DAY 91: HL-444 HOVER LOADER

Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

So where is this droid in the movie? Good question. It shows up in the Visual Dictionary for the film, which means it was a CGI prop made for the film, but apparently got cut. Those books usually have stuff like that, backgrounders and things you’d be hard-pressed to find in the finished films.

As such, its figure odds shrink exponentially. Being a non-combat droid in the prequels is hurtful enough. Barely in the film, if at all? Maybe back when the film was new, but now? Oof.

On the other hand, I think it’d make an okay figure. It’s not hard to picture this droid with a simple action feature. Squeeze the outer plate-things and the clamp opens up. Release and it clamps down. Make it a worker droid in the Clone arm, lifting supply crates and such.

No, I don’t expect Hasbro to actually do that. Just spitballing.

ADDENDUM: This day was originally going to be about the Astromechs seen inside the Jedi Temple’s starfighter hangar… except you can barely make out any of those droids. They’re little more than fuzzy blobs in Astromech shape. I don’t own the Blu-Ray to see if that version gives us anything better. As such, I had LESS to talk about than I normally do on these barely-in-the-scene droids. Whoops. If good Blu-Ray caps come along that offer some more clarity, I’ll toss them back in the mix.

DAY 90: IMPERIAL TREADWELL DROID

Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

The main recieving hangar of the Death Star II has a fair few droids wandering around, including this big guy best seen when Vader makes his arrival. You have to look a little to spot this droid, as it’s black in a sea of black and gray. But thankfully it’s mobile, giving you a little more to notice. It looks like they took the periscope-headed Treadwell prop from the first two movies and built up a massive body around its scrawny base, seemingly based on the Mouse Droids. I think it’s neat. I picture that body having a lot of pop-open panels revealing tools and such.

Action figure? Well, Hasbro could pretty easily make a super-simple one. Really would only need wheels and the periscope as separate pieces. I wouldn’t object to something more involved (like giving the actual eye-parts the ability to rotate up and down), but I’ll take what I can get. It’s simple, it’s an Imperial droid, it’s in a scene people seem to like re-creating (assuming they have a Shuttle).

Thing is, the figure is large enough to where it would need to share a package with something else. A regular-sized Imperial Officer would be too big, and the droid is not prominent enough to really justify being by itself on a card. Another black Astromech, as there’s like five of them in the scene? Might be too much. Or perhaps a couple of tiny Mouse Droids? It’s not like we can’t use more of those for our Imperial base scenes.

DAY 89: NANNY DROID RO-Z67

Clone Wars: “Children of the Force”

Doesn’t this just look like something you’d want taking care of your baby?

RO-Z67 is a nanny droid who was reprogrammed by Darth Sidious to “care” for kidnapped Force-sensitive infants as part of his plan to create a force of spies and assassins. It didn’t work thanks to the intervention of Anakin ans Ahsoka, and ultimately RO and her fellow droids were dumped in the lava flows of Mustafar as Sidious’s secret base collapsed.

This kind of looks like the love-child of WA-7 and FX-7. It’d certainly make an interesting figure were it to have all its arms articulated like FX-7 does.

However, even without the Clone Wars line sputtering at retail, this droid has a lot working against it. Namely, its non-combat, one-shot role. It’d certainly be cute to pack in a pair of baby Jedi with it, but… yyyyyeah.

siphersaysstuff:

One of these things is not like the other
One of these things just doesn’t belong

DAY 88: NOT QUITE FIGURES PART 2 – LEGO IMPERIAL PROTOCOL DROID

Lego Star Wars set#10188Death Star

Now, I want me that gigantic Lego Death Star. It stares at me every time I go to the Lego Store. But I cannot for the life of me justify the cost of the damn thing. Nor do I have the room to display it. Which is why I find it so vexing that it is the only place to get this particular Minifigure, a non-movie, non-Hasbro droid.

Jet-black 3PO unit. How do you not dig? I want one in Hasbro figure form.

A nice jet-black 3P unit from the Droid Factory mold. If Droid Factory is coming back to normal retail, there’s your outlet. If not? Well, that’s a hair trickier. I really don’t see much reason to not slap it in a single-card release, honestly, with a Photoshopped photo and just call it “D-3PO” or something, in a Death Star backdrop. Add in that new-mold Mouse Droid that comes with Tarkin and boom.

DAY 87: ECHO BASE TACTICAL R3 UNIT

Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

Now… this one could, technically, fall under the “droid re-dos”… except that this isn’t a case of a figure just needing a mold tweak, which it admittedly does. See, the R3 unit in the Echo Base tactical rooms is represented in figure form by R3-Y2, from the Entertainment Earth “Astromech Droid Pack” Series II. And… no. That really isn’t what the prop looks like. Even without the set photos and the deleted scene in the Blu-Ray, we see that the figure produced wasn’t even close. If they’d have painted it yellow instead of pea soup green, then we’d be approaching accurate and I’d mostly just be bitching about the crappy mold. Make the body actually white instead of that weird dingy green-tan, and we’re even closer, but still off. But as it stands… the existing figure might as well be a separate droid.

