One of my objective when I first set foot in Tokyo some weeks ago was to find myself the Bandai C3-P0 figure kit. You see, these are scalped to death over here in Malaysia despite it being just about 20 American dollars or so. Dare I say it, some sellers are asking for double that amount since they know that Hasbro still hasn't produced a Threepio for our display shelves and even IF Hasbro eventually does it, the end result would not be as fantastic (more on that later).
I also got myself the R2 & BB-8 kit set (although I should've really gotten myself the one which Artoo came with R5-D4 instead.....that was one mighty fine looking ANH droid!) cause Artoo is the one you're after here and it's kinda of a must-purchase if you've already placed the Threepio kit in your shopping cart.
After many eye-squinting sessions later...
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Threepio was completed......followed by BB-8 (not reviewed here today but maybe sometime in the future if I ever come back to it) and finally R2-D2.
Let's start with C3-P0. Although many collectors will not be in favor of the vac-metal gold finishing, I think this is the closest we've gotten so far of 'ol Goldenrod! The details are simply breathtaking....I personally love the wiring greeblies that protrudes out of his belly, both front and back. Although these are marketed as 'figure kits', they have the same articulations that your normal Star Wars The Black Seriesa action figures have...if not better!
Tell me you're not impressed with C3-P0 here?
While Hasbro is taking their time to produce a Threepio (they haven't done a single version thus far, neither the classic/prequel/TFA version were planned nor scheduled for any realistic release date), other producers such as Bandai and the Disney Store went ahead with their offering. Trust me, Bandai did NOT disappoint here. I also snagged myself Disney Store's red-arm Threepio but that's story for another day. Shame on you Hasbro.....did you forget to give us a CORE character?
Now coming to R2-D2, let me just start by saying that after you complete the Artoo figure/bot/astromech, you will soon realised that Hasbro's Black Series version simply falls short.....and I mean SHORT.
Take a look at the comparison picture with Episdoe V Luke Skywalker below....it's obvious that Hasbro's version is too small scale-wise with the rest of the six-inchers.
Some may not agree but a quick visit to Dr Google with immediately clear up any doubts you may have with this theory/fact.
Still need more proof? Well, here are two screen grab from the original trilogy films that will show you that Hasbro has 'short' changed us collectors (I'll stop with the pun now...haha).
Artoo's height is supposed to reach most of the actors/actresses' waistline (and in some cases beyond it). Clearly Hasbro's Artoo is out of scale and Bandai has corrected this.
So there you go:
1) We're not gonna see Threepio being produced in 6" The Black Series line-up anytime soon....and even if they did, I honestly do NOT think they would even come close to the quality that Bandai has given us here.
2) You'd get a better-scaled Artoo for your 6" Star Wars collection, Nuff said. Anyone up for a 6" Black Series R2-D2? Coz I'm selling mine off.
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