Watto/R2-T0 - TAC - Droid Factory (5 of 6)

Watto sells used droids and mechanical parts in his shop on Tatooine. One of the droids for sale is R2-T0.

You will hear us express ad nauseum in this column that a good paint job will make or break a figure. But more importantly, while our position doesn't change, it is probably more true that you will not fully appreciate the upgraded paint job until you compare it against the first original release. Take for example Watto. The 1999 EI Watto action figure was a fine toy the time during Episode I line, but his sculpt was resurrected for the 2008 TAC Droid Factory line. While he is a figure that is not of the modern articulation standards (in fact, he has a paltry five points only), what Hasbro has done to make him more modern and up to date is nothing short of brilliant and makes him a very exciting update. We even dare to say that he may not even need an update after this one because he is that good. Watto gets the royal treatment in the paint deco department this time around and we are completely amazed by how much we notice in the sculpt (for the first time years later) thanks to this new enhancement. Every scratch, dimple, scrunch in his face and detail on his scantily clad outfit is more noticeable than ever, not to mention that his skin tone and eyes are finally done in the correct colors now. Nothing looks faded or missing like the original release. We applaud Hasbro for their efforts that make this action figure better than it ever was before. Watto is equally as important to this set as his fellow R2 unit (who sees release for the very first time in this very set) because it's basically like we got Watto again in our collections for the first time (if that makes any sense to you). He has been that much improved. We wouldn't lie to you.

Besides the amazing paint application upgrade on Watto, you can also get excited about the astromech because this two-pack brings us one that we never have received to date. R2-T0 brings an amazing new level of detail to an astromech droid as well as a beautiful paint job to the table as well. Basically a background astromech droid (aren't most of them background?), Hasbro went above and beyond what this droid needed to make a great and authentic droid for the popular Droid Factory series. He is cast in a grayish metallic blue plastic but is enveloped in a scratchy wash from dome to third leg evidencing the harsh climate conditions in the Tatooine suns. Complementing his nearly all blue body, R2-T0 has celadon and red details around his dome in addition to a white "eyeport" below his main photoreceptor. R2-T0 is a refreshing droid in our very large general Star Wars collections but also brings a whole new level of individuality and coolness to your growing astromech sub-collection too. It's very rare unfortunately that droids do not get the extensive paint operations that R2-T0 did, so you should count yourselves very fortunate! R2-T0 is a repaint of the über-popular 2005 ROTS R4-G9 (4 of 4) Sneak Preview sculpt. It has everything you would want your astromech droid to have and more. But if you recall, this sculpt has a chronic problem of the third leg "foot" being assembled backwards on so many samples. R2-T0 is one that fell to this unfortunate fate. It is possible that there are some units that have it correctly placed, but we assume that this problem is at the factory level and needs to be fixed there first.

What's most surprising about R2-T0 is that the droid isn't R2-T0 at all. R2-T0 looks like THIS. Although they intended to create the droid from Watto's shop, they inadvertently made a similar looking droid from outside the podracer hangar instead. This droid is actually R2-G2. HasbroEver since Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith was released, action figures from Episode I and Episode II have been on the backburner (for the most part). Sure we get some releases here and there, but it is nice to get a two-pack like this Droid Factory set with flawless execution and stunning paint jobs. While we know that more figures from Episode I are inevitably coming down the pike, it's nice to know that some older sculpts can be salvaged and made nearly perfect with the advent of modern paint job application technology working together with the fine-eyed artists at Hasbro responsible for these upgrades. It is both cost-effective and desirable to get updated action figures that have been decorated so well that their fit is seamless. Watto is the epitome of this. It may not work so well for all of the "human" Episode I characters because they are chunkier in nature for the most part. But we believe that Hasbro can revisit many of the aliens and other characters and get them up to speed with the latest figures in the line. We absolutely adore the Droid Factory exclusives from Walmart and we hope that the Droid Factory/Build A Droid concept sees future release, even if it doesn't come as part of the basic figure line nor as continued Walmart exclusives. These sets provide collectors with so much diversity and product for such a reasonable cost. And we think that building droids is probably the most exciting thing Hasbro has ever given us. Ever.