Sideshow 1/6 R2-D2

[stickman]

Got mine a week and a half ago and have yet to open him, also just having my ACL reconstructed has made me a little hesitant on opening him, in case I drop some accessories. Overall he seems to have a lot of good reviews. I haven't heard this many happy fans since Hammerhead.

 

[EVILFACE]

Couple pics.....

"Knew your father I did. Protocol droid that would not shut up, he made"

 

[Wor-Gar]

A rare sight: Evilface pictures!

 

[TheFiend]

R2 and Yoda.





As I said earlier, R2 looks excellent and I'm happy to have him but boy does he feel cheap. The rocker "ankle" on mine are super loose so he won't stand up on his own without the third leg extended so I had to put blu-tack in the creases to ensure he stays up. Well, I guess I didn't put enough in and he rocked forward and the momentum took him plummeting off the shelf. Two of the blue doors on his head broke off along with the life scanner, both blue hinged panels or whatever they are below his neck broke off and the door where the restraining bolt goes.

 

[ebor]

Great set up and photos Evilface. Saw a bunch of your photos on Collectionstash as well. Great photos by the way--crisp and well displayed (unlike my crap photos )

 

[Wor-Gar]

... he rocked forward and the momentum took him plummeting off the shelf. Two of the blue doors on his head broke off along with the life scanner, both blue hinged panels or whatever they are below his neck broke off and the door where the restraining bolt goes.

Ouch! That hurt to read. Did you just find him laying there in pieces? Or did you watch this helplessly frozen?

*in 3PO voice* You must repair him?

 

[bmarz1000]

Fiend tell me about your Yoda! Now THAT's Yoda!!! I assume it's Medicom but did you do any mods? He looks like they shrunk the original puppet!

 

[Lejuan]

As I said earlier, R2 looks excellent and I'm happy to have him but boy does he feel cheap. The rocker "ankle" on mine are super loose so he won't stand up on his own without the third leg extended so I had to put blu-tack in the creases to ensure he stays up. Well, I guess I didn't put enough in and he rocked forward and the momentum took him plummeting off the shelf. Two of the blue doors on his head broke off along with the life scanner, both blue hinged panels or whatever they are below his neck broke off and the door where the restraining bolt goes.

that sucks Fiend, damn

 

[CaptnRex]

As I said earlier, R2 looks excellent and I'm happy to have him but boy does he feel cheap. The rocker "ankle" on mine are super loose so he won't stand up on his own without the third leg extended so I had to put blu-tack in the creases to ensure he stays up. Well, I guess I didn't put enough in and he rocked forward and the momentum took him plummeting off the shelf. Two of the blue doors on his head broke off along with the life scanner, both blue hinged panels or whatever they are below his neck broke off and the door where the restraining bolt goes.

Wow, I can't wait to spend $230 Aus delivered on this! it'll be like a model and figure in one where I'll get to glue some of it together, it'll feel like I built it !!! That's value. I might take a day off to rebuild it.

Not to mention all the extra junk that'll stay in the box, but alas, I need an R2 for my Tami Threepio.

 

[Lejuan]

Wow, I can't wait to spend $230 Aus delivered on this! it'll be like a model and figure in one where I'll get to glue some of it together, it'll feel like I built it !!! That's value. I might take a day off to rebuild it.

Not to mention all the extra junk that'll stay in the box, but alas, I need an R2 for my Tami Threepio.

I wish I'd bought mine from popcultcha for $200 delivered. Didn't even get a gold sticker so everyone who looks at my boxes in the closet can see what a superior collector I am.

 

[TaliBane]

As I said earlier, R2 looks excellent and I'm happy to have him but boy does he feel cheap. The rocker "ankle" on mine are super loose so he won't stand up on his own without the third leg extended so I had to put blu-tack in the creases to ensure he stays up. Well, I guess I didn't put enough in and he rocked forward and the momentum took him plummeting off the shelf. Two of the blue doors on his head broke off along with the life scanner, both blue hinged panels or whatever they are below his neck broke off and the door where the restraining bolt goes.

Wow, that's awful.

My R2's doors and hatches are all tight (except the drink tray arm central hatch on dome) and I'm fearful if I use any of them they will go loose - so prob never will.

