Droid Factory Review

6/23/2008

The Legacy Collection of figures which will be released on July 26th will bring the Build-A-Figure concept to the single carded Star Wars line for the first time.  If you don't want to wait that long, Hasbro gives us a sneak peek with their Wal-Mart exclusive Droid Factory 2-packs which have been hitting store shelves over the last week.

The set of six 2-packs pairs a named character with an astromech or protocol droid and each set comes with a part to make C-3PX. 

Read on to hear about the six packs and what I found to be good, or not so good, with each of them.

01 Plo Koon & R4-F5 w/ C-3PX Right Leg

Plo Koon is a repaint of the ROTS-16 figure.  The paint scheme on his head and face is a little more subdued on this one and looks kind of boring.  The dramatic black mask Plo Koon wears is one of his best features and it's kind of lacking on this figure.  If you have the previous version, this probably won't be an improvement.

R4-F5 is based on the VOTC R2-D2 figure and has a clean color scheme.  The paint job, at first glance, isn't that dramatic but is really subtle and quite striking.  With the removable center leg he looks good rolling or standing, doing maintenance.

02 Darth Vader & K-3PX w/ C-3PX Left Arm

Vader is the ROTS-11 action figure which sports an action feature.  The sculpt isn't bad but the articulation is lacking plus, action feature.  There are a couple better Vader figures out there, skip this one.

K-3PX is my favorite droid in the set.  He uses the TAC 4-LOM legs and arms but the head is all new and I think the torso is as well.  If I track down a previous figure with this torso I'll update this, however.  He has a straightforward paint scheme, black on black.  The unique head is one we haven't seen before and is very cool and somewhat menacing at the same time. 

03 Han Solo (Hoth) & R-3PO w/ C-3PX Left Leg

This is the VTAC Han Solo from 2007, still in his blue parka, only now with the hood up.  He comes with goggles and his blaster and it makes the third of the four (four?!) versions of this figure we'll see in two years.

R-3PO is a re-paint of the 2006 Saga C-3PO Ewok Throne figure.  He has good articulation and paint and gets the job done as a protocol droid.  One could argue that the 2004 Saga R-3PO was a good figure and except for some articulation, I don't know if this was a needed, or wanted, upgrade.  Still, a decent figure.

04 Kit Fisto & R4-H5 w/ C-3PX Torso

Kit Fist is a repack of the 2006 Saga #55 figure with an added robe.  The robe has the new wire feature that Hasbro implemented with this year's Order 66 2-packs.  It's a nice figure and if you don't have the Saga figure in your collection he's a good addition.

R4-H5 uses the VOTC R2 sculpt and comes in white, green and orange.  The paint is kind of odd, however.  The legs are very dirty while the torso is relatively clean.  Also, the green on the legs is a different shade than that on the torso.  There is also a wash of white paint on the torso that adds an interesting pattern to the figure.  It's quite striking and very unique.

05 Watto & R2-T0 w/ C-3PX Head

Watto is a re-paint of the EP1 figure but Hasbro took it up a notch by finally giving him the correct blue paint job.  It's a nice update of the figure and even if you have a previous version, this would still be a nice update to have.

R2-T0 is probably the best astromech of the series and my second favorite overall.  The paint is awesome.  He looks sand scored and worn as any equipment would on Tatooine.  The one shortcoming on this figure, based on the R4-G9 sculpt, is that his middle leg is backwards.  Again!

Because of R2-T0's backwards leg K-3PX edges him out for my favorite of the wave.  If it weren't for that shortcoming, this would be the best figure of the lot.

06 Luke Skywalker (X-Wing) & R2-D2 w/ C-3PX Right Arm

This is the 2006 VTSC X-Wing sculpt with a new color on his leg straps and a slightly updated helmet deco.  The paint apps on the head and hair are also a little nicer than on the 2006 release, at least on the figure I picked up.  If you don't already have this version of Luke in X-Wing gear you should definitely pick up the set.  It's the best pilot Luke to date.

R2-D2 is the R4-G9 sculpt with a lot of added damage to both the torso and the dome.  The paint apps make him look tore up and the effect is pretty well done.  It's not a bad figure if you want to do a diorama of R2 busted up after his ANH attack on the Death Star or ROTJ version when he gets shot on Endor.  Other than that there are better versions of R2 available.  I have to take marks off this figure for AGAIN having a backwards middle leg.  Hasbro needs to get on the factory and fix this issue.  This sculpt for the astromech droids is really slick but can be ruined by this lack of attention to detail.

C-3PX Build-A-Figure

This is the figure that the entire wave is centered around.  The first build-a-figure, C-3PX is a protocol droid with a lot of weapons on his arms, legs and even his torso.  The figure is quite tall, about a 1/4" taller than the other protocol droids from the set.  He has really nice articulation with hinge elbows, knees and ankles, swivel hips and ball joints at the chest and shoulders.  The wrists rotate and while the head is on a ball, the only real movement is side to side. 

The parts fit together well and unlike the BAF from some other companies and lines, there aren't any floppy joints or unacceptable clearance problems on the parts.  Hasbro really pulled this off well and if the other protocol droids and astromechs coming this year are equally as good it'll be a great year for droid fans.

My only gripe with this figure is that he may have too many weapons.  The arm blasters and even the legs are okay but the one on his hip is a little much.  I'm not overly familiar with the source material for this figure so I'm assuming that the sculpt is mostly accurate.  Hasbro could have pulled back a little to make a slightly better toy, however.

Wrap-up

Overall it's a good set, especially for droid fans.  The four astromech droids are nicely done with the exception of the center leg on the two based on the R4-G9 sculpt.  The protocol droids are well done with, as I said earlier, K-3PX being my favorite of the bunch.  C-3PX is a nice BAF and works well because all the parts fit together correctly.

I've read some complaints about the rubbery legs on the astromech droids but I didn't really find this to be a problem.  Of the four figures R2-D2 and R2-T0, both based on the R4-G9 figure, have the most rubbery legs but still, not really that bad.  I'm actually quite happy with them.

The 2-packs are priced at $9.96 each and you can argue for and against that being a good deal.  If you've been collecting the Star Wars line of toys for a while you probably already have the non-droid figures in your collection.  For you, the droids will be the real draw and if you buy strictly for them you're looking at about an $8.50 average per figure.  Not bad. 

For more casual collectors or for those that don't have the Luke, Han, Kit or Plo Koon figures, it's an insane deal.  I can't really find much to like about the Vader because there are better versions of that character out there.  Watto is a nice upgrade and if you liked the Han Hoth figure you'll love this for the hood.  If you're in the brown coat camp, you'll get yours later this year when he comes out in the Hoth Recon Patrol Battle Pack.

These are on Wal-Mart store shelves now and we're only about a month away from the Legacy Collection where we'll see a whole new set of Build-A-Figure droids.  As I said, it's a good year for droid fans.