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Destroyer Droid (Clone Wars)

August 17, 2013 | By Errex More

Recently, I commented on how the regular Clone Wars Battle Droids tended to warm pegs at stores although, I do think that those guys will eventually sell, at the right price point, while the subject of today’s review, the Droideka, a.k.a. Destroyer Droid may be a harder sale.
And I find the fact really baffling, since Destroyer Droids were much more fearsome foes than Battle Droids in the prequel trilogy movies and in the animated TV series. Part of the problem lies in their unusual design and the feel one is getting a rather large accessory instead of a real action figure.

Also, in their effort to make the animated Droideka look different from the realistic style ones, Hasbro kind of fudged a bit too far with the overall proportions of these droids, making it harder for them to fit in with the rest of my droid pool.

That is why I never really bothered in getting the Destroyer Droid from the Clone Wars line, although I did end up getting one in a multipack with Yoda and a Clone Lieutenant, and I must say that the Destroyer Droid turned out to be quite a pleasant surprise.

As I mentioned, the figure is somewhat less detailed than the realistic ones. The inner body looks blockier, the legs look chunkier and the outer carapace seems to be wider, but the overall appearance is consistent with the animated style from the show, although this is not immediately evident just by looking at the figure in the package, since it comes partially disassembled.

Both arms have to be popped in place, as well as the rubber hip flap pieces, but articulation is pretty good as far as these unusual configurations go, and the Destroyer Droid has:

• Swivel shoulders.

• Double peg hinged “elbows”.

• Spring loaded, hinged “wrists”,

• Hinged legs.
Yep. The last joint in each arm has a spring inside that works as part of a built-in action feature. The Droideka cannot really fold into a roving ball or ring but, at the touch of a button, both arms shoot out from the resting configuration to deploy the heavy weaponry.
The Destroyer Droid comes with a couple of spring-loaded projectile launchers that attach to the regular blaster weapons at the tip of each arm. These launchers are rather bulky and the projectiles are molded in a conspicuous shade of red, but they are actually kind of fun to fool around with.

The multipack also included a plastic display base for the Droid that it really can’t use as intended given the feet design, but it can hold the corresponding Galactic Battle Game stat card. The set also includes just one blue die that has to be shared with the other figures.

The deco on the Destroyer Droid is quite nice. The bulk of the figure seems made from gray plastic, with the coppery-bronze areas painted in a nice, thick coat of paint and a few touches of red for the “eyes”.

In the end, this Destroyer Droid turned out to be a genuinely fun toy and even though I still would not rush out with the sole purpose of getting one, I would certainly not mind picking up an extra one if I happen to stumble upon them in a bargain bin or rounding up another battlepack.