When it comes to ranking the most popular Star Wars droids, Star Wars Rebels’ C1-10P, aka Chopper, inevitably places high on the list. His squat, diminutive frame combined with his larger-than-life, cranky personality make him one of a kind. That personality doesn’t necessarily come across in the handful of Chopper action figures that have been released in the past, but enter Hasbro’s Chatter Back Chopper Animatronic figure. Who doesn’t want a Chopper toy that actually mouths off?
Hasbro was kind enough to provide IGN with a Chatter Back Chopper figure so we could get some hands-on experience with this unusual Star Wars toy. Is it worth the $79.99 asking price? That depends on what exactly you want out of the figure - a truly interactive toy or a display piece for your Star Wars collection.
What Is Chatter Back Chopper?
Chatter Back Chopper is a 7.5-inch replica of the iconic droid, which puts the toy somewhere between 1:4 and 1:5 scale. That makes it a fair bit larger than, say, Sphero’s various animatronic droid toys, and it certainly dwarfs the traditional 1:12 and 1:18 scale Star Wars figures from Hasbro. It’s large enough to serve as a standalone collectible, and it wouldn’t look completely out of place alongside Sideshow’s larger Star Wars statues. The figure is certainly detailed enough, with all the rivets, panels, hoses and other small parts accurately sculpted on the body.
Chopper is hardly a static figure, however. The toy is powered by three AA batteries and features both sound effects and a movable head and arms. The figure can be activated by pressing a brown button on its front, at which point it begins amiably waving its arms, rocking back and forth and spouting various Chopper-isms. In total, Hasbro advertises over 40 possible sound and movement combinations.
Sound-wise, this is definitely the Chopper we know and love from Rebels and Ahsoka. The sound effects are suitably loud and clear. And while most of what Chopper says seems to be gibberish (as opposed to the garbled English dialogue he spouts on the shows), the sound effects are varied and do a great job of capturing the character’s personality.
Better still, Chopper can also be activated by talking to him. He responds to dialogue, though his responses appear to be purely random. You can also unlock alternate combinations by prying out the smaller third arm on the front of the unit. You’ll eventually exhaust all the possibilities in terms of sound and movement combinations, but there’s a decent amount of variety.
Is Chopper Worth $80?
Again, the question of whether Chatter Back Chopper is worth the $79.99 asking price is really a matter of what you want out of the figure. Purely as an interactive toy, the fun factor has its limits. Once the novelty of messing around with Chopper and testing out the different response cues wears off, there’s not a whole lot left to actually do. Unfortunately, unlike the aforementioned Sphero toys, this isn’t a remote-controlled toy. Chopper may rock back and forth a bit, but there’s no option to take direct control, steer him around your house and terrorize your pets. Alas, that option would have elevated the figure to a new level.
It should also be noted that Chatter Back Chopper is a bit top-heavy and not entirely stable. While the legs are technically posable, leaving Chopper standing straight up and down and activating the motion effects is basically asking for the toy to fall over. Fortunately, he seems sturdily built, and my unit has already taken several running dives off a shelf with no ill effects.
Chatter Back Chopper may be marketed to an all-ages audience, but it’s probably best reserved for slightly older Star Wars fans who want a display piece first and an interactive toy second. It’s definitely got the look down. This looks very much like the live-action droid scuttling about in recent episodes of Ahsoka. About the only thing missing here is a more detailed paint job. Hasbro included some basic weathering on the body, but the figure still has a flat, slightly plastic-y look to it. Customizers could probably have a field day by adding some metallic paint and other bells and whistles.
Ultimately, $80 doesn’t seem too high an asking price, especially when comparing Chatter Back Chopper to some of Hasbro’s other Chopper toys. For example, the non-animatronic Star Wars: The Black Series Chopper figure comes in at $25 and is a fraction of the size of Chatter Back Chopper. This figure has far more shelf presence, and it promises to add a little more fun and personality to any Star Wars setup. We’d expect nothing less from good old C1-10P.
For more on Star Wars: Ahsoka, brush up on the essential Ahsoka, Hera and Sabine episodes to watch and find out why Episode 4's twist is exactly what the series needed.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
source https://www.ign.com/articles/star-wars-hasbro-chatter-back-chopper-animatronic-figure-impressions