The return of Micro Machines in 2015 was - for me - the most exciting part of the onslaught of new Star Wars merchandise under the Disney banner. Alongside their line of miniature vehicles (which I allowed myself to collect with a completionist's compulsion), Hasbro also released a pair of transforming head playsets reminiscent of those we saw back in the '90s. Unfortunately, they were branded with a ridiculously high MSRP of $49.99NZ - putting them well outside my collecting budget. It seems this price discouraged a lot of other buyers too, as the sets soon found their way to clearance bins. I picked up the Stormtrooper playset for $15.00 back in 2016, but a couple of weeks ago I did one better - finding the R2-D2 set on clearance at Toys'r'Us for only $4.98US ($6.84NZ).
R2 opens up to reveal a Starkiller Base diorama, and comes with a Chewbacca microfigure and an exclusive 'dirty' variant of the First Order Snowspeeder. Also included is a single play feature - a rotating flight wand upon which a vehicle can be mounted.
Once again, however, this set is only a shadow of the transforming Micro Machines playsets of the '90s - each of which would come with around half a dozen micro figures and a raft of features. Once you've opened R2 up and spun your Snowspeeder around a couple of times, there isn't a lot more to do. And just how many iconic Force Awakens scenes can kids recreate with a single Chewbacca microfigure? In order to get the most out of this playset you'll need to supplement it with other vehicles and figures from your collection (as pictured above). Doing so turns this into a really nice display piece: one that justifies the $5.00 - but certainly not the original $50.00 - price tag.
R2 opens up to reveal a Starkiller Base diorama, and comes with a Chewbacca microfigure and an exclusive 'dirty' variant of the First Order Snowspeeder. Also included is a single play feature - a rotating flight wand upon which a vehicle can be mounted.
Once again, however, this set is only a shadow of the transforming Micro Machines playsets of the '90s - each of which would come with around half a dozen micro figures and a raft of features. Once you've opened R2 up and spun your Snowspeeder around a couple of times, there isn't a lot more to do. And just how many iconic Force Awakens scenes can kids recreate with a single Chewbacca microfigure? In order to get the most out of this playset you'll need to supplement it with other vehicles and figures from your collection (as pictured above). Doing so turns this into a really nice display piece: one that justifies the $5.00 - but certainly not the original $50.00 - price tag.
