Lego Technic R2-D2 - Chronicles of A Naked Droid
Written: Jul 19 '02 (Updated Apr 19 '03)
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Pros: Unique finished product, nice moving parts, sturdy.
Cons: Instructions could have been clearer.
The Bottom Line: Not as difficult as the Battle Droid, but certainly not easy, the R2-D2 Droid is a nice way to blow a few hours.
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| Freak369's Full Review: LEGO Star Wars R2-D2 8009 |
Sometimes I wonder about the designers at Lego and Lego Technic. Do they construct the sets to challenge or to confuse? Pretty much all of the Lego Technic Star Wars line gives you an end result of a stunning characters, but getting through the construction of the set without stomping it to pieces seems to be the biggest challenge. I picked up two of these R2-D2 sets, one for me and one for the boys. When I purchased the Lego Technic Battle Droid I swore I’d never pick up another in the series, yeah, that lasted about a week. Since then, the Battle Droid sets have been reduced to $14.99 at Amazon.com and I ordered a few sets for my own personal stash. When or if this set gets reduced I’ll more than likely pick up a few of them for when the boys are older.
One of the nicest things about the entire Technic series is that you have more detail to the elements. About 75% of the pieces in this set will work with the Bionicle line from Lego so if you give up mid way through the construction process, the pieces won’t be wasted. Trying to get these pieces to work with regular Lego sets will be a true adventure since a majority of them rely on connector pins to join the pieces rather than the ‘stack and lock’ method used by regular Lego bricks.
The Basics
This droid unit is aesthetically pleasing to the eye, but bears little resemblance to the R2-D2 we all have come to know and love. With limited maneuverability and functions, this is a set for die-hard Lego or Technic enthusiasts only. People just starting out with Lego construction will want to try and avoid this set since it is a time consuming venture.
Out of all the Lego Technic Star Wars sets, there are only a handful that are truly worth the effort needed to create them as well as the hefty price tag. You’d be wise to keep an eye out for sets that are marked down due to lack of sales, damaged boxes or an overstock situation. The R2-D2 set is nice, but not without its pitfalls.
The Photo Supplements
Keeping the box and instructions close by during the assembly process is pretty important – at least to me it is. Sometimes the easiest thing to do it to stop, look at the picture and get your bearings. You aren’t dealing with something that is “step by step” since you are constructing different parts of the droid then connecting all the smaller assembled pieces into the completed droid. If you really get stuck you can check out the images of the completed droid at the Lego website at http://www.lego.com/starwars/products.asp, then click on the link for the R2-D2 droid under the heading character models. From here you can get different angles of the droid – and you have the ability to choose which one you want to enlarge.
The Instructions
The 60-page instruction booklet carries you through the construction process of your R2 unit. I highly suggest that you read through the booklet and become familiar with the different steps that you will need to take to properly build this set. One of the things I found extremely helpful was to separate the pieces according to the different sections of construction. This way you have all the pieces you need and don’t have to worry about using an incorrect piece. All it takes is one wrong element placed in the center of the droid and you could be looking at an additional hour or two to complete the model. Some pieces look similar so pay attention to the informational boxes in the corners – these give you the listings of correct pieces needed as well as an illustration.
Page 58 shows you the completed R2-D2 unit as well as his companion C-3PO. This gives you the ability to see the droid from another angle in case you get stuck in some part of the building process. Page 59 shows Darth Vader, Rebel Blockade Runner, Darth Maul and Yoda. Be sure to check out the back cover, this gives you some nice photos of Star Wars Lego sets and possible scenes you can construct when certain sets are combined.
Overall I found the instruction to be adequate but at the same time rther confusing. In hindsight I would have rather paid and extra ten dollars for a video tape companion than to have wasted so much time flipping back and forth through the booklet. There are more than a few occasions that I doubted my construction of the R2 unit and had to go back several pages to double check the illustrations. This is pretty common with the more elaborate sets, especially when dealing with the Technic series.
The Completed Droid
As I mentioned at the beginning of the review, the final product is very cool looking but doesn’t resemble the R2-D2 depicted in the films. The basic structure is there but these are Technic pieces so you end up with a very “wide open” looking droid. When the R2 unit is made to stand upright [without the third wheel deployed for maximum stability] the unit measures as follow: 5 3/4 inches high, 3 inches in length and 3 3/4 inches wide. When the third wheel is extended you can look at adding another 3/4 of an inch to the dimensions. The features of the completed droid include a third wheel that is released by pressing on the back portion of the frame, a moveable arm that holds a “gun” [the black peg that can be used for a verity of applications], a headpiece that spins, expandable front fairings and three functional wheels on the bottom of the unit.
The droid doesn’t fall over easily, even without the third wheel extended. The flexible hoses used at the bottom of the unit help to visually break up the sterile appearance without taking away for the Technic feel of the set. The blue flexible tubing used around the base of the head piece as well as those use on the top of the unit help to give the droid an R2 like resemblance.
Things To Know
This is not a set that you want to try and build in one sitting. The boys managed to build theirs in a little over two hours while mine took me several days to complete. I found myself getting frustrated and rather than bash the thing against the wall I’d walk away and take a break. No matter how much a smaller child begs for this set, please think long and hard about purchasing it. It takes an incredible amount of time to construct and if a child is easily frustrated it could put them off of the entire Lego line.
Breaking up the pieces according to the assembly process helps to eliminate about 80% of the errors that might be made during the production of the unit but you still need to double check your progress against the illustrations and the photos on the box. Because you are dealing with white, gray, black and blue elements, there is always the chance that the illustration of a piece could appear darker or lighter than the one that is to be used. This could result in having to strip down several layers of elements and an hour or so tearing down and rebuilding the section containing the error.
The box doesn’t clearly state that this is a Technic set; the others in this particular series are clearly labeled as such to avoid consumer confusion. For those who are not “Lego people” this could be a fatal mistake when purchasing gifts for kids. Some children stick with the basic Lego sets and other are up for the challenge a set like this has to offer. If ordering an R2-D2 droid online please make sure that you are ordering the Technic model – set number 8009.
The Stats
Set Name: R2-D2
Family Set: Star Wars Technic
Lego Set: 8009
Number of Pieces: 242
Age Recommendation: 8 and up
Ease Of Assembly: Advanced / Difficult
Time Of Assembly: 3 1/2 hours
Cost: $17.99
As always, thanks for the read!
^V^ Freak ^V^
© 2003 Freak369
Other Lego Star Wars sets ...
Jedi Starfighter
R2-D2 Technic Droid
Droid Escape
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): $17.99
Type of Toy: Blocks
Age Range of Child: 9 Years or Older
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