Monday, February 25, 2019

Action Figure Review: Battle Droid from Star Wars: The Black Series Phase III by Hasbro

    I just found four of the six figures from the newest series of Star Wars: The Black Series figures last weekend: Vice Admiral Holdo, Padme Amidala, Dryden Voss, and, the subject of today's review, the Battle Droid. I'm still looking for Mace Windu and Han Solo as a Mudtrooper. This is an interesting series of figures as it's not-related to the release of a film and yet doesn't have any Original Trilogy figures in it. That's highly unusual for this line! Mace, Padme, and the Battle Droid are three characters that I'm still flummoxed it took over five years to get in this line. The Prequels haven't gotten much love from Hasbro in the past five or six years but considering that Padme is one of the three stars of the Prequel Trilogy and Mace is Samuel L. Jackson as a Jedi, their long absence seems ever so strange. The Battle Droid also seems like he should have been a much earlier release. Considering how Hasbro loves figures they can repaint over and over, like Clone Troopers, the Battle Droid seems like it would have been a great selection for the line. We finally have a Battle Droid now and with 2019 being the 20th anniversary of Episode I, it's a nice touch. Let's check out the Battle Droid after the break...

 

 The Facts:

Height: 6 3/8ths inches

Articulation: Swivel/hinge ankles, "boot" swivels, hinged knees, balljointed hips, balljointed mid-torso, swivel/hinge shoulders, bicep swivels, hinged elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, swivel/hinge neck, balljointed head, and hinged movement processors.

Accessories: E-5 blaster rifle, backpack, and command officer antenna.

Non-Scalper Price: $20 dollars
 The Positives:

* Hasbro has been on a truly impressive roll with Star Wars: The Black Series over the past year or so and the Battle Droid is another hit. While there have been a few nice Bandai releases of the Battle Droid, Hasbro's effort is pretty impressive for at least half of the price. The sculpt is excellent and does a great job of looking like the film design while also feeling like a sturdy, well made toy. The Battle Droid is the standard bone tan version seen throughout Episode I (the standard infantry battle droid) and is nicely covered with minor little nicks and scrapes.

* The Battle Droid has a pretty recognizable head and Hasbro has done a great job with it here. Just staring at it, you can just imagine the distinctive voice of these guys. "Roger, roger!" Also fun: The movement processor on the back (the little tendril looking thing hanging off the back of the head) is hinged as well.

 * Looking at the figure, all of the joints you would expect to work do work. Also, there are probably a few joints here you might not expect. Perhaps the best thing that can be said is that the Battle Droid can be folded up into it's storage mode/ shutdown mode quite easily. It looks great and while we'll (probably) never get an MTT in the Black Series, this is still a very fun pose for the Battle Droid.







* The Battle Droid comes armed with the E-5 Blaster Rifle, also known as the Battle Droid blaster. This is an excellent sculpt that matches up nearly perfectly with the film prop. The hands are preposed so that the Battle Droid can hold it accurately, too.



 * The Battle Droid features a removable backpack. Like the droid itself the backpack is slightly dinged and damaged with believable paint applications.
 









* Guess what? The antennae on the backpack can actually slide down into the backpack for storage. I didn't even realize that these extended at first until I pulled out my Episode I visual dictionary and started looking at things more closely. What a cool feature.



* The E-5 also plugs into the backpack. I remember loving this feature on the Episode I Battle Droid from 1999 and I'm still glad to have it.



* Interestingly, the Battle Droid also comes with an interchangeable Command Officer's antenna array. Remove the backpack and plug this piece in to give your Battle Droid a little variation. While this droid doesn't bear the markings of the Command Officers, it's still a fun extra. I'm sure Hasbro will want to repaint this sculpt and I wouldn't turn down OOM-9, a red Geonosis Battle droid, or a Security Droid. I love the Security Droids!
 The Negatives:


* My only negative is that I wish the Battle Droid had just a bit wider range of motion in the hips. It does have balljoints but they don't allow the figure a very wide stance.
    Considering the overall popularity of the Clone Wars, it's surprising that Hasbro has waited this long to deliver a Battle Droid. They did a great job with the figure, however, and for $20 dollars it is an Epic figure that offers up a definitive toy of the B1 Battle Droid. I love the design, the accessories, and the articulation, especially being able to out the Battle Droid into storage mode. There is some great engineering here and I'm thrilled by how durable the figure feels. Here we are 20 years after the release of Episode I and I'm still thrilled by Battle Droid toys. Crazy, right? Hopefully Super Battle Droids and Droidekas aren't too far behind, right? I was really hoping to see more Episode I stuff this year. Even though the release of Episode I: 3D led to some serious problems in toy aisles (seriously; apparently retailers thought it was a new film or something) there are some great designs in the film that would be awesome in the Black Series. At least we've got a Battle Droid, though, right?






