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Widget Of The Week
R2D2 Phone Lazerbuilt Model 805,
1995
 Few movie franchises have spawned
so much merchandise as Star Wars. It regularly features high on the list of the
most expensive action figures and collectibles and some of the rarest ones can
sell for tens of thousands of pounds. Sadly this R2D2 novelty phone is not in
that league but it’s almost certainly worth a fair bit more than I paid for it.
It’s an original 1995 vintage
model – more about that later – and surprisingly big too, measuring 285mm (over
11 inches) from the base of its articulated locomotive units (legs) to the top
of its rotating head dome. The handset is cleverly disguised as part of R2D2’s
left leg, and when someone calls the dome lights up and starts moving back and
forth whilst emitting a stream of those familiar beeps and chirps. This feature
can be turned off if required. There’s also a button on the front, marked Demo,
which makes it go through its routine; it is just as well there’s an off switch,
as it can get quite annoying after a while. It probably reduces the battery
life too, from a year or more to just a few weeks, especially when there are
kid (of all ages…) in the house. For such an advanced robotic contrivance the
phone part is disappointingly basic; no transwarp Wi-Fi or X-Wing Bluetooth
connectivity, just an ancient touch-tone keypad with a last number redial
button, but back in this Galaxy, a long, long time ago -- the late twentieth
century -- that was all you needed..
 It is an impressive piece of work
though, very well made, and clearly built to please finickity Star Wars fans with
lots of small and authentic-looking details. The only real problem with this
one, which I found at a car boot sale in Surrey a couple of years ago, is the
white plastic on the front part of the case, which has become slightly
discoloured. It has taken on the characteristic yellow tinge, which usually
means it has been standing in strong sunlight for several years. There’s a
lot of advice on the web about how to remove the discolouration but since it mostly
involves the use of noxious or messy chemicals and/or lots of elbow grease,
it’s not a job I’m keen to tackle anytime soon.
 The stallholder assured me that it
was in good working order and had been in regular use until recently. It
appeared to be in very good shape but I wasn’t able to give it more than a
cursory inspection as the lid for the battery compartment was held in place by
a tiny screw. He seemed like an honest chap and the asking price of £10 wasn’t
too outrageous, though I couldn’t resist haggling him down to £8.00. He didn’t
protest too much, and I found out why when I got it home. It seemed that he had been telling porkies and it was pretty obvious that it
hadn’t been used for a long time, if the state of the two very ancient
batteries in the compartment on the back of the unit were anything to go by.
One of them had leaked but luckily it was just a dribble. The goop dried quite
quickly so the damage was minimal. The worst affected part was one of the metal
contacts; some of the plating had been eroded but after a session with my
Dremel’s wire brush attachment the worst of it came off and the metal
underneath was still clean and sound. The dried up gunge on the plastic came
away with a mixture of household cleaners and some gentle scrubbing with a
toothbrush and a nylon kitchen scourer. The damage, such as it is, is now
virtually invisible. Thanks to the quality of the parts this one survived; all
of R2D2’s systems powered up first time and worked perfectly, once some new
power cells had been installed.
What Happened To It?
Collecting Star Wars paraphernalia
can be a risky business. Detail and provenance is everything. It pays to do
some homework before parting with serious money on allegedly ‘rare’ or
expensive items in the hope of one day getting a return on your investment. Take
this phone, for example. It was made in 1995 and marketed in the UK by a
company called Lazerbuilt. It was a good quality item, aimed at collectors and
closely based on the iconic robotic character from the first 1977 film. Back
then it was a fairly pricey item, even for a novelty phone. It arrived more
than 10 years after the last movie had been released (Return of the Jedi in
1983) so interest in the movies may have been at a low ebb. From the evidence
of the serial numbers on this one and others I have seen it doesn’t look like
many of them were made. However, in 2005, in the wake of the dreadful trilogy
of prequels, released between 1999 and 2005, there was a big revival of
interest in all things Star Wars and the company that originally made this R2D2
dug out their old moulds and dusted them off for another much larger production
run.
That means that one way or another
quite a few R2D2 phones have been produced over the years but a lot of those
that are still around today are probably not that old, which must be a consideration
when it comes to value. I have seen several listed on ebay and other websites,
which could easily be the later version, with incredibly optimistic price tags
of several hundred pounds. Even though this one is a genuine ‘first’ generation
model there’s no way it is worth anything like that; more realistically priced
examples can certainly be found and £30 to £50 for a clean, working, Mk 1
version isn’t out of the question.
Phones of all types and vintages
continue to be popular collectables and more recent ones can be put to good
use, providing they still work and have minimal touch-tone facilities. Throw in
the Star Wars connection and the obvious quality of this model and you can’t go
far wrong, but as always age, condition and price are everything. A good R2D2
phone will always tickle the fancy of Star Wars collectors and the good news is
that there are bargains out there to be found, if you trust in the Force.
GIZMO GUIDE
First seen 1995
Original Price £50
Value Today £45
(0916)
Features Feature phone with moving, illuminated head, R2D2 sound
effects, switchable ringer, demo mode
Power req. 2 x 1.5 volt ‘D’ cells
Dimensions: 285 x 222 x 180mm
Weight: 1.2kg
Made (assembled) in: China
Hen's Teeth (10 rarest): 8
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