R2-X2 is famous around these parts.  Mostly because he is the only astromech member of Red Squadron that exists as an action figure but lacks a pilot partner.  Theron Nett, Red 10, has yet to be made into action figure form.  This is also somewhat interesting because Red 1-6 have all been made into pilots, but only John D. Brannon, Red 4, lacks an astromech co-pilot.  It would perhaps have made more sense if Hasbro created Brannon’s droid instead of this one.  Of course, it’s a bit problematic because Brannon’s droid has never been given a canon name.  Nevertheless, that droid can be seen in the film, ever so briefly and partially obstructed, behind Brannon while flying above the Death Star.  That droid appears to be identical to R4-M9, the conical-headed droid that was captured by the Empire aboard the Tantive IV.  And to make matters more complicated, R2-Q2 appears next to R4-M9 as an imperial operative that was scouring the Tantive for information.  That same prop was used as the astromech for Biggs Darklighter, Red 2.  Anyway, you could try using an R4-M9 figure as Brannon’s astromech. That would leave poor R2-X2 as the only member of Hasbro’s Red Squadron at Yavin that has no flying partner.  We know that R2-X2 was destroyed in the battle, so it’s very sad, if you think about it, that Hasbro has made him so lonely as he prepares to finish out his final minutes of existence in the galaxy.

R2-X2 was released once before, as part of the second of two Entertainment Earth exclusive astromech 6-packs from the Saga Collection in 2006.  That droid, shown above in the side-by-side comparison shot, was erroneously painted black, probably by Mick Jagger.  The actual droid in A New Hope can be seen in a couple of places, and is clearly a dark green color.  He is shown in the Rebel briefing room, standing next to R2-D2 and behind Col “Fake Wedge” Takbright.  He’s obviously rolling his eye along with Takbright, as Luke tries to school the experienced pilots on how he practiced his marksmanship by murdering innocent wild animals.  If anyone was paying attention, they should have read the signs.  Womprats were clearly gateway victims.  Someone should have gotten that poor farmboy some help.  But instead, he went on to live a miserable life as an old hermit, dying alone on a rock on a crap planet populated by cantankerous bird-like fish mongerers.  Oh, he can also be seen just after Han tells Luke to kick rocks, as he’s lowered into the socket in an X-Wing, presumably flown by Theron Nett, who was shot down while impersonating Puck Naeco. 

So this droid does a nice job of replacing the fake R2-X2 previously provided by Entertainment Earth.  You terrible collectors out there can take that one and throw it in your dumb bootleg Disney sandcrawler.  R2-X2 was a bit of an odd choice for this wave, which otherwise consisted entirely of characters from The Empire Strikes Back.  It might also be viewed as one of a cost-saver figure, since it’s simply a repaint of the then 5 year-old astromech mold that debuted with the ROTS Sneak Preview R4-G9 figure.  The sculpt is very good and stands up well today, although some people prefer the BAD sculpt, even with the extra holes on the sides of the body.  That may have been remedied with the advent of the TLJ line’s R2-D2, which used the BAD mold with the holes filled in.  That may be the best astromech mold available at this point, but I’m certainly not interested in Hasbro using it to repaint every droid that came before.

R2-X2 is painted well, although you can see that the circular lines around the dome are a little bit on the wavy side.  Some of the silver paint details have a bit of overspray here and there, but overall it’s done well enough.  The only feature is the turning head which retracts and extends the third leg.  The functionality is excellent, and the foot retracts completely into the body for a clean look when the figure is standing on two legs.  There are no accessories, which is too bad.  It should have come with a small framed picture of Theron Nett.

It’s an astromech.  It’s an excellent sculpt.  It has an interesting color scheme and pattern.  And most importantly, it’s a member of Red Squadron.  He needs a pilot figure to die with.  And we might as well get the other 5 pilots that flew, as well as the 4 that didn’t.  Read more about that stuff in our Battle of Yavin Red Squadron Figures and Toys feature from a few months back.  The figure gets a 7.  I’d give it an 8 if it was the new BAD mold.

Build-A-Droid 

R2-X2 contains the right leg of HK-50.  This was a model of assassin droid from the Old Republic era, built by Revan.  Source:  Knights of the Old Republic II - (Legends).

Verdict: No Action 

While the astromech molds have improved slightly over the years, this one is still pretty excellent.  This figure renders moot the previous R2-X2, and we can safely call it definitive.  Pick one up if you’re a fan of…well, if you’re a fan of Star Wars.

Verdict Guide:
Re-sculpt = The figure is not definitive, and a new version should be developed.
Re-issue = This version is definitive (or close enough), and shows sufficient secondary market demand to warrant a straight repack.
No Action = This release does not require new attention.