REVIEW: 40268 R3-M2

[WhiteFang]

Hello everyone,

I am very pleased to share my recent acquisition of this lovely new LEGO Star Wars promotional polybag. I was glad to come across this promotional polybag through various sources. I was able to chance upon in Malaysia upon minimum purchase of RM150.00 at Aeon Departmental Stores, in Singapore upon minimum purchase of SGD$70.00 at Toys R Us and any LEGO Star Wars purchase of any value in Shop@Home Europe/UK, which is the best value for money among the 3 encounters. Without further ado, let me run through quickly on this review if this is truly worth getting.  

Name: 40268 R3-M2
Theme: LEGO System / Licensed / Rogue One
Year: 2017
Pieces: 21
Minifigs: 0 minifigure, 1 astromech
Price: USD N.A, GBP N.A, EURO N.A, SGD N.A
Resources: Brickset, BrickLink

An original polybag image of the 40268 R3-M2


Back view of the original polybag image of the 40268 R3-M2

 

The very first character feature in this special Star Wars series

This is certainly one of the interesting polybag concept being made available in 2017, other than the recent 5004929 Batman Battle Pod. Initially, there were speculations if the concept for using backdrop banner with a stickered introduction is going to be one-time off until we saw the 40176 Scarif Stormtrooper which is a sequel to this polybag. It also means the idea of using minifigure stand and backdrop will encompass a much longer connection featuring other uncommon characters. I don't really think common characters like the main Star Wars characters such as Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia and etc, might appeal to many, unless of course there is a significant change/update to the character's design variant.  


The content of the sealed polybag

The polybag contains 21 building parts, which will allow you to make the minifigure stand. The polybag also contain the backdrop banner and the dreaded sticker sheet. I must confessed that I am very disappointed that the 'R3-M2' naming is actually a sticker on the 1x4 flat tile. I thought this was a printed part and when I opened it. I was utterly disappointed with it. After building, these are the remaining spare parts. 

The completed built of R3-M2

The completed built of the R3-M2 is quite decent. The R3-M2 made the first appearance in the LEGO Star Wars theme and will be part of the long line of astromechs variants. Little information is contained about this R3-M2, other than it made a sneak appearance in the recent Star Wars Rogue One movie, where this astromech is seen supporting the Rebel Alliance fleet. Fans who are dedicated to collect various astromechs, will certainly not want to miss this at all. The completed built of the backdrop banner is rather a simplistic built, which enable to use the technic connector pins to click and expand the minifigures' base as it release the next and the next polybag. You can see the banner being hold up by the 1/2 brush technic parts from the back view. 

We have captured the escaped droid and astromechs

To conclude, this is an average polybag design which tried a creative attempt to repackage the traditional LEGO polybag approach through this experimental presentation by utilising the minifigure stand and backdrop combination altogether. I am not exactly sure how long this series of the sequential releases and how often will it be. It will probably be impressive if the minifigures' line is enticing enough to show the entire episodes of the LEGO Star Wars, if they are actually focusing episode by episode. It's premature at this point and quite alot of guesswork for now. If this is going to be a successful line, then the R3-M2 will pave the way for the future of this LEGO character representation in many other ways. To be honest, I won't encourage you to buy this off the secondary market if you have difficulty securing through promotional means unless you are a dedicated astromech collector. Furthermore, the disappointing sticker sheet for the supposedly printed tile for R3-M2. 

Summary review
Playability: 6/10 (Decent astromech variant which could be included in the Star Wars universe for additional variety)
Design: 6/10 (Average design and concept of backdrop banner is interesting but the stickered tile is a bummer.)
Price: 6/10 (Get this polybag via promotional means, and re-consider getting it via secondary market.)
Overall: 6/10 (Average polybag design and not a definite must-to-get polybag, unless you are collecting astromechs to every single last piece of variants.)

I gave it a "3" based on my Review Score Card. What about yours?

I hope every one of you enjoyed reading this simple review of mine. Comments and Criticisms are strongly welcomed.

Pictures can be found in My Flickr.

[legofives]

I have to get me one of these

[makoy]

I have to rate this higher than "3" just because it is free.

[VaderFan2187]

1 hour ago, makoy said:

I have to rate this higher than "3" just because it is free.

Except all polls in the Star Wars forum are broken :( 

13 hours ago, WhiteFang said:

I must confessed that I am very disappointed that the 'R3-M2' naming is actually a sticker on the 1x4 flat tile. I thought this was a printed part and when I opened it. I was utterly disappointed with it.

Oh, I thought it was a print. Ugh.

[roadstermatt]

I am very pleased with my 2 R3-M2's which I got free with a couple purchases at the lego store  the stand is nice the droid is another astromech with colour variation hence my score of 3

[Richpepperell]

Both the head and torso were on Bricks and Pieces  (UK) a couple of weeks ago. Stocked up, now just need to get some legs!

[PaulPrime]

2 hours ago, Richpepperell said:

Both the head and torso were on Bricks and Pieces  (UK) a couple of weeks ago. Stocked up, now just need to get some legs!

I got two of each that way, and bricklinked the legs. I can't understand Bricks and Pieces policy but it's great when you can find this kind of offers.

[WhiteFang]

Sorry guys. I just realised the polls in SW forum are broken. We are in the midst of resolving this issue and hope to get the scoring back to business soon. 

I am glad you guys got a chance to get this polybag for free. This really made a fine freebie, but I don't think is worth to pay for it.