DROID DEPOT

During my family's sci fi adventure to the Black Spire Outpost on the planet of Batuu at Star Wars' Galaxy's Edge both my kids wanted a memorable souvenir to bring home with them. My son was infatuated with crafting a handbuilt lightsaber at Savi's Workshop. His twin sister on the other hand was more interested in customizing a creation at the Droid Depot. Both building a droid combined with the Baby Yoda backpack my daughter begged us to buy for her came out to about the same price as my son building a lightsaber so they each had an individualized experience while we were at Walt Disney World's Star Wars Land. 

It was so much fun to see life-size droids displayed around Star Wars Galaxy's Edge at Walt Disney World Hollywood Studios theme park. Droids are such a huge part of the Star Wars! Who wouldn't want their very own droid?! The Droid Depot allows you to construct a quarter scale remote control astromech unit that you can bring home with you. Fun to play with and a great memento from a Walt Disney World vacation.

Step inside the Droid Depot and you'll find yourself surrounded by realistic looking BB and R-series droids and shelves full of parts for building and repairing them. A conveyor belt also carries an assortment of quarter scale parts that people can customize in creating their very own droid. There are a variety of body colors and dome head styles to choose from in putting together you droid.

For the BB-series droids like the Resistance's heroic BB-8 (The Force Awakens) or First Order's villainous BB-9E, Droid Depot lets you pick from a selection of items off the conveyor belt that include a dome, dome connection plate, body sphere and motivator. Make a replica of your favorite BB droid from the Star Wars movies or build your own original design. When done these droids move about like a spinning beach ball with a personality.

You can also choose to build a droid in the R-series style of astromechs like the Rebellion's R2-D2 or Empire's R2-Q5. Droid Depot's available parts to select from include a dome, body, center leg and set of side legs. My daughter decided to build an R2-D2 inspired droid with a purple dome head and black/silver legs. 

Unfortunately, while customization is really touted in the Droid Depot promotions she found that color combinations were somewhat limited for the parts. While she loved the purple and silver head, a matching body wasn't available so she included a white and blue R2-D2 body which left her somewhat disappointed. Overall though she loves her creation and really enjoyed the activity of putting it together at the Droid Depot.

Once your parts have been selected from the Droid Depot conveyor belt, you move to a build station. Placing everything on a placemat that highlights directions for builders to assemble a droid. Screw together your parts just like a mechanic working in a droid factory.

Once complete, your droid is placed within an activation station which pairs it with a remote control and adds some theater to your experience in showing the droid come to life. I really like that these Star Wars droids come with their own remote controls because it annoys me when you spend a bunch of money on a toy then it is linked to your phone or tablet in order to use it. I don't want to have to be badgered about handing over my phone so one of my kids can play with a toy through an app.

Building an astromech at the Droid Depot not only provides an exciting toy but it also is an entertaining Star Wars immersive experience that provides a memorable moment during your time at the Black Spire Outpost. Additionally, these build your own droids are equipped with bluetooth technology that lets them communicate with other astromechs created at the Droid Depot as well as as interact and react with other elements and objects both on Batuu and around Disney parks and resorts.

Just note you aren't allowed to drive your droid around the theme park with its remote control. Carrying your droid in your hands or in an add-on extra purchase backpack designed specifically for use at Star Wars Galaxy's Edge is required for transporting it around the theme park. If you just want to take the droid home with you there is a nice cardboard container great for storing it that is included in the purchase price.

We visited Droid Depot near the end of our last night at Walt Disney World so didn't have time to play around with it at the theme parks. My daughter was geeked about the experience of building it at the Droid Depot and has been having a lot of fun playing with it since we arrived home. She really loves her custom astromech unit so I'm glad we let her build one during our Disney World vacation.

For those of you who don't mind interconnecting your phone with toys, there is also a free app that you can download to control the droid via a mobile device.  Because I use my smart phone both for work and family matters I tend not to want to do that but admit there are features like augmented reality and artificial intelligence that can make this option very worthwhile. So it is really cool that you have both options with these droids from Star Wars Galaxy's Edge.

The Droid Depot App is available on Apple and Android devices. It lets you pilot a droid without using the remote control provided with the toy. The app also lets you program maneuvers so you can make your droid dance. My daughter has been have a great time with that feature. Plus through the app you can also play a strategy game against your droid like tic tac toe. For those who can't make the trek to Batuu there is also a virtual mode where app users can create a digital droid to play with on their mobile device's screen.

For those who want to enhance their Droid Depot toy there are also personality chips that can be purchased for an additional fee that expand upon how your droid interacts with you and its surroundings. You can pick those up at the Droid Depot or if you decide later on that it would be a nice addition to your droid personality chips are available from Amazon.com as well. 

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So how did C-3PO get that red arm in The Force Awakens?

