Are these the droids you’re looking for? Um, well… maybe?
It is no secret that the Star Wars Black Series line is running like a well-oiled machine at this point. Ever since the change over to the “Photo Real Tech” used for character likenesses, the figure quality has gone way up (sometimes competing with companies like Bandai), and there have been several recent exclusive offerings to supplement the standard series releases. While Target and Wal-Mart continue to be stalwarts for exclusivity, Amazon gets in on the game from time to time, and their latest offering is this brand new “Red Squadron” droid three-pack. I am always one to add more astromechs to my display, but all things being equal, this set just isn’t as exciting as some of the more recent additions.
Celebrating the heroic droids of the Rebel Alliance is a fun idea. Sure, R2-D2 get plenty of love when it comes to toys, but the mechs assigned to anyone not named Luke Skywalker are a bit harder to come by for action figure releases. So, I am really glad to get the likes of R5-D8 and R2-X2 (along with a new Artoo), because, frankly, I have never had a chance to own these droids. Now, getting the robot companions of Jek Porkins and Theron Nett might be mining the background a bit too deeply for some casual fans, but this is Star Wars! A split second of screen time is generally all you need as a prerequisite for an action figure.
So, kudos to Hasbro and Amazon for not only getting Artoo back out there (in a new post-battle of Yavin deco), for offering up some more color and shape diversity to our R units. While I support this offering in theory, the final release does fall a little um, short for me, and there are a few reasons why. The production quality is good, so don’t get me wrong, but man, it was painful choking down a $60 price tag for these three. Yeah, it is likely going to see clearance at some point (but we need to stay on top of things around here), but even at a reduced cost, you are still going to be paying for a mostly-reused base body that is smaller than a normal offering, and put in the same pack three times. If you are a bargain/bang for your buck kind of collector, this one is probably not going to be for you.
The other thing that kind of gets me is that, while it isn’t terribly egregious, there are no accessories included in this set. See, despite the muddied-up paint job, we have gotten R2-D2 before in SWB, and his previous release (albeit, single carded) had all of the little implements and things that can be added to plus him up. If this set wasn’t a straight up $20 per figure offering after the math, I wouldn’t be too fussed, but it feels like a decline in value for sure. I am trying to find some compromise with other parts of the set, like the paint deco, to help justify the same cost, but again, I am coming up short…
Speaking of SHORT, if you are like me, and have always felt that R2 was a little short for droid in this line and scale, that is going to carryover here times three. No, this is not a new R2 unit base, so these guys are all about a quarter of an inch too small to be screen accurate. I REALLY hope that Hasbro decides to fix this one day because Bandai and Medicom have gotten is closer and thus, for me, have offered better product. I get it, the OCD factor will run the gamut with collectors on this issue from it being a complete non-issue to a non-starter for others. I have to admit that I fall closer to the latter because the more figures that fill out my shelf, the more apparent the discrepancy is, BUT, these guys will fall into the background of my display to help fill in some of the corners. The worst of it though, is that if Hasbro actually did correct the height issue, I would end up re-buying these. Probably. So that is likely the plan anyway.
Eh. I cannot say that I can fully recommend picking up this set, at least at full price. If you decide you DO want it, I am happy to provide the link to the Amazon page for you, so go get ’em. I have a bit of completist bug when it comes to SWB, so I was going to get this from the start, even if I had a bit of buyer’s remorse, even before buying. They look good, I will admit, and it is fun to get such obscure background “characters” (save for R2-D2), but I am ready to get some actual Rebel pilots in the line. Can you believe Luke is all we have this point? We have Porkins’s droid, but no Jek himself? Not to even mention Wedge and Biggs. Not to mix my space properties, but let’s get them, Hasbro. Make it so.
