This is the second of three figures from the Droids cartoon that Hasbro has recently released as Target exclusives.  Chris already reviewed C-3PO, and he will eventually get around to reviewing Boba Fett.  Before we get into the source background and figure stuff, I’ll take a moment to discuss the drama surrounding the release of this figure.  About 14 years ago, the three Droids figures were announced and then went up for pre-order on Target.com.  Since I started collecting, I have always been a fan of Target, and preferred them over any other retailer when it came to having to hunt down exclusives.  For most of my time as a collector, I was an aggressive hunter, and would stalk the many stores near my home (either in NYC or NJ) at all hours of the day, multiple days during the week, in hopes of finding new figures, particularly store exclusives.  Back in the day, these runs included Target, Walmart, Toys R Us, Kmart, KB Toys, and sometimes Kohl’s or even FAO Schwarz.  But the BIG 3 were the main sources.  Toys R Us was always a mess.  They were usually the last of the three to get new waves, they charged more, and their checkout process was a joke.  I don’t think I ever was able to run in, find something, and check out quickly.  Walmart, to put it simply, was (and still is) gross.  The staff is utterly unhelpful, the parking lots always jammed, and I always felt like I needed a shower after visiting there.  If it weren’t for Star Wars, I would probably never set foot in a Walmart.  Target on the other hand, was rarely crowded, had the most helpful staff, and presented a better than average shopping experience, especially for an inexpensive department store.  And most importantly, I NEVER, and I absolutely mean NEVER, had any problem finding a Target store exclusive.  The DPCI system, coupled with helpful team members, meant I always snared my quarry as a collector. 

The world has changed, of course, and most of us now have to pre-order stuff online.  I understand there is a palpable collective groan whenever a new reveal turns out to be a Target exclusive.  But I have to say, I have honestly experienced almost none of the headaches that collectors complain about.  The only thing that happens to me is that I get that “ping” on my credit card for my outstanding orders.  But I have NEVER gotten an email asking me to confirm a delayed pre-order, at the risk of getting it cancelled.  I have NEVER had a pre-order cancelled for any reason.  And I have NEVER not been able to find an item I pre-ordered in the store anyway.  Meanwhile, I have had ordeals - actual (First World) ordeals - that have had me spend hours on the phone with Walmart / FedEx / OnTrac because there was a typo in my zip code.  Walmart is the only company I’ve dealt with that will not allow you to make any changes to your pre-order.  I have had no problem updating my address with Target, Amazon, BBTS, Sideshow, or anyone else. 

So the only issue I’ve had is the same one that 100% of collectors deal with, which is the long lead times from pre-order to delivery.  And you know what?  I honestly don’t care one bit about this.  I’m not personally getting screwed.  My stuff is on order, and I’ll get it eventually, just like everyone else.  It saves me the gas of making the insane toy runs I used to make.  I have neither the time, nor the inclination, nor the spare gas money to do that anymore.  So I make sure I’m online at the appointed time, place my order, and my stuff arrives when it arrives.  I have so much stuff on pre-order (as many of us do), that it just arrives at my doorstep magically when the time comes. I never have to hunt for anything anymore, and I get a constant stream of packages at my doorstep with new product.  I honestly don’t feel any of the grief that so many people express over the pre-order situation.  And personally, Target comes through 100% percent of the time, so I’m happy to deal with them.

So all that said, these 3 figures were massively delayed, and for some reason, C-3PO shipped months ago.  Finally, just over the past few weeks, R2 and Boba finally joined the fun, and now we have all three.

And one more note before I get into the figure.  I was 10 when ROTJ came out.  I’ve told the story numerous times of how seeing it on opening day back then is the greatest movie theater experience I will ever have.  But soon after that, despite being obsessed with Star Wars for several years and amassing a pretty impressive “collection” of Kenner toys, once ROTJ was in the rear view mirror, I completely moved on from Star Wars.  I was utterly unaware that the Kenner figures evolved into the POTF look.  I watched Saturday morning cartoons religiously just like every other kid in the 80’s, but somehow, I never had any idea that there was such a thing as Droids, or Ewoks for that matter.  I actually gave my entire collection to my aunt, who was a librarian in Connecticut, so that she could display them in the kids section.  It wasn’t until I was collecting as an adult, sometime after 1999, that my aunt gave me my old toys back, and they included some odds and ends that weren’t mine originally, but that she had acquired herself.  Included in that group was an R2-D2 figure that looked like the Kenner droid I was familiar with, but had weird colors.  I researched this and learned it was from the Droids line, which was the first time I was aware of these cartoons.  So I don’t have the same connection to these 3 Target figures as Chris has described in his C-3PO review.

Okay, if you’re still reading this, here’s the review of the actual figure.  The figure sucks!  We should all be over the VC25 bartender mold.  It’s garbage at this point.  The original figure at least came with a bunch of cool accessories that could mask the limitations of the figure.  It wasn’t bad when released, but was rendered utterly moot, embarrassingly, by the R2-D2 that came from the “5POA” TLJ line, and then subsequently repainted in the Solo line, and then again as VC149.  For whatever reason, the mold wasn’t left to die, and Hasbro saw fit to use it for this release.  The appeal here is the nostalgia/kitsch factor.  So the mold itself isn’t necessarily the most relevant thing here.  The paint job, reflecting R2’s appearance in the cartoon, as well as the special Droids packaging, are what make this special.  So much so, that I was briefly tempted to not open the package, but screw that.  Cardboard and plastic bubbles are for chumps.  This gets a generous 6 out of 10 for what it represents, despite the craptastic sculpt.