I hate Mondays...I need my COFFEE!

I hate Mondays...I need my COFFEE!

The Dark Side

Sideshow R2-D2 (regular)

R2-D2, pronounced Artoo-Detoo and often referred to as Artoo, was an R2-series astromech droid manufactured by Industrial Automaton.

R2-D2 has got to be one of the more popular droids in the Star Wars universe. I can't really say that for his counterpart, the protocol droid C-3PO. Resourceful and spunky, the droid developed an adventurous personality during his many decades of operation.

When Sideshow produced this fellow, I knew he would have to part of my collection. I have also pre-ordered Pilot Luke and Artoo would display nicely with Luke.

Sideshow has done countless characters from the Star Wars universe and the design of the packaging is more or less the same.
This is no different for Artoo.
Everything is nicely packed in the plastic tray and you can see it through the window.

Artoo is like the swiss army knife of droids. He has many arms, sensors, and other tools that could be extended to fulfill various needs, such as slicing computers, extinguishing fires, projecting holograms, repairing starships and flying inside his cylindrical frame.
Hence, Sideshow has great material to give us lots of accessories and features for this figure.
Artoo comes a multi-tiered beverage tray for R2’s one-time server gig on Jabba the Hutt’s luxury sail barge!
He also comes with tools like:
1) Power Charge arm
2) Computer Terminal arm
3) Grasping arm
4) Periscope (not detachable)
5) Life scanner (not detachable)
6) Luke's lightsaber (the one where Artoo shot out when Luke attempted to rescue Han and Leia on Jabba the Hutt sail barge). The lightsaber also doubles up as a magnetic tool to help open the various doors on Artoo's cylindrical frame to reveal the different arms and tools.
If you get the Sideshow exclusive version, you get 3 more accessories like:
1) Utility Circular saw
2) Laser Welding arm
3) Spacecraft Linkage arm

On top of all those accessories, we also get the Kenobi's round table with Leia's secret hologram transmission.
To fit Leia's hologram onto the table, you will use the lightsaber (doubles as a magnetic tool) to pull out a "button" leaving a hole on the table, after which you can fit the hologram into the hole. Very cool idea.

It would be criminal if there are no light up feature on an Artoo figure. Thank goodness Sideshow included that in.
To activate the lights feature, you would have to remove the dome. The switch is found under the dome.
We don't just get stationary lights but also blinking and flashing lights just like the real Artoo.
It would have been perfect if we could have also gotten some sort of sound feature (beeps and whistles)
Scroll down for pictures showing the lights feature.

When I took the dome off, I could not help but wonder if anyone would do a Kenny Baker head sculpt and stuck it in the cylindrical body (replacing the dome).
It would look just like Kenny taking a breather on set.
It would have looked sick displayed.

Artoo also has the third retractable leg which adds another variation of displaying him.

Sideshow also done well in the sculpting department as long as it is not a human sculpt. I dont think they have reached the level of Hot Toys even thought they are charging their figures at that level.
Artoo being a droid means that the sculpting on this fellow is very good.
The painting and weathering gives Artoo the worn out dirty look which perfectly captures the essence of Artoo as he has gone on numerous adventures around the galaxy with Luke.
One big problem with Sideshow is loose joints and I have seen it all too often on their figures.
You might be thinking how could there be loose joints on Artoo given that they are not using any of the 12" bodies.
Well...the joints for the legs may not be loose but the doors to the compartments on Artoo's body is loose. Some of the doors does not close well. If you tilt Artoo to the side, some of the doors may open up.

Artoo the swiss army knife of droids. Showing off all his tools needed to fulfill various needs, such as slicing computers, extinguishing fires, projecting holograms, repairing starships and flying.

Luke's lightsaber can be hidden inside of Artoo's dome.

Artoo with his multi-tiered beverage tray for his one-time server gig on Jabba the Hutt’s luxury sail barge.
Drinks anyone...

Showcasing the light up features.
Just a video to show you the blinking and flashing lights.

Artoo, can also be used as a "media" player!

Sideshow Darth Vader Deluxe

Being a Star Wars and toys collector, I found it really strange that I did not have even one Darth Vader 12" figure. Sideshow and Medicom had produced many versions and strangely enough I have passed all of them.
However, with Sideshow's latest Darth offering, I finally gave in to this deluxe version.
I do not have the other version of Vader to compare to, hence I will just comment on this version on its own.

I like the packaging.
The figure is packaged in a box, just like how designer bags are packaged.
Now I know why my wife gets so excited when she open up her designer bag boxes.
The design on the front of the box is simple, showing the outline of Vader's head upon a black background.
The back of the box shows the picture of the figure.
In accordance with the character of the figure, the packaging is dark with black as the primary color.

When opening the box, you get a sleeve that shows the picture of an unmasked Vader.
There are two layers. The first layer houses the figure and the additional head.
The second layer is where you can find the base and the extra hands.

Sideshow has been producing countless Star Wars characters in 12" scale and they have done their best work on sculpting the different helmets worn by troopers, Boba Fett and of course Vader.
I guess is is easier as compared to sculpting human faces that requires other factors like the texture of the skin, the natural flow of the hair and the realism of the eyes.
That being said, the expectation to be perfect or near perfect for Vader's sculpt is even higher and I must say Sideshow have done a good job.

Like all Sideshow figures, I hate the body.
I found it difficult to make Vader stand on its own (even for simple poses)
He just keeps falling over.

For the deluxe version, we get an extra head sculpt.
The unmasked Vader.
As said before, the sculpting gets so much more complex when you are doing a human face.
This is where Sideshow falters slightly.
Even though the details and texture are good and enhanced by a good paint job, I still feel the the sculpting is off and could be improved.
For human faces, Sideshow is still not as good as Hot Toys or Enterbay.

As a deluxe version (of course you pay more), you get lots of accessories.
On top of the extra head, you get your standard extra hands so you can do different poses.
You also get an "On" lightsaber and an "Off" lightsaber which you can hook onto his belt.

I love the base.
It looks bad-ass and with the light up feature it looks really cool.

Another cool accessory is the mediation chamber stand for Vader's helmet and mask.
Oh yes you also get an extra Vader's helmet and mask just to display with the mediation chamber stand.
Basically you get an extra item to display.
On top of it, the stand has light up features too!

I have a love hate relationship with light up features.
I love it as it enhances the figure but I hate it because I would have to take the batteries out to prevent them from leaking in the long run rendering the light up feature useless...sigh, the dilemma.
Both stands have light up features.
The buttons on Vader's chest plate and belt also light up.
The batteries are stored at the back of Vader's belt.

Despite some flaws, overall this is a good Darth Vader figure to have if you never owned one.
The many accessories are a plus point.

I do find the unmasked head a little small for the body.