"Roger roger." - Battle Droid
Sideshow Collectibles and
Star Wars have been a force to be reckoned with for a while but due to
the scale and assortment of characters, it’s been a seemingly longer
time before the many Clone Troopers have had a target to shoot at. Now
available through Sideshow and other online retailers are the Infantry
Battle Droids, the “inferior” army of robots introduced in Star Wars
Episode I The Phantom Menace. I for one loved Doug Chiang’s designs for
Episode I and especially of the Battle Droids. The skeletal frail
bodies make it understandable why an army of these droids wouldn’t stand
the test of time but after getting Sideshow’s take, we can almost get a
sense of how they could work in the real world.
What’s great about this release of the Battle Droids is