

R2-D2 looks very clean and for the most part well-painted. The lines are very crisp and the panels that are painted blue look relatively perfect in our opinion. The eye port that lights up is inaccurate. That should be solid black and the smaller eye port below it should have the electronics, but this is something that Hasbro has no plans to fix, especially since this figure has been released multiple times. He’s basically the exact same sculpt as 2002’s SW [S - P1] R2-D2 (Coruscant Sentry) (‘02 #14), but for this release Hasbro gave him all-new sound effects (and obviously included less accessories). Limited with only six points of articulation (one of which we’re including is the button press for the electronics lights and sounds), R2-D2 lacks the most by having a dome that doesn’t rotate. What’s worse is that his dome is cocked to his right about 20 degrees and frozen in this position forever. We think this is a setback on any version of R2-D2. And once again, we’d be more inclined to day that the electronics don’t really make up the difference of this limitation.

We would really like to see Hasbro attack an all-new electronic version of R2-D2, making sure that they encapsulate every last accurate and authentic detail into the sculpt. Again, electronic figures are certainly welcomed, but this particular sculpt is getting outdated, despite the enhancement Hasbro made to it. We neglected to mention that this figure is a predecessor of the 1998 POTF2 [FF/TKC] R2-D2 Electronic F/X figure. So we’re talking about a figure that is beginning to age and becoming obsolete already. This doesn’t mean R2-D2 is a bad figure. The updates alone are reason enough to consider purchasing it from the Revenge Of The Sith line. But that also doesn’t mean we we’d like to see Hasbro update it again some day. The electronic R2-D2 action figure doesn’t really bring that much new to the table, but it goes without saying that it’s a figure that will bring some form of enjoyment to Star Wars fans. We’re just so very surprised that Hasbro didn’t dust off the 2004 VOTC Artoo-Detoo (R2-D2) (With Extension Arm) figure and somehow bring it into the line through the eyes of Episode III for the Revenge Of The Sith line. Maybe one day.