Re: ROTS 2-1B #08-06
Have mercy I would have never thought such a detailed heated discussion could result about an insignificant (relatively speaking compared to major characters) medical droid shown oly briefly in a couple movies.
That being said, my first impression of the new figures was "Wow, awesome sculpt and articulation, but boy he's a wee little thing."
It does seem small, and the POTF2 does seem more scaling correct, despite many POTF2 figures being a bit off scale; Vader, Chewbacca, Leia, etc. And I think the best point is the text that indicates that this new 2-1B droid is not the same exact 2-1B that worked on Luke on Hoth and the frigate and examined the dead Taun-Taun. Especailly considering that those events were seperated by about 23 years from Anakin being reconstructed into Vader (don't know the exact number of years). So really, seperated by years or maybe a decade or two, is it possible that, since they were different droids, maybe the 2-1B in ESB is a slightly larger, while very similar looking, model of medical droid? That would make sense that since it was made years later, it was larger than the one in ROTS that worked on Anakin/Vader, since that was an older model. It wouldd have been a lot easier if the names were more individual to clearly illustrate that they were different droids, though similar models, seperated by several years or a decade or two, though it's doubtful that the 2-1B in ESB was a "newish" droid, since the rebels had very little that was new until the fleet built up strength in ROTJ. The firt couple movies, they clearly had to make due with what they could scrounge, which meant old.
In any event I think the things you found about the base are really interesting, and make a lot of sense. Especailly considering the time and budget constraints that Lucas and his people had with the first two movies. So many things were never ready on time, I just can't see several people, even just a couple, going to all the time and trouble; many hours and no telling how many hundreds of dollars of materials, to complete an obscure droid character (I think everyone could agree with that), right down to the ground, with a rolling (implied since he sure wasn't being carried around from place to place) platform, painted, weathered and made in such great detail to match the droid itself. Especailly since it got little if any screen time ever. I just don't see them doing that. You have to imagine at some point, someone making 2-1B had to have asked something like "how far down will this droid need to be built for shots sake, half way, or all the way to show the whole droid?" And the fact that it (the actual movie prop) was built in detail all the way to the ground, with the rolling platform made to match the droid, not just bare prop wood frame, really indicates that it is part of the droid. Otherwise, there woudln't have been a platform at all, it would have just legs that go to the ground with feet and it would be an immobile (as a prop) droid with legs and feet that (in the movie) would walk around like a human, on two feet if it did. The fact that the platform base is there and matches the 2-1B droid, really indicates that it's part of the droid and that it is the means of locomotion. And really, when you look at the droid, it doesn't look like the most graceful thing in the world. I wouldn't want it poking on me on a litter being hustled through uneven hallways on the way to a medical bay. It wouldn't be very fast either on those kind of legs, and someone could bleed to death if he was having to get to them on those legs. A treadmill platform would move a lot faster. Though maybe it was both and it could detach from the platform and walk slowly, when in a tight space or in a room it knew it wouldn't be leaving for a while, and then when it had to go long distances, it reattached to the platform and used that. That would make sense too. So it seems like the new figures arms, on the POTF2 2-1B, and a platform for the POTF2 figure to sit on would be the most accurate 2-1B figure, the one that worked on Luke on Hoth and the frigate anyway.
Wow that's more than I'd of ever thought I'd type about 2-1B in my whole life.