George Lucas has a knack for injection molding his creations into our culture. Measuring in at 1.8 gallons (6.8 liters), the R2-D2 Fish Tank clearly puts form over function. It seems wrong from both ends, being neither a proper bit of R2-D2 kitsch nor a serviceable aquarium. I expect most kids will find it’s not robust enough as a toy droid, and I pity the poor fish sealed inside if anyone ever uses it as a life support system. It seems like the kind of purchase where the novelty wears off sooner than the charge on the parents’ credit card.

As a kid, I once had a Star Wars-themed vivarium that I made myself. It was a 10-gallon tank filled with sand. I decorated it with rocks and a couple of stone plants (lithops). Then I created a diorama with C-3PO, R2-D2 and some Jawa action figures. The final touch was a bunch of miniature Sarlaccs antlions. They seemed as happy to build their conical little ant traps in my tank as they did in the sheltered ground under our eaves. It was a lot more fun (and humane) than the janky R2-D2 Fish Tank appears to be. Some of the antlions even metamorphosed under my care and I got to see the lacy winged adults before releasing them.

See also:
• Flickr: My R2-D2 Fish Tank unboxing set. I did not buy one, just peeked inside at the store.
• A Blog Around The Clock: The Mighty Ant-Lion