Droids and Road to Celebration
2025-04-02By: Oliver Steeples
This post came out of a conversation I had with several other Star Wars fan groups about the next Star Wars Celebration (Apr 18-20) in Japan. https://www.starwarscelebration.com
It’s no secret that George Lucas is a fan of Akira Kurosawa, and the roles of R2-D2 and C-3PO telling the story of Star Wars mirror the Hidden Fortress by Kurosawa where he has two peasants doing exactly the same. In both films the two unlikely heroes would bicker and argue.
More recently the series Star Wars Visions shows the Japanese influence on Star Wars even more, the Ronin episode being very Kurosawa-esque. It also shows the companion droid B5-56 in full thatched hat attire. There are several figures of this and hopefully… I can buy the exclusive Hasbro Black series figures while I’m at Celebration.
Anyone that knows me will know I’m into a few things, these include droids, plastic models and going to Japan (I’ve been a ‘few’ times before). When CJ was announced at Celebration London in 2023 it was a no brainer for me, it would allow me to see Worldwide Droid Builders as well as buy various droid related items.
Japan has loads of cool Star Wars items that the rest of the world hardly ever sees so I’m going to share a bit of my collection (dust and everything). A lot of my stuff was purchased either in Japan or via eBay/Amazon.co.jp and I’m constantly adding to my collection, and hopefully will add more stuff in April.
A long time ago… well just after the prequels were released Tomy released some 3.75” Astromech figures, however they were RC and a lot better than the standard Astromech figures available in the UK. It took me a while to complete the collection (currently in a box), so a stock image will have to do.
More recently Tomy did nano droids of R2-D2 and R2-Q5, these are like the 3.75” figures, but a lot smaller and also RC. It’s a shame they didn’t do more in this series.
Quite a bit of my collection is gachapon based from capsule machines, you put money in (typically upto 500 yen/£2.50) and get a random droid/figure. This pictures show two different sets, the back ones (Tomy again) are pull back and release droids and whilst fun the mechanism between the legs lets them down a bit IMHO. The ones at the front are more interesting, they are made by Bandai and called Q Droid, the basic set contained R2-D2, R2-Q5, C-3PO, K-3PO and a gonk droid. I was a bit disappointed by the gonk droid at first, however it was only when I got home I realised that the gonk contained an LED kit that could be used on C-3PO or R2 to light the eyes up; so I regretted not buying more. On my next trip to Japan I tried to hunt down more of these and managed to find the 2 chase figures (rares) TC-14 and R-3PO.
There are multiple places in Tokyo where you can buy gachapon, these include train stations as well as dedicated shops. Some places (Mandarake in Nakano Broadway and inside Radio Kaikan) even break open the random capsules and sell the contents so you can buy exactly which ones you want (at a mark up).
I’ll definitely be hunting for more gachapon whilst in Japan, I found a recent video on Youtube about this place and if I get time I’ll definitely visit it.
https://bandainamco-am.co.jp/en/others/capsule-toy-store/store/ikebukuro/special
As well as gachapon I have a lot of Star Wars model kits, mostly unbuilt; these vary from the old Fine Mold days to the recent Bandai ones. When the Celebration map was released I was really happy to see Bandai are selling, hopefully they will have some of the 1/12 droid kits. Either way I can see myself buying a few kits here, maybe even the 1/72 Falcon if it’s cheap.
Most of the droid kits are now discontinued as far as I know and only available on the secondary market and hence the price is higher. There are single packs for some Astromechs, and dual kits with a R2-D2/R5-D4, R2-D2/C-3PO and R2-D2/BB8. They are easily assembled with a good pair of side cutters and hobby knife. They are very detailed for what they are and have opening panels as well as accessories. There were a lot of droids produced and can be easily repainted. They are around the same height as a Hasbro Black Series Astromech, but a lot more detailed. This Rebel scum thread shows what can be done with them.
There will be a few UK Droidbuilders attending Celebration and looking forward to meeting the Japanese contingent, as well as other Worldwide members. Feel free to stop by the combined Star Wars fan stage whilst at Celebration and talks droids and stuff.