My sun-discolored Mindstorms R2-D2 is not my only LEGO R2-D2. I love the little droid, as does a lot of people, and its popularity means LEGO returns to milking that revenue stream on a regular basis. There have been many takes on creating the movie star in plastic brick form, and LEGO separated me from my money on two other occasions. After I rebuilt my sun-discolored R2-D2, I proceeded to rebuild these two.

LEGO Technics R2-D2 (8009)

Smaller and more abstract than the Mindstorms R2-D2, this variation is built exclusively with the LEGO "studless" construction method. Most commonly featured in the Technics line but can be found where other product lines need mechanical capability, such as the drivetrain for a steam locomotive. It doesn't have the electronic smarts of a Mindstorm set, but it does have mechanical marvel of a Technic set. Featuring a rubber band powered mechanism to switch between R2-D2's two-wheeled and three-wheeled modes, and a simple lever to extend R2-D2's welding arm.

LEGO Ultimate Collector Series R2-D2 (10225)

I don't know the internal corporate business decisions at LEGO, but I imagine they saw the robust market for rare kits and decided there was a business case for expensive low volume kits. Thus the "Ultimate Collector Series" to extract hundreds of dollars from their target audience. Either adults who love LEGO, or rich parents of spoiled children. I was of the former category when I swiped my credit card for 10225.

For the most part this was built in classic LEGO style with studded bricks, with some studless pieces to implement articulation mechanisms. This included the ability to switch between two-legged and three-legged modes, the welder arm, and the buzzsaw arm.

This kit also came with a bonus second R2-D2 in the form of a small LEGO figure. Since this kit was fully designed for static display, it also came with a little display plaque where the little R2-D2 figure sits.

Since there were plenty of money to be made from R2-D2 merchandise, LEGO ignored the definition of "ultimate" and has continued to released more R2-D2 sets. There was the small 30611 deployed as promotion. As of this writing, LEGO Star Wars R2-D2 (73508) is available in stores. Judging from pictures, it appears to be very similar size to the (not actually) Ultimate Collector 10225 I bought but is definitely not a re-release of the same kit. I can see many differences in implementation, most obviously in how the two kits approached building R2-D2's dome head.

It also has a display plaque, topped by its own small bonus LEGO R2-D2 figure sitting atop the addition of a "Lucasfilm 50th" graphic. It looks like a pretty cool set, but I decided I had enough LEGO R2-D2 in the house and passed on spending over two hundred bucks for my own 73508. That's money I've already spent on other licensed LEGO merchandise.