Sideshow really should have just done an R2 with no opening doors and arms and junk that "adds value" and fills out the box but will never really be used. Just metal dome, lights and sounds, tight joints.

It's interesting that the Taito R2 - a pretty cheapo clock - has a few working hatches that actually are tight and well engineered.

 

[TaliBane]

Alright, it's 11:26pm on the West Coast and I would like to say something. I'm drunk (that's not what I want to say, though), but I have been more closely examining my R2 unit (how cool is that to say?), and every flaw, casting mark, paint chip, plastic sag, etc. that others have pointed out are present on mine.

I broke one side of my serving tray by trying to get the male ends to fit snugly in the female ends (no jokes, please).

I can't get the lightsaber hilt to REMOTELY fit into its intended cubby without fear that I'll never get it back out.

The additional tools are practically useless to me, since it would take one hell of a diorama to be able to showcase it to any appreciable degree.

Back into the box the tools go. Back into the box the serving tray goes. Actually, it's not back into the box. I keep cute little labeled Ziploc baggies for my extra figure parts.

The additional arms are definitely overkill, but hey, I'd rather have them and complain that they don't serve a purpose than to not have them and complain that the figure didn't have any accessories.

The point of my rant is that despite the fact that this is a FLAWED 'figure,' if you take two (small) steps back, it's absolutely wonderful. The lights function well (chicks dig them lol), regardless of the fact that it's asinine to have to remove the dome to flip the switch, and knowing that batteries will drain faster using the touch-sensitive pad. But there's just something about R2-D2 (more so than even C-3PO) that belongs in a Star Wars collection (and I'm not one of those that's been pining for an R2 release). When I saw that Sideshow had announced their R2, at first I had the attitude of 'meh'. But then I saw some pics and figured, 'He'd look pretty good with my Bespin Luke. What the hell. -Pre-Order-.'

The figure looks absolutely fantastic.

Captain Britain's initial reaction was valid (even though he refused to take any pics to share with his fellow collectors).

Rory's points are valid.

Pixel's points and observations are valid.

But I really don't like the trend of breaking out rulers and hyper-close photos to show a smudge or indentation and asking if you have a defective figure. If you're an active participant in this game (and if you spend $150-$500 on dolls, you most definitely are), you know what's acceptable and what's not. There's no need to post those photos on the board and ask 'Is my figure messed up?' Even if you seriously feel like it is messed up, a quick glance through the back pages would answer the question.*

FACT: Sideshow Collectibles delivered an awesome R2-D2 for the price they charged. That CANNOT be disputed. Hot Toys may (and probably will) trump Sideshow's figure, but on its own merits, this is a great figure. For those that are totally nitpicking about minor details, remember, R2-D2 had many details that varied from prop to prop, film to film, scene to scene. Slight variances from your favorite screen grab are acceptable.

Sidenote: I am a voracious Boba Fett fan. As such, I am HYPER sensitive to aspects of his costume that are correctly/incorrectly presented in any kind of reproduction or facsimile. If you are the same as me (substituting R2-D2 for Boba Fett, of course), and there are glaring inaccuracies on this figure versus the actual props, please know that this message wasn't directed towards you, but rather the casual collectors, et all.


*Except for that silver smudge on the eye. Mother **** that ****.

I guess the bar has been raised to a point where even the tiniest errors in paint or finish are considered reasons to return - but hey, maybe that's just a function of price. For $240, Luke X-Wing better be 100% flaw-free.

Well after seeing this thing up close at my local comic book shop, I just couldn't resist any longer, and had to buy him. Because he looks freakin amazing.

And I gotta say, all the talk about him being as "light and flimsy as a model kit" is way overblown. Yeah when you tilt him this way or that some of the doors might fly open, but overall he still has much more heft and feels much more solid than I was expecting. It might feel more like a (really nice) toy from Hasbro than a heavy diecast HT figure, but it's definitely no model kit.

The only real issues I have is with the blue paint on the dome not being filled in enough, and the life sensor being too damn short. Which is something I'm definitely going to have to replace with a separate, longer attachment someday. And it is slightly annoying that you can't actually store some of the tools within the compartments. Considering how well-engineered the rest of the figure is, you'd think doing that would have been easy enough.

I still need to improve the weathering with a sponge and rubbing alcohol like someone else did awhile back, but even straight out of the box I think it looks pretty damn great.

