As well as a Dalek Collection, I also maintain a collection of Star Wars Astromech Droids, and although this collection is significantly smaller than my Dalek collection, it still warrants its own four-part series. Part 2 will cover both prequel droids and original trilogy droids, including some Tantive-IV occupants and Obi-Wan Kenobi’s second droid.

R4-M9

R4-M9 appears near the beginning of A New Hope, trundling down a corridor on the Tantive-IV. Depending on who you ask, R4-M9 is either a Rebel droid captured by the Imperials or an Imperial droid who is being assigned to slice into Rebel computers, either way, his appearance in the film is fleeting and his impact on the story is negligible, and yet like many of his brethren, he has a figure.

R2-Q2

Like R4-M9, R2-Q2 appears in the opening act of A New Hope aboard the Tantive IV, and is never seen again. Most likely an Imperial Droid given his colour scheme, R2-Q2 apparently possesses the largest map of systems in the Galaxy within his database, so perhaps the First Order should have gone to him for the location of Luke Skywalker in The Force Awakens.

R4-G9

After the death of R4-P17 that Obi-Wan seems to brush off with indignant indifference, he must eventually swallow his pride and ask for a replacement droid because for the middle section of Revenge of the Sith he is seen with this droid, R4-G9. This droid’s design is somewhat unique – it uses gold and bronze together on the dome, unlike most other droids which have colours that stand out from each other. R4-G9 is last seen piloting Obi-Wan’s ship away from Utapau, and so chances are he’s still flying around the Galaxy in it. This figure features a translucent eye, and if light is shone into the opening in the head the eye lights up, which is a nice feature.

 

This figure is weird, because is was released as part of the ‘sneak preview’ part of the toyline for Attack of the Clones, and so some people thought this droid would play a part in the movie. R3-T7 is in the film – for less than a second, and it passes by an alleyway in an extreme long shot, so its barely distinguishable from other people milling about. Regardless, a great deal of detail was added to this figure – everything from subtle scorch marks on the front to a transparent head with sculpted internal brain. The only downside to this figure is the body – it is far too long compared to other figures.

R4-C7

Despite not appearing in any movie at all, this droid still has its own figure, appearing in an exclusive box set of ARC-170 Elite Squadron. This figure has a great colour scheme, and the paint applications are excellent – particularly the red and yellow for the two squares just under the eye, that makes this the only astromech droid in my collection to have those as different colours. This figure is quite rare now I believe, and so it is one of the centerpieces of my collection despite having no origin movie.

Stay tuned for Part 3! Remember to leave a like if you enjoyed, follow us or like us on Facebook for more content like this.