You know what? This is the first Battle Droid I've reviewed on this site! For more Star Wars: The Black Series figures, check out the following:

442nd Siege Battalion Clone Trooper, 212th Attack Battalion Utapau Trooper, Coruscant Guard ---(Phase II), and 501st Legion Clone Trooper 4 pack
4-LOM
Admiral Ackbar and First Order Officer
Admiral Piett
Ahsoka Tano 
AT-AT Pilot 
Baze Malbus
C-3PO
C-3PO (Resistance Base) 
Captain Cassian Andor (Eadu) 
Captain Phasma
Captain Phasma (Quicksilver Baton)
Captain Poe Dameron
Chewbacca (Target Exclusive)
Chewbacca (The Force Awakens)
Chirrut Imwe 
Clone Captain Rex (HasCon Exclusive)
Clone Commander Gree
Clone Commander Wolffe 
Constable Zuvio
Darth Revan 
Darth Vader (Emperor's Wrath)
Death Star Trooper
Dengar
Dewback/ Sandtrooper
Director Krennic 
DJ (Canto Bight)
Elite Praetorian Guard
Elite Praetorian Guard (with Heavy Blade)
Enfys Nest's Swoop Bike/ Enfys Nest
Finn (First Order Disguise)
Finn (FN-2187)
Finn (Jakku)
First Order Flametrooper
First Order General Hux
First Order Snowtrooper
First Order Snowtrooper Officer
First Order Special Forces TIE Fighter
First Order Stormtrooper
First Order Stormtrooper Executioner 
First Order Stormtrooper (with Gear)
First Order TIE Fighter Pilot
Gamorrean Guard
General Leia Organa
General Veers
Grand Admiral Thrawn (SDCC Exclusive)
Grand Moff Tarkin 
Guardians of Evil 4-Pack
Guavian Enforcer
Han Solo (Exogorth Escape)
Han Solo (Solo)
Han Solo (The Force Awakens)
Hera Syndulla
Imperial AT-ACT Driver
Imperial Death Trooper
Imperial Death Trooper, Captain Cassian Andor, and Sergeant Jyn Erso (Jedha) 3 pack
Imperial Hovertank Pilot 
Imperial Patrol Trooper
Imperial Shock Trooper 
Imperial Royal Guard 
Inferno Squad Agent
Jaina Solo (Legends)
Jango Fett
K-2SO
Kanan Jarrus
Kylo Ren 
Kylo Ren (SDCC 2016)
Kylo Ren (The Last Jedi) 
Kylo Ren (Starkiller Base)
Kylo Ren (Throne Room) 
L3-37
Lando Calrissian (Solo)
Lando Calrissian (The Empire Strikes Back)
Lando Calrissian (Skiff Guard)
Luke Skywalker 
Luke Skywalker (Jedi Master) 
Luke Skywalker (Jedi Master)- Ahch-To Island
Maz Kanata 
Moloch
Obi-Wan Kenobi (Force Spirit)
Obi-Wan Kenobi (SDCC 2016)
Phase 1 Clone Trooper Commander, Phase II Clone Trooper, Imperial Stormtrooper, and First Order ---Stormtrooper Officer four pack
Poe Dameron
Poe Dameron and First Order Riot Control Stormtrooper
Porgs 
Princess Leia (Bespin Escape)
Princess Leia Organa 
Princess Leia Organa (Hoth)
Qi'ra (Corellia)
Qui-Gon Jinn
R2-A3, R5-K6, and R2-F2
Range Trooper
Rebel Trooper
Red Squadron (R2-D2, R5-D8, and R2-X2)
Resistance Tech Rose
Resistance Trooper
Rey (Island Journey)
Rey (Jakku) & BB-8 
Rey (Jedi Training)
Rey (Jedi Training)- Crait
Rey (Starkiller Base) 
Rey's Speeder (Jakku)
Rio Durant
Sabine Wren
Sandtrooper Sergeant, Crimson Stormtrooper, Lieutenant OXIXO, and R2-Q5
Scarif Stormtrooper
Scarif Stormtrooper Squad Leader 
Sergeant Jyn Erso (Eadu)
Sergeant Jyn Erso (Jedha)
Snowtrooper 
Stormtrooper (Mimban)
Stormtrooper (With Blast Accessories)
Supreme Leader Snoke (Throne Room)
Tobias Beckett
Tusken Raider 
Val (Vandor)
X-34 Landspeeder & Luke Skywalker (SDCC Exclusive) 
X-Wing Pilot Asty 
Zuckuss

2 comments:

  1. The only one I haven't found yet. Was never a fan of these fragile looking droids, but the detail Hasbro put into this, especially the ability to fold up is pretty darn cool.

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    Replies
    1. The Clone really solidified my love for these guys and gave them even more personality than the films did. It's a really well designed toy.

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