Medicom's R2 and 3PO

[IrishJedi]

The blue on R2 is way too bright. Otherwise, these are looking great.

 

[Mad Old Lu]

Yeah, I was going to say that about the blue on R2. But other than that they look great.

Too bad they're not in scale with Sideshow's stuff.

 

[IrishJedi]

Also just noticed that the "horseshoes" on R2's shoulders are on the opposite sides. D'oh!

 

[jediknight120]

Something about Threepio's face is throwing it off for me but I can't put my finger on it... the mouth maybe?

 

[SpaceCrawler]

Something about Threepio's face is throwing it off for me but I can't put my finger on it... the mouth maybe?

Yeah his "lips" are a bit to pronounced, making his mouth look very square. Also, his head doesn't seem quite wide enough. Also the eyes look too close together, maybe due to the indented circles they sit in being oversized. Also, the "nose" line is a little small. Also, R2 still seems very short compared to 3p0.

Otherwise they look nice, but too expensive to justify purchasing.

Sean

 

[IrishJedi]

Otherwise they look nice, but too expensive to justify purchasing.

That's the thing. At $200 a figure they really should be near-perfect. These are not.

Still, the one thing I'm a completist on is R2/Astromech stuff. So I'm still getting him, even though he has issues and is hideously over-priced.

 

[icruise]

Also just noticed that the "horseshoes" on R2's shoulders are on the opposite sides. D'oh!

I'm a little confused on this issue, because after looking through a number of pictures, I can't seem to find any consistency. Just so we're on the same page, are you talking about the positions of the "shoulder buttons" and "shoulder hydraulics" (whether the buttons are to the front or rear)? What are they supposed to look like?

 

[IrishJedi]

I'm a little confused on this issue, because after looking through a number of pictures, I can't seem to find any consistency. Just so we're on the same page, are you talking about the positions of the "shoulder buttons" and "shoulder hydraulics" (whether the buttons are to the front or rear)? What are they supposed to look like?

Yes, there is inconsistency among R2 across all of the movies. But, officially, the Shoulder Hydraulics side should both be facing the FRONT of the droid. The biggest exception is in ANH, where they had several R2s that were all different. But even then at least one of the hydraulics was facing front. On the Medicom figure, the shoulder buttons (not the hydraulics) are facing the front on BOTH sides. And I can't recall that ever being the case with any of the R2s in any the movies.

It's funny that they actually took the time to mirror the horseshoes in the first place (even some R2 Builders don't even bother with that, nor does Hasbro at times)... but they got them completely backwards. They'd have been better off using the same exact layout on both sides like most do.

I know this may seem a little nitpicky to some, but after you've built a few of these things yourself these kinds of details are instantly obvious.

 

[icruise]

Well, I guess this is another thing that I'll be unable to avoid noticing when watching A New Hope from now on.

Looking at some reference shots from that movie shows that the shoulders jump around quite a bit, although most of the shots seem to have them with the buttons forward, like the Medicom figure. Maybe they only used reference shots from ANH? I don't know. Strange. The weird thing is that the very first shots we saw of R2 (on the first page of the thread) have the hydraulics facing forward.

 

[IrishJedi]

Well, I guess this is another thing that I'll be unable to avoid noticing when watching A New Hope from now on.

Looking at some reference shots from that movie shows that the shoulders jump around quite a bit, although most of the shots seem to have them with the buttons forward, like the Medicom figure. Maybe they only used reference shots from ANH? I don't know. Strange. The weird thing is that the very first shots we saw of R2 (on the first page of the thread) have the hydraulics facing forward.

Well, in most ANH shots the buttons are on the front but almost always that same droid had them reversed on the other side. The confusing thing is that they used multiple R2s for the same scenes and sometimes even different takes of the same shots! And there was no consistency.

But it's clear from the black rings around the HP holders on the dome that this figure is indeed meant to be ANH R2.

 

[Khev]

Well, I guess this is another thing that I'll be unable to avoid noticing when watching A New Hope from now on.

Reminds me of the "black" R2 in the back of Luke's X-Wing. Until they digitally changed his dome panels to blue in the SE's I never actually noticed they were the wrong color in the first place. Now whenever I watch the original theatrical OT (the only versions I watch anymore) I can't help but notice the black everytime.

 

[IrishJedi]

Reminds me of the "black" R2 in the back of Luke's X-Wing. Until they digitally changed his dome panels to blue in the SE's I never actually noticed they were the wrong color in the first place. Now whenever I watch the original theatrical OT (the only versions I watch anymore) I can't help but notice the black everytime.

Actually, they were blue the entire time. It was just the lighting from those original ANH shots that made them appear black, so they color-corrected it digitally in the SE. The actual blue on R2 is much darker than most people think (certainly darker than this Medicom figure). The anodized & metallic paint scheme makes it look more royal blue in the direct Tunisian sunlight, but it was never that bright. In fact, the metallic base coat is a dark PURPLE. (Several coats of Anodized Blue go on top of that, obviously).

Regardless, this not-quite-1:6 R2 figure is actually more accurate than Sideshow's full-sized one.

 

[Khev]

Actually, they were blue the entire time. It was just the lighting from those original ANH shots that made them appear black, so they color-corrected it digitally in the SE.

No, the crew had to paint the top of R2 used for the X-Wing in-flight shots black because the bluescreen made the blue panels transparent. They ran into similar problems with the A-Wings in ROTJ. They were originally designed with blue markings but had to be changed to red for production.

 

[IrishJedi]

No, the crew had to paint the top of R2 used for the X-Wing in-flight shots black because the bluescreen made the blue panels transparent. They ran into similar problems with the A-Wings in ROTJ. They were originally designed with blue markings but had to be changed to red for production.

Are you sure they were BLACK, though? I though they just did those without the anodized coat on top so they'd appear much darker than the normal blue. Hmm. I must investigate this now. (I love this stuff )

 

[Jaycepticon]

I never really appreciated the A-Wings until I just stared at those pics for awhile just now. The blue looks so much better

 

[steveaustin]

Looking good.

I don't know much about Medicom figs beyond the few RAH (SW and Marvel) characters I own. Considering the Marvel pieces are rather fragile and these two are new ground for Medicom, I will wait until after release and reviews (hopefully price drop) before looking purchase. I wouldn't mind adding them to the collection..

I feel the same way. I have the RAH Boba Fett and totally love it, but I'm unsure right now if these 2 figures are worth the price and will have to wait and see.

 

[Khev]

Are you sure they were BLACK, though? I though they just did those without the anodized coat on top so they'd appear much darker than the normal blue. Hmm. I must investigate this now.

You can google it (not that that's the most reliable way to do research) or check the documentaries included with the 1997 VHS/laserdisc release of the SE's. I believe it was old news by the time the 2004 set was released on DVD.

(I love this stuff )

Ditto!

 

[OSCORP]

These are really nice. So i predict these will either go on clearance like other SW RAH figs. OR a big change up and they will be harder to get, cause of the lights and new ground for Medicom. These are either going to be a really big hit (even with the price) and sell well. Or SOS and go on clearance in 6 mos. I see different possibility's with these figs.

 

[Mad Old Lu]

The problem with waiting is that most likely only one of them will end up being on clearance and the other one will be constantly sold out!

That's what always happens with me when I wait...there's always a glitch.

 

[Cocoboloboy]

I don't think I can wait and see if these drop in price. I'm chomping at the bit for a decent set of droids and these look really nice.