Build your own R2-D2

You know when you were a kid, you saw some awesome product advertised on TV or wherever? It was for some awesome thing from a movie! Or your favourite show. Wow!So you begged your parents, or saved up your pocket money, or whatever. And you were so excited when you got the box home or the thing arrived in the mail. Gosh!And then you opened it up and discovered that the toy was actually kind of shit. The proportions were wrong. Colours were out. Things were oversized. Big joins and seams all over. Stuff missing. Etcetera. What a letdown.But maybe an important life lesson in how advertising always lies!As time has passed, and fans age, SF/fantasy fandom products, as opposed to children's toys, are generally getting better and better. Products are often fairly accurate in appearance, and of decent quality. They're certainly getting more expensive. So. Is De Agostini's R2-D2 costly kit any good?

De Ago's R2

“Build your own R2-D2” is a “partworks” kit designed and sold by De Agostini/Modelspace, a subsidiary of Italian publisher De Agostini. It’s delivered as a 25 month (optionally 1 year in the US) subscription over 100 issues, and results in a digitally controlled and motorized R2 model that’s a little under half the size (28cm wide and 48cm tall) of the original movie props.

When complete it will cost you £900 in the UK or $1625 in the USA, with the lithium batteries extra.

Here are some notes on the product, based on my observations. My review may sound positive in some ways and negative in others. But my goal has been to be as accurate and fair as I can. I'm not attacking De Agostini, but neither am I making excuses for them. I just want the best (most accurate-looking and reliable) model R2 for my money! And I wrote this review so that other people can make their own informed decisions about the product.

Because the review was getting rather long and out of hand, I've broken it up into sections.

I     –  About De Agostini’s R2-D2 (Kit Review)

II    –  Problems and Fixes: the De Ago R2

III   –  About Partworks Kits

IV   –  The Actual R2-D2 Movie Props

V   – R2-D2’s Arms and Tools

VI   –  Conclusion and Useful Links

VII   – Part List and Downloadable Instructions

This review © 2018-19 Millennium Falcon Notes.