R2-D2 - TBS [P1] - Basic (#09)

This brave, loyal droid accompanies Anakin Skywalker on missions that take them from Naboo to Geonosis.

Is Hasbro cost-containing or just being lazy by re-releasing a clean repaint of an older figure to make it new again? As people who know the importance of Hasbro amortizing expenses of their sculpts to help contain the exuberant costs associated with making an action figure in this day and age, we still find it a little unsettling that they did the bare necessities for R2-D2…. and nothing else. Keep in mind that The Black Series R2-D2 isn’t a bad sculpt at all. After all, Hasbro took 2007’s TAC R2-D2 (30 04) and gave it a clean paint job and there’s nothing wrong with that. But it’s “over” clean as they missed a few importance deco applications. The horizontal lines at the bottom left of his body have been sadly left unpainted. And we noticed a few other portions that need small revisions as well. The missing paint operations are definitely a setback and will leave you wanting more than what’s been provided. At the same rate, Hasbro interestingly made an enhancement to the original 2007 figure by painting his center “eye” solid black, originally transparent blue on the 2007 version, and making the “eye port” opaque so that it doesn’t catch any light to illuminate it (not that it would anyway since the “eye” is painted black as well now).

The Black Series R2-D2 is meant to recreate his appearance from Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones where he flies around inside of the Geonosis droid factory using his rocket boosters. The rocket booster accessories have been included for this release thankfully, but just like the 2007 TAC figure, Hasbro didn’t include a second set of “unlit” jets so that you can pose R2-D2 without him being in a flying position. We find this very disappointing and if this is indeed a collector-focused line, Hasbro has to find ways to give some extra value for the higher prices these action figures are commanding, especially when extra parts to complete a version of R2-D2 in non-flying mode are required. Also, not that it’s needed in this particular case, but the original flames that served as an environmental display stand for the 30 (77-07) version of R2-D2 have not been included here either. There were definitely too many shortcuts taken with this version of R2-D2. We are absolutely happy about the corrected eye port, but the other issues tend to take center stage with how we have been able to receive this action figure. We are particularly irritated about another longstanding issue that has yet to be corrected and it has now become unacceptable at this stage of the collecting game, so let’s talk about that.

Originally based on the 2005 ROTS R4-G9 Sneak Preview (4 of 4) figure, the third foot on the center leg has once again been installed backwards. It has been a long-running issue with this action figure for years. Hasbro used to be inconsistent about how these feet get fastened to the sculpt, but now it seems they’re all added backwards now. This is absolutely infuriating at this point and we don’t know why it has been impossible to remedy this annoying issue. This incorrect installation of the third leg affects how flatly you can get the droid’s feet on the “ground” or any display surface. This particular release is very stubborn and we had great difficulty in achieving a remotely believable “three feet on the ground” pose demonstrating how it should appear. We’ve griped a lot about this version of R2-D2, but we feel the admonition towards it is warranted. If you’re an R2-D2 lover, this is another version of him under your belt. But if you’re looking for a quality action figure, this one is not it. We even noticed that the tooling updates made to make the 2007 version new at the time have become dull and not as crisp as they were at their original release. So there is something to be said about reusing an old sculpt in modern lines. The six years between the 2007 TAC figure and the 2013 The Black Series figure are evident in the final production figures and have taken their toll on the sculpt a bit. Sadly, this may not be the droid you’re looking for….