Disney Parks “Droid Factory” B2EMO From Andor

Character: B2EMO
Source: Disney Plus Series “Andor”
Droid Type: GROUNDMECH SALVAGE ASSIST UNIT
Released: Summer/Fall 2022
Cost: $12.99USD

B2EMO is a Disney Parks and ShopDisney app exclusive 3.75″-scaled figure from the very popular “Droid Factory” line. If you are expecting a similar release from Hasbro’s Vintage Collection then you may have to settle for the convention exclusive Black Series 6-inch scale 2-pack featuring B2 and Cassian Andor. We have to believe that the Black Series version will be the only version coming from Hasbro. As a Canadian collector we were lucky enough to get B2EMO through a local Facebook Marketplace ad for $30CAD. Not ideal but a much better price than spending the nearly $60 it would have cost to have the figure shipped to Canada.

We have to admit that the images of B2 that hit the internet before the show’s premier left us more or less underwhelmed as this new droid didn’t look like much more than a red box; as if it was set dressing instead of Cassian Andor’s companion “that’s been towing scrap for the Andor family for years.” (As the cardback describes). Once the figure is released from its card though, it becomes more and more interesting.

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B2EM0 has two “eyes”; one large and one small on the “head”, similar to a regular R2-series astromech droid which, like the R2s, creates a sort of face for the character. Instead of a dome, the top-most part of the droid is a cover that gives the impression of it wearing a hat. It also makes us think that the robots from Disney’s The Black Hole were partial inspirations. This top most section rotates 360 degrees but unlike the on screen version it doesn’t tilt. Also, on screen B2’s main eye lights up red whereas the action figure is painted black. If Hasbro were to produce a B2EMO droid it would be nice to make that eye either translucent or hey, let’s bring back the “light port” feature from the Power of the Force line!

Below this “head” portion is the squarish body and four feet: Three that look similar to R-series droid feet and one that is a different shape and colour from the rest. The body has a good amount of weathering to show that B2 has been through alot over the years although the on screen version has much more black weathering. Also, it could just be the lighting in the show but the shade of red on the figure appears to be too bright. There is a green stripe about 2/3 of the way down its front that looks worn (and also helps to break up the boxy appearance). There are outlined non-functional panels on all sides of the figure that are the same red colour as the body but there are a few areas of black details as well.

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As we said, to look at B2EMO for the first time you may just see a simple box design but there is more to the droid than meets the eye.The body can be seperated into four seperate “sections” when it’s pulled apart by gripping the head and bottom. The droid now expands and reveals more black detailing inside it’s shell. It takes some effort to seperate all sections easily, in fact we pulled the top-most part right off the first time (luckily it’s easy to reattach). We should also note that onscreen these internal sections rotate, the action figure does not.

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B2EMO uses four “feet”, each having wheels to trundle about the galaxy and each foot offers some articulation; making it easier for B2 to crawl over uneven ground. We’ve used our living room couch to demonstrate this below. Three of the feet are the same red colour as the body but the fourth foot is yellow, suggesting that matching parts may not have always been an option for the beatup droid. Maybe the creators of Andor are giving us the See-Threepio Force Awakens treatment with one limb being a noticably different colour than the rest. Maybe Cassian won’t recognize him right away?

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