Star Wars Astromech Droid Collection – Part 4

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. For the final part, I will be showcasing my custom Astromech Droids, many of which I painted using existing figures as a base and replicating colour schemes and designs from the movies.

R2-X2

For this custom figure I used an R2-B1 figure as a base and a combination of black paint, black detailing fine liner, white paint and white paint pen to represent R2-X2, the droid seen sat behind Luke Skywalker and Wedge Antilles (played by a different actor) in the tactical meeting that takes place before the Death Star attack. This droid design has always been one of my favourites, and it proved quite a challenge to get looking right – the stripes on the head required particular precision.

R5-A2

For this custom I used yellow humbrol paint and white paint pen with Sharpee for the detailing, in an attempt to create R5-A2, the droid that passes by right in front of the camera in A New Hope before Obi-Wan Kenobi mind-tricks the Stormtroopers. Unfortunately, due to the Humbrol paint’s finish, the end result appears quite scratchy, but that does fit in with the aesthetic of a droid trundling around a desert town.

R2-C4

I had to create a custom of this droid to complete the trio seen on promotional material for The Phantom Menance, of R2-D2, R2-M9 and R2-C4. This droid is essentially R2-D2 in yellow, and is one of the few astromech droids to actually survive The Phantom Menace, seen it is seen as one of the droids of the pilots escaping the destroyed Droid Control ship. For this custom I sued similar yellow Humbrol paint and white paint pen that I did for R5-A2.

R3-T2

A made this custom using a reject R4-P17 figure, it is a clearly inferior mold with no middle foot and was going cheap on eBay. With just a bit of blue Citadel paint, bronze Humbrol and white paint pen this droid now resembles R3-T2, a droid that appears briefly in A New Hope. It may seem hypocritical of me to paint an astromech droid design that barely appears in the film when I’ve spent this entire series complaining about the huge amount of figures out there, but I’d much prefer to make them myself rather than buy them as figures in the same way that I buy more common Daleks and paint them to look unique.

R5-M2

This custom is probably the best of my Astromech Droid customs, as I used more matte Citadel than glossy Humbrol and so the final effect is less scratchy. Unfortunately the silver Humbrol on the body is a bit messy, and perhaps more work with a white paint pen is required. Nonetheless, the figure is decent as it is. For the base I used a newer R5-D4 figure that lacks the motivator feature, but does include the ability to take the droid apart.

I hope you enjoyed this little series on my Star Wars Astromech Droid collection, if you want to read more content like this then be sure to like us on Facebook or follow us on WordPress, and be sure to leave a like on the article if you enjoyed!

Star Wars Astromech Droid Collection – Part 3

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 3 will cover a famous droid with a bad motivator, various Naboo units and another droid that looks like a Halloween special.

R2-A3

Created by Hasbro for a Wedge Antilles X-Wing, this droid is loosely based on Wedge’s red droid seen in A New Hope, although the colours on that droid are inverted (as in, it has a red head with silver detailing whereas this droid has a silver head with red detail.) Why Hasbro insists on making figures of Star Wars characters that either barely appear or don’t even exist at all is beyond me, but its a nice addition to the collection.

R5-D4

Of all the droids in Star Wars that aren’t R2-D2 and C-3PO, this is the one that is most deserving of its own figure since it at least has a scene in A New Hope. R5-D4 is the droid that Luke Skywalker originally buys instead of R2-D2, but due to a ‘bad motivator’ the droid malfunctions and internal explosions cause it to shut down. That effect can be replicated with this figure, as turning the head causes the little nodule at the top (which is presumably the aforementioned malfunctioning ‘motivator’) to emerge, which is a nice touch. Unfortunately, the manufacturers did not find a way to make the figure spew smoke in the process, so the effect is somewhat underwhelming.

R2-N3

One of the many astromech droids seen in The Phantom Menace that use R2-D2’s base design just with different colours, R2-N3 is seen a few times throughout the movie, both in the Theed Hangar and on the Royal Starship, before being obliterated so that R2-D2 could take the spotlight. As a possible reference to his demise, this figure had be disassembled into its component parts – dome, body, legs and feet, in case children want to recreate this poor guy’s final moments.

R2-L3

When Hasbro had finished scraping the bottom of the barrel for ideas for figures, they removed the barrel’s underside and started digging a hole. When that hole got about 6 feet deep, they found this guy. Not that this droid doesn’t look cool, because it does – in fact its design is one of the most unique astromech droid paint jobs, and perhaps that alone makes it worth having – it’s just that the droid appears in Episode II for less than a second.

R2-R9

Like poor R2-N3, R2-R9 bravely ventured out onto the hull of Queen Amidala’s Royal Starship and unfortunately forgot his plot armor. Thanks to terrible writing, the Trade Federation are somehow able to precisely pick off each and every astromech droid (except R2-D2, of course, whose plot armor was well intact at this point) without actually damaging the ship itself. But whilst he was born out of a terrible movie, R2-R9 is actualized in the form of this standard quality figure, which also features the ability to be torn limb from limb.

Stay tuned for Part 4, in which I will be showcasing my Custom Astromech Droids! Remember to leave a like if you enjoyed, follow us or like us on Facebook for more content like this.

Star Wars Astromech Droid Collection – Part 2

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.

Star Wars Astromech Droid Collection – Part 1

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 1 will cover not one but two R2-D2 figures as well as quite a rare collectible, so we begin with:

R2-D2

The most iconic Star Wars Astromech Droid, R2-D2 is present in every main Star Wars movie and is viewed by many fans as being a ‘main character’ of the series. R2D2 is represented at two points in his life by these two figures – the left hand figure is from Revenge of the Sith, and is supposed to replicate the effect of R2D2 using his jets to incinerate Super Battle Droids. The right hand figure is R2D2 on Dagobah, complete with the extendable telescopic eye and green swamp splash on the feet and lower body.

R4-P17

Obi-Wan Kenobi’s droid (which he goes on to forget he ever owns) appeared in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, and is notable in being one of the few examples of a female Astromech Droid in the movies. In Episode II, R4-P17 aids Obi-Wan in his mission to Kamino, before disappearing – originally she was to appear in the arena fight, but her role was cut. She instead appears in the opening scene of Revenge of the Sith, in which she is torn apart by Buzz Droids. Obi-Wan, in all his Jedi mercy, barely notices.

R5-X2

This figure is based off a droid working for Jabba the Hutt who appears in The Phantom Menace for about 14 seconds. The theme of ‘droids that have figures despite appearing in the film for less than 30 seconds’ will become common in this series, and this is no exception. The figure features a removable head, probably to simulate Jabba tearing the droid apart when its lack of screentime angers him.

R2-B1

This droid also appears in The Phantom Menace, and has slightly more screentime than R5-X2. This droid sits with R2-D2 in the belly of Queen Amidala’s ship, before being sent out onto the surface of the ship to repair some damage and blasted to smithereens by the attacking Trade Federation ships. R2-B1 has always been somewhat of a fan favourite due to his unusually contrasting colour scheme, and his determined dedication to duty.

R4-J1

This droid appears in Attack of the Clones for a fleeting moment, as Anakin and Padme search the cities of Tatooine. Despite this, not only does Wookieepedia have an article on the droid, but this figure was made of him as well. The parts for this droid were included with several other figures as part of the ‘Build-a-Droid’ feature in the toyline, meaning the figure can be disassembled and reassembled. Unlike many other astromech droids, the colour scheme doesn’t seem to line up with the front panels, and this isn’t a paint error, giving the droid a more unique look.

Stay tuned for Part 2! Remember to leave a like if you enjoyed, follow us or like us on Facebook for more content like this.