I had problems like almost everyone (new dome incoming,) but when you step back and look at this thing is pretty amazing. I absolutely love it on the shelf (even if it's 10% too small all over) - it just takes some mental editing to erase the memory of its functional failings.

 

[Niltusk]

"Rulers and hyper close photos"??

Nice well considered post Rubio, although I'm afraid your Fett OCD pretty much takes the biscuit in regards to being pernickety with their SW toys. So this is only different to you because it's not a Fett? It's all subjective. Some of that **** you did to improve your Boba was not only amazingly impressive but also bat**** crazy!
love the sincerity of your post though man.

For some reason when I read this I saw the words Rorywan in place of Rubio and Grievous in place of Fett.

Everyones got their faves that they want to look as good as possible.

 

[TurdFurgusonsHat]

I wish I'd bought mine from popcultcha for $200 delivered. Didn't even get a gold sticker so everyone who looks at my boxes in the closet can see what a superior collector I am.

I also felt shortchanged by this, what's that number for sideshow customer service again?

 

[TheFiend]

Ouch! That hurt to read. Did you just find him laying there in pieces? Or did you watch this helplessly frozen?

*in 3PO voice* You must repair him?

I I watched frozen, mouth ajar. One good thing is a new dome is already on it's way. I had several dings and gouges in the plastic around the neck of the dome. So I'm clear on that end. I reglued the blue panels and they look good the door. My biggest concern are the ankles at this point. It's really bad. Does anyone else have this problem?? I actually have blu-tack on the bottom of his "feet" in front and back of the wheels now too just to make sure he doesn't move at all. Oh well.

Fiend tell me about your Yoda! Now THAT's Yoda!!! I assume it's Medicom but did you do any mods? He looks like they shrunk the original puppet!

Thanks! Yeah, that's my Medi Yoda. The best Yoda out there imo. I completely weathered and tattered him robes. I also dirtied up his skin like the puppet. He was a dirty mofo. I also repainted his eyes and added some hair. He pales in comparison to say MarfMaster's Yoda but I dig him.

that sucks Fiend, damn

Yeah.

 

[TonTon]

I I watched frozen, mouth ajar. One good thing is a new dome is already on it's way. I had several dings and gouges in the plastic around the neck of the dome. So I'm clear on that end. I reglued the blue panels and they look good the door. My biggest concern are the ankles at this point. It's really bad. Does anyone else have this problem?? I actually have blu-tack on the bottom of his "feet" in front and back of the wheels now too just to make sure he doesn't move at all. Oh well.

You should cement his feet down on your display That original post read like a horror story **goes and drops R2's third leg***. Good to hear you already have another dome on order. My R2 is fine if he's completely straight but does have a tendency to tilt if a little bit off axis. I think the super glue technique that some have mentioned for the hatches might work for this type of issue.

 

[TheFiend]

Wow, that's awful.

My R2's doors and hatches are all tight (except the drink tray arm central hatch on dome) and I'm fearful if I use any of them they will go loose - so prob never will.

Sideshow really should have just done an R2 with no opening doors and arms and junk that "adds value" and fills out the box but will never really be used. Just metal dome, lights and sounds, tight joints.

It's interesting that the Taito R2 - a pretty cheapo clock - has a few working hatches that actually are tight and well engineered.

Yeah, all my doors are loose especially the blue panels. Those just come open if you pick it up. I too would have preferred something of a more robust build and scrap the extras.

I've had my eye on the Taito for a long time but never bit mainly because it's so expensive at this point, not to mention hard to find. If I were to find one for ultra cheap I'd consider one. I'd want it just for a project. Give it a repaint and anything else to bring it up to snuff.

 

[CaptnRex]

I wish I'd bought mine from popcultcha for $200 delivered. Didn't even get a gold sticker so everyone who looks at my boxes in the closet can see what a superior collector I am.

I had the Ex but cancelled, thinking about using popcultcha but I'm not a fan of those guys. Surprised they have R2 at $200 and not higher.

 

[ksteezy]

This little guy is amazing next to ThreePO

 

[user 1190]

Museum wax or quake hold best thing you can get for holding things in place thats removable and causing no damage and it clear so you don't even notice it. I have had my R2s with wheels stay in place even though an earthquake where other things fell over. I have since quake holded just about every collectible i have.