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Battle Droid (Clone Wars)

August 3, 2013 | By Errex More

If I had to name one type of character that consistently warmed pegs at everywhere I went, looking for Star Wars figures, it would be the lowly CIS Battle Droid.

These guys looked impressive in the Episode I trailer over ten years ago, but over time, they became a joke due to their ineffectiveness in battle and the silly antics they were made to perform both in the movies and the Cartoon Network animated series.

In fact, I think the only place where Battle Droids were actually portrayed as effective pieces of equipment was the Tartakovsky Clone Wars micro-series that aired the before Revenge of the Sith premiered in 2005.

That is why it struck me as odd to see another Battle Droid action figure release in the final wave of Clone Wars action figures from Hasbro, and that it sported some tooling improvements to boot.

The sculpture is based on the cartoon CGI model, which really is not that different from the “realistic” design. In fact, I find that the animated style droid can easily pass as a different, sturdier Battle Droid model mixed in with the ones from both the Legacy and Neo-Vintage collections.

However, the real reason to buy this particular release lies in the improved articulation design, which includes:

• Ball jointed head.

• Swivel torso.

• Ball jointed shoulders.

• Hinged elbows.

• Forearm swivels.

• Swivel hips.

Both the angled torso swivel and the forearm articulation are new to this kind of character, and even though the torso joint is of relatively little use, the ability to have the Droid holding it’s weapon two-handed is quite welcome.

This Battle Droid is molded entirely in bone-colored plastic, but it sports a thorough shading wash as well as some simulated weathering and silver highlights applied at the points where the coating might have rubbed off.

This Battle Droid comes armed with the standard droid blaster and a backpack that can be attached to a peg hole at the back. Both accessories are decorated to match the weathering in the figure, although the backpack lacks the silver scratches. No display base, or Galactic Battle Game items were included this time, being the final wave in this collection and all.

Overall, this is an OK figure to get, especially if you had been holding-off buying the older, less articulated version.