So, let’s look at “R3-Y2” as a film prop. Like the other original trilogy R3’s, he does not actually have a frame around his eyeport, but the existing molds have one there and as much as I’d like there to be a more accurate R3 dome mold that reflects this, I’m not going to hold my breath.

Most, but not all, of the usual details on this droid are yellow. The top “arms” on the chest and the leg-details appear to be stony-gray, which is a pretty nice color combo, actually, and gray isn’t a color you see applied too often to Astromechs as an accent. It looks like it’s also got gray on the outer feet details.

If the Droid Factory system is in fact coming back to retail, then we have the perfect place to try this one again. Multi-packing with other Echo Base staff is also an option (folks seem to really want their Toryn Farr), though it seems Hasbro is making those way more kid-friendly as of late with major characters, and simplified versions to boot.

C’mon, Droid Factory.

Between several official sources, I’ve taken some time to tally up all the shown “Droid Factory” parts. Here’s what I count…

• 25 heads
• 14 bodies
• 11 right legs
• 11 left legs
• 6 third legs
• 9 hats

Yeah, that’s more than the news reports have said (71 parts), but I’m going by the pics provided. Supposedly some parts won’t be in the bins til later in the summer, which may explain the discrepancy. We’ll see.

You can buy your droids as a single or a two-pack, with sources putting the pricing at $12.95 for a single (ouch!), and $18.95 for the two-pack, which is not bad really, considering that normal Star Wars figures average $9 at retail. But that’s STILL a lot of cash to plunk down if you want everything. Especially since this currently ONLY going to be at Disney’s Hollywood Studios park in Orlando with its $90 ticket price (by the time it hopefully moves to the free-to-enter Disney Downtown shopping place, well, parts may have been cycled out and replaced with new ones).

Now, there is some good news. A lot of the parts can be considered redundant with stuff already out, therefore are skippable unless you really must have every minor variant. As there are a lot more heads than bodies, even if you only buy the the non-redundant ones, well, you’re pretty much forced to get a couple duplicate bodies and legs. What might you be able to skip? Let’s break everything we’ve seen down so far by part! Heads I consider “skippable” will be italicized.

R2 Style Heads (5)

• Silver / blue
• Silver / green
• Silver / red
• Silver / yellow
• Red / silver

Did you get the Queen’s Starship Droids set? Then you have four of these five domes. Or close enough, most likely. One can quibble over shades if you must.

R3 Style Heads (2)

• Clear / orange
• Clear / purple

Both of these domes use -for the most part- the R3-A2 dome deco layout.The nubbins aren’t painted, and oddly the frame around the eyeport is painted silver. But when I’m looking to trim my spending, such concerns are trivial.

R4 Style Heads (3)

• Green / white
• White / purple
• White / blue

The green/white head is basically the same as R4-J1, only done in brighter tones and without the grime-wash. I consider this skippable then. The other two, interestingly enough, use more or less the same deco layout as the Star Tours R4-M9, a very old figure, but in totally new colors.

R5 Style Heads (3)

• White / green
• White / red
• Black / yellow

The red-accented R5 head looks like R5-D4’s, but we don’t have the best look at it right now, so this may change. The black/yellow head is basically R5-J2 with brighter accents, and so far we don’t even see a similar-deco body to put it on. And I will continue to point out that this deco belongs to a binocular-eyed R5, not a triclops.

R7 Style Heads (3)

• Black / yellow
• Silver / blue
• Yellow

The two domes deemed skippable here are not exact matches for R7-Z0 and R7-T1, but they’re very close. The Disney Park versions are just lacking a few panel/line details from the retail versions.

R6 Style Heads (3)

• White / purple
• White / yellow
• Black / silver

R8 Style Heads (3)

• White / yellow
• Blue / silver
• White / black

R9 Style Heads (3)

• Green / silver
• Red / silver
• Blue / silver

Wow, new parts! As such, none of these are redundant.. as of this moment that we know of. There are some potential redundancies, as some of these domes match up with the “sample” droids as seen in the New Essential Guide to Droids, and Hasbro used that book’s colors to make R7-Z0. The yellow-accent R6, black-accent R8, and green/silver R9 all line up pretty well with the sample droids for each type from that book. It’s been claimed that the 6/8/9 heads are exclusive to this venue, but… well, we’ll see.

So at the moment, there are ten “confirmed” redundant heads in the set. Which means, if you must buy a complete figure to get a head-part, we still got 15 to buy. 16 if you want to take advantage of 2-pack pricing.

