Review: 8009 R2-D2

[Ras_Al_Ghul]

Who do you call when you need to get in the back door of a Death Star shield generator station? R2-D2 of course! R2 is probably the most well known droids in the Star Wars saga, and the LEGO model is no less great.

To start off, here are some key (or not so key) facts and figures:

Name: R2-D2

Theme: Technic/Star Wars

Year Released: 2002

Parts: 242

Minifigs: 0

Price: USD$20.00

Age: 8+

Now lets get on to some interesting stuff!

Overall pic:

And a size comparison to my slightly modded 8284 Tractor:

He may be just under 7 inches tall, but he is still fully functional with a retractable third leg, an extendable datajack, and a moving head.

1. Before Building

The parts:

R2 includes 242 parts, most of which are white. Some especially notable ones are the white 12 tooth bevel gears, and the white and light gray 8-stud axles. The gray axles only appear in 3 sets, and white in 4, so they are not that easy to come by.

The instructions:

Cover

Random page

Book is about 6" x 8", and 58 pages long

2. The Build

R2's cylindrical body is built first, with the legs and head to be added on later.

3. After Building

The few extra parts. Some of these confused me when I first built it; like why do they include a red boat stud? Also, why are there 2 extra rubber bands? Are they expecting them to break or what? The bush, half bush, and 3/4 pin all make sense because they are so easy to lose. And of course, as with any set that includes rubber bands, the pointless rubber band holder.

R2 is packed with functions, the most prominent of which is his third leg:

Retracted in the two legged position.

Tap the 1 x 4 thin liftarm and the leg snaps out.

My favorite part about this is that it is linked to his main legs and when the third one is deployed, his body tilts back a little, just like in the movies.

He also has a datajack that extends whenever he needs to hack into Imperial computer systems.

The perpendicular axle joiner on the back that extends the arm

Overall

I think that for $20.00 this is a great set. It both looks good and works well. There is something to watch out for though: the soft axles on his feet, if left on display for a long time, won't be so soft anymore. The two on mine are permanently bent into that shape. But as long as you take them off periodically and straighten them out it shouldn't get too bad. The only thing this set left me wanting was an alternate model. I know there aren't many things you can build with a bunch of white Technic parts, but I would have liked to see possibly a snowspeeder or something.

* Value for Price: 10/10 (lots of great parts for a pretty small price)

* Playability: 10/10 (plenty of movement, yet strong too)

* Parts 10/10 (unique colors and parts)

* Design 10/10(tons of function for a small/med set)

* Overall 10/10 (the only problems are very minor)

Links

Brickshelf folder

Bricklink

Peeron

Edited November 25, 2008 by KimT

[KyoKyo]

wow this set is a blast from the past! Nice job on the review. I think I remember seeing this set years ago at K-Mart but thought that it look like a gutted trash can so I didn't get it

[JimBee]

Thanks for the wonderful review, Ras Al Ghul. This set seems average to me, since it looks really empty and unfinished. Still, I believe this was one of the first set with dark blue pieces in it.

[Oky]

Thanks for the review. Somebody had to do it.

This is one of the worst SW sets ever IMO! All the other Technic SW sets were so much better than this. Definitely below average! Except for some dark blue Technic pieces, this thing was pointless and not worth its money. After getting the Droid Developer Kit, I didn't even waste a thought about getting this.

[KinGanon]

*Swooshes from time travel

Whoa! Nice review, I guess it was a decent set, but not much there IMHO

[KimT]

Thanks Ras Al Ghul.

Now I have to build a whole new part of the Review Index around the technic sets from Star Wars.

I never bought this set since I only collect regular system Star Wars.

[KimT]

Thanks Ras Al Ghul.

Now I have to build a whole new part of the Review Index around the technic sets from Star Wars.

I never bought this set since I only collect regular system Star Wars.

And done.

It's the first of the Star Wars Technic sets to hit our Review Index.

Now what about the rest of them?

Indexed and ready for more

[darkrebellion]

Well, I think this is an average set to me mainly cause the SW Technic spin-offs aren´t exactly my cup of tea . Otherwise, the set itself is good but I think the TLC didn´t know how to capture the "trash can" feel of R2 . I am thinking of maybe getting some Technic sets cause they aren´t so expensive nowadays and some of them are pretty cool like C-3PO and Darth Vader . I actually own the Stormtrooper one and the SBD but this last one disassambled (Well I maybe will get a good day of searching for pieces and re-build it ).

[pr0visorak]

Great review! I personally did not like the set. There was too much technic involved, great to see this in another opinion

[JimBee]

There was too much technic involved

Well, it is a Technic set...

[Ras_Al_Ghul]

Now what about the rest of them?

I'll post Darth Vader and Jango Fett as soon as I get them sorted out

[KimT]

I'll post Darth Vader and Jango Fett as soon as I get them sorted out

Great

[Clone Commander]

This was my first LEGO set. I loved it! My mom stayed up all night building it when I was like 4.