15" Voice Command R2D2

I mentioned in another thread that I own this item, but it was given to me without the original packaging (though I did get the original manual), and while I've heard some info about it's availability etc, not very much.

I was told that while these were mass produced (obviously), they were released in smaller numbers than some other items (probably because of the cost to manufacture them). I've never seen them in stores anywhere near where I live (I'm limited to Wal-Mart and sometimes K-Mart, unless I drive really far, then there's TRU and Target as well), and the listings for them on eBay seem to be very rare, though the name by which they're listed varies a bit from time to time.

Anybody have any info on these suckers? It's one of my favorite pieces in my collection (mainly because it's so cool and I'd never have been able to afford it myself), and I'd like to know a little more about it's rarity or lack thereof.

 

May I ask a couple bits of information is it made by hasbro??and what year is it??only one that comes to mind at the moment is this one
[image=http://actionfiguresbygofigure.com/media/15inchr2d2.jpg]

 

I can't see that link, but here's a link to a similar item if that helps (this is not an attempt to promote this auction, it just has a good pic and some info...it's not even mine). I'm not really sure who the manufacturer is, strange as that may sound. That's one thing I've never thought to check, though I will...okay...just looked...says it's by Hasbor. Feel free to ask anything else that comes to mind though...

http://cgi.ebay.com/Star-Wars-R2-D2-VOICE-COMMAND-ASTROMECH-DROID-new-mib_W0QQitemZ5996199323QQcategoryZ19198QQssPageNam

 

I have this little guy and I love him to death. As far as online resources, there's the R2-D2 Droid Factory (the official site for this product) which has a list of retailers that carried it. I only saw the Interactive R2-D2 in a store once -- for $100 at the Suncoast Video in my local mall. I bought mine for about $70 from KBToys.com, probably over two years ago now.

 

They are all the same pictures so this is the droid you are looking for
As you can see the cost for this is around the $250 mark boxed which of course was roughly the same price as what I saw him go for at celebration 3 I believe he is such a high cost due to the fact that hasbro at the time of these released which I suppose was probably a year or two ago it may have cost alot of money to manufacture a 15" droid so I suppose he was probably on a limited run.

 

I have one of these too,and it is really awesome! Definitely a great thing to have in a SW collection.

 

My local Entertainer had one of these on the shelf for a long time. They were asking about £120 UK for it. It eventually disappeared so I guess they sold it. The funny thing was that there was a warning on the box that the voice command responded best to an American accent..

 

American accent? That's kind of funny...it makes sense, though. I noticed that with certain commands, Artoo is fussy about recognizing them. I have a pretty deep voice, but if I speak in a slightly high-pitched voice, he seems to have no problem. I always thought that was funny.

It's wierd how "real" this little droid can seem at times. I actually find myself talking to him with words and phrases he doesn't even understand when he starts "misbehaving" when I let him run around while I'm paying attention to other things. My only beef with him is he always drops my canned beverage if he hits any kind of a bump between me and the kitchen...but you can't blame him. Everyone knows if you want an astromech to serve as a waiter, you have to attach a fancy serving tray to the top of their domes (ala Jabba's barge).