Standard Astromech Body (11)

• White / blue
• White / green
• White / red
• White / purple
• White / black
• White / yellow
• Blue / white
• Dark blue / white
• Green / silver
• Red / white
• Black / silver

Now, some of these bodies are redundant with retail, but considering the sheer number of non-redundant heads… well, odds are you’re gonna end up with duplicates if you want each head anyway. The white/red and white/yellow bodies look to use the R5-A2 layout, with the yellow being potentially redundant with A2 (depending on how orange it actually is in person). The dark-blue/white body comes from R3-M3, but a lot darker blue than that droid’s. And the red/white one is close-enough to R2-R9, seemingly only lacking the topmost white strip.

R7/R8 Style Bodies (3)

• White / blue
• White / black
• White / yellow

None of these are immediately redundant, but the white/black one could be, as it perfectly matches the sample R8 from the aforementioned New Essential Guide to Droids. The yellow one looks to be a much brighter shade that R7-T1 almost pea-soup yellowish accents, enough to where I don’t feel bad getting it.

Left & Right Legs (11)

• White / blue
• White / green
• White / black
• White / red
• White / purple
• White / yellow
• Blue / white
• Dark blue / white
• Green / silver
• Red / white
• Black / silver

Not a lot to say here. The legs are pretty plainly matched up to the body decos, and nothing outrageous.

Tripods (6)

• White
• Blue
• Dark Blue
• Green
• Red
• Black

Again, not much to add. Unadorned and color-matched to the bodies.

Hats! (9)

• Black Mickey ears
• Red Mickey ears
• Green Mickey ears
• Blue Mickey ears
• Dark blue Mickey ears
• Goofy hat & ears
• Yoda ears cap
• Indiana Jones fedora
• Pirate hat

This is pretty awesome. Mind you, the black Mickey ears are not totally redundant with the ears you got from R2-MK, as these hats have a central pegs for added stability (which also sadly makes them unusable with non-Star-Tours droids)… plus MK’s hat has his name stamped on the back.

So there you have it. A hefty rundown. If you’re after just the heads, you’re looking at 12 to 15 figures, depending on what we learn of future retail plans. Me, I’m already planning out which parts to get, with an eye towards the bodies/legs best suited as custom fodder for the duplicates. And we’ll keep you updated as we discover more parts.

WIRED Magazine brings us pictures of a few more parts for the build-a-droid sets.

Look like three more bodies and two more sets of legs! No new heads shown, which is a bit of a relief for some, I’m sure.

• White / blue body (R2-D2)
• Blue / white body (simpler layout)
• Black / white body
• White / blue legs (R2-D2)
• Black / white legs

The article gives us a total parts list, 71. So, looking at the pics…

• 25 heads
• 14 bodies
• 8 right legs
• 8 left legs
• 6 third legs
• 9 hats

Just one shy of the total. Another hat? Maybe.

This I felt was important to point out: ”Three domes – R6, R8 and R9 – were created exclusively for this experience at Disney Parks.” So much for those potential redundant domes!

Also, “@Minesh – Currently, we are only introducing the Droid Factory at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Provided it’s popular with guests, we may consider additional locations.” Great for us East Coasters, huh?

Got your plan of purchasing attack ready? I’m working on mine!

UPDATED: New info from WIRED Magazine article!

So we’ve got two photos of the Disney Parks Build-A-Droid bits now, thanks to a big Facebook photo. I’ve taken a little time to break things down, and I count…

• 25 heads
• 14 bodies
• 11 right legs
• 11 left legs
• 6 third legs
• 9 hats

That’s a lot of parts, and assuming that you have to buy a complete figure to get any single part… that’s a lot of money. And bear in mind we might not have seen everything yet.

Now, there is some good news. A lot of the heads can be considered redundant with stuff already out, therefore are skippable unless you really must have every minor variant. If you want every dome, well, you’re pretty much guaranteed to get a couple redundant bodies. What might you be able to skip? Let’s break everything we’ve seen down so far by part! Parts I consider “skippable” will be italicized.

R2 Style Heads (5)

• Silver / blue
• Silver / green
• Silver / red
• Silver / yellow
• Red / silver

Did you get the Queen’s Starship Droids set? Then you have four of these five domes. Or close enough, most likely. One can quibble over shades if you must.

R3 Style Heads (2)

• Clear / orange
• Clear / purple

Both of these domes use -for the most part- the R3-A2 dome deco layout.The nubbins aren’t painted, and oddly the frame around the eyeport is painted silver. But when I’m looking to trim my spending, such concerns are trivial.

R4 Style Heads (3)

• Green / white
• White / purple
• White / blue

The green/white head is basically the same as R4-J1, only done in brighter tones and without the grime-wash. I consider this skippable then. The other two, interestingly enough, use more or less the same deco layout as the Star Tours R4-M9, a very old figure, but in totally new colors.

R5 Style Heads (3)

• White / green
• White / red
• Black / yellow

The red-accented R5 head looks like R5-D4’s, but we don’t have the best look at it right now, so this may change. The black/yellow head is basically R5-J2 with brighter accents, and so far we don’t even see a similar-deco body to put it on. And I will continue to point out that this deco belongs to a binocular-eyed R5, not a triclops.

R7 Style Heads (3)

• Black / yellow
• Silver / blue
• Yellow

The two domes deemed skippable here are not exact matches for R7-Z0 and R7-T1, but they’re very close. The Disney Park versions are just lacking a few panel/line details from the retail versions.

R6 Style Heads (3)

• White / purple
• White / yellow
• Black / silver

R8 Style Heads (3)

• White / yellow
• Blue / silver
• White / black

R9 Style Heads (3)

• Green / silver
• Red / silver
• Blue / silver

Wow, new parts! As such, none of these are redundant.. as of this moment that we know of. There are some potential redundancies, as some of these domes match up with the “sample” droids as seen in the New Essential Guide to Droids, and Hasbro used that book’s colors to make R7-Z0. The yellow-accent R6, black-accent R8, and green/silver R9 all line up pretty well with the sample droids for each type from that book. So, these three domes are a gamble at the moment.

so at the moment, there are ten “confirmed” redundant heads in the set. Which means, if you must buy a complete figure to get a head-part, we got 15 to buy.

Standard Astromech Body (11)

• White / blue
• White / green
• White / red
• White / purple
• White / black
• White / yellow
• Blue / white
• Dark blue / white
• Green / silver
• Red / white
• Black / silver

Now, some of these bodies are redundant with retail, but considering the sheer number of non-redundant heads… well, odds are you’re gonna end up with duplicates if you want each head anyway. The white/red and white/yellow bodies look to use the R5-A2 layout, with the yellow being potentially redundant with A2 (depending on how orange it actually is in person). The dark-blue/white body comes from R3-M3, but possibly a lot darker blue than that droid’s. And the red/white one is close-enough to R2-R9, seemingly only lacking the topmost white strip.

R7/R8 Style Bodies (3)

• White / blue
• White / black
• White / yellow

None of these are immediately redundant, but the white/black one could be, as it perfectly matches the sample R8 from the aforementioned New Essential Guide to Droids. The yellow one looks to be a much brighter shade that R7-T1 almost pea-soup yellowish accents, enough to where I don’t feel bad getting it.

Left & Right Legs (11)

• White / blue
• White / green
• White / black
• White / red
• White / purple
• White / yellow
• Blue / white
• Dark blue / white
• Green / silver
• Red / white
• Black / silver

Not a lot to say here. The legs are pretty plainly matched up to the body decos, and nothing outrageous.

Tripods (6)

• White
• Blue
• Dark Blue
• Green
• Red
• Black

Again, not much to add. Unadorned and color-matched to the bodies.

Hats! (9)

• Black Mickey ears
• Red Mickey ears
• Green Mickey ears
• Blue Mickey ears
• Dark blue Mickey ears
• Goofy hat & ears
• Yoda ears cap
• Indiana Jones fedora
• Pirate hat

This is pretty awesome. Mind you, the black Mickey ears are not totally redundant with the ears you got from R2-MK, as these hats have a central pegs for added stability (which also sadly makes them unusable with non-Star-Tours droids)… plus MK’s hat has his name stamped on the back.

So there you have it. A hefty rundown. If you’re after just the heads, you’re looking at 12 to 15 figures, depending on what we learn of future retail plans. Me, I’m already planning out which parts to get, with an eye towards the bodies/legs best suited as custom fodder for the duplicates. And we’ll keep you updated as we discover more parts.

DAY 86: WATTO’S WEIRD-DOME ASTROMECH

Episode I: The Phantom Menace

We return once again to Watto’s shop, with another odd hodge-podge droid. This one’s an Astromech in the “bath” behind the counter, and its got a dome never seen before or since. I mean, look at that. A very high collar, and at least two odd eye-like protrusions.

We never get a good look at the body, and what we do see it just plain white. Defintiely the back of an Astromech. Any figure would likely be making up a deco whole-hog.

Of course, would Hasbro make this droid? Even as just a new dome on the recycled Droid Factory Astromech body? Welllllllll. A week or so ago, I’d have said “hahahahhahahaha”. But now that we’ve got the looking-very-true rumor of Droid Factory coming back to retail? His chances have increased a fair bit, despite being a one-off that they couldn’t really use for other droids and being an Episode I figure.