Since his appearance in the first Star Wars:The Force Awakens trailer, BB-8 has become a fan favorite!
With the release of the Sphero BB-8, fans were able to take the little guy home with them, but at a hefty cost. For those not willing or able to fork out the money for the Sphero version, no worries, as Hasbro has released and equally cute and fun version at a lower cost.
Thanks to the “Droid Stork” who brought me a BB-8’s, I was able to test Hasbro’s version.
After un-boxing BB-8, you first need to piece him together. There are three parts. The body, the internal engine that controls the toy and the head. The body and head are a well painted hard plastic shell. The Hasbro version is much larger than the Sphero version and in my opinion, with more cosmetic details. Once together, you need to gently shake the body to “wake up” BB-8.
You need to place the head on top, which is held magnetically, then set him on the ground. With that, your new Droid comes to life. Beeping, head turning, and small movements in place, the starting up mimics that of an actual Star Wars Droid turning on. It is very fun to watch! You can now control your new friend.
The controller itself is very plain but straight forward. The left button controls forward and backward while the right controls the head movement of BB-8. Where the head faces, is the forward direction of your Droid. Now…Race BB-8 around your home. That’s it. Nothing fancy or groundbreaking. This is a remote control toy. The only problems I found was that the toy had problems navigating up the smallest bumps in its path. Very flat surfaces seemed to be the best, as it couldn’t get much traction. The other thing I noticed was that from time to time, his head had to be adjusted back to the top. It would sometimes slide out of place, interrupting your movement.That said, there are extra features that I love about Hasbro’s BB-8.
When BB-8 is stationary, he will continue to beep, shake, and turn his head in a sort of bored exploration of his surroundings. It almost feels as if he is calling out for his new owners to play with him. My daughters fell instantly in love with the little guy. My other favorite feature of BB-8 is the simplicity. The toy isn’t overly complicated. Control his movements, race around and have fun. Hasbro’s version is a toy so easy to use that it is the perfect version for kids, and big kids like me.
If you want your own BB-8 Droid without paying a fortune, one with personality, sounds and easy for your kids to play with, then the Hasbro version is for you!