One of the few characters to appear in every movie of the Star Wars sage to date, C-3P0 -- the protocol droid who along with his astromech companion R2-D2 have become pop culture icons -- was showing some age in Episode VII: The Force Awakens having lost one of his limbs and featuring a bright red replacement to it in the film.  Director J.J. Abrams has mentioned in several interviews that this was meant to differentiate the appearance from Return of the Jedi as a visual tool showing numerous years had transpired between the events portrayed within the two films and many new adventures had taken place by the time The Force Awakens begins.  Of course most movie watchers probably figured that out just by seeing Han Solo and Leia Organa's grey hair.  That being said, C-3P0's red arm was a very noticeable element of the film for long-time Star Wars fans that was never explained in the new movie.

If you were irked by not knowing the back story behind C-3P0's new arm you won't have to wait much longer to find out all the details.  Marvel will have a special one-shot comic book issue arriving on store shelves Wednesday March 30, 2016 that promises to provide readers with the details of this The Force Awakens teaser.  Check out a preview of this upcoming comic book:



Star Wars: C-3P0 #1 will be 40 pages and retail for $4.99 (US).   The comic book was written by James Robinson with artwork by Tony Harris.  Originally slated to go on sale December 2, 2015 before The Force Awakens was released in theaters, approvals from LucasFilm delayed production until the current March release date.  Based upon the original release date of the comic book prior to The Force Awakens arriving at theaters and the awkwardness of the C-3P0 scene in the movie you just have to wonder if Disney orchestrated a tie-in between the publishing and film aspects of its corporate family that went awry which may make this an extra special collectible item to pick up.

So if you are curious about C-3P0's red arm the mystery will soon be revealed.  Stop by your local comic book store or download a digital edition through an online source such as Comixology on March 30.

Droids Need Hugs Too: R2-KT Valentine's Day Patch Raises Money for Make-A-Wish

When you see stormtroopers and other Star Wars characters at public events they are normally part of an organization of move fans called the 501st Legion whose members focus on creating authentic-looking costumes for cosplay, special appearances, and charitable work.  Since being formed by Albin Johnson in 1997 the group has expanded from a handful of people carefully recreating stormtrooper uniforms to having more than 6,500 active members with "garrisons" located throughout the world portraying Star Wars bad guys ranging from Tusken Raiders to TIE fighter pilots.  Locally, we have a very active group called the Great Lakes Garrison: 501st Legion - Michigan Chapter which is involved in events such as the Detroit Tigers Star Wars Night, Free Comic Book Day, Star Wars Reads Day, and the Great Lakes Comic-Con among numerous other appearances throughout the year.  Across the country you will also occasionally encounter a pink astromech droid named R2-KT making an appearance with members of the 501st Legion to meet with children in a hospital or promote the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

courtesy www.r2kt.com

For a $7 donation with proceeds benefiting Make-A-Wish you can purchase a R2-KT Valentine's Day embroidered patch designed by Juan José Matamoros featuring the little pink droid showing some love to the 501st Legion members who always wear uniforms of the color that symbolizes this special day.  There will be a limited number of these patches made and delivery is scheduled to be by Valentine's Day (Feb 14) so if you are interested get your order in now!  $7 via paypal to r2kt@r2kt.com  I know my daughter likes to have us sew patches like these on her backpack for school so this will be a special treat for her.

There is a special story behind R2-KT.  In 2005 a little girl named Katie was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. Katie loved Star Wars (like her father Ablin - the founder of the 501st Legion) and loved the color pink. When her health declined to the point she couldn't get out of bed, she said she wished she had a droid to watch over her like R2-D2 watched over a sleeping Padme in the Star Wars movie Attack of the Clones.  Word of Katie's illness spread throughout the Star Wars fan community and another club of fans that makes authentic recreations of droids from the Star Wars movies called The R2 Builders knew this was a job for them, and in mere months they constructed a custom R2 unit all painted in pink and dubbed her R2-KT. It rolled, it blinked, it even talked: Katie had a droid to watch over her! And she kept KT by her bedside through her final days.  Katie passed away peacefully in her sleep on August 9, 2005.

Katie's legacy lives on in her pink companion. R2-KT now tours the world, spreading the joy to Star Wars fans and a message of hope for kids who suffer childhood illnesses. R2-KT attends fan conventions, visits sick children in hospitals, appears in parades, inspires young girls that Star Wars has a place for them, and helps raise funds for a wide range of charities. In 2007 Hasbro produced an R2-KT action figure, which raised $100,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. In 2008 Dave Filoni of Lucasfilm featured the droid in a cameo role in the Clone Wars animated feature film, making her a canon member of the Star Wars universe! In 2013 KT appeared in the Star Wars Weekends parade in Disney World, then traveled to be a guest of honor at Celebration Europe II in Germany. R2-KT has become a symbol of everything Star Wars fandom has come to represent: spreading the magic of hope. 

courtesy www.r2kt.com

For more information about R2-KT visit  www.r2kt.com

courtesy www.r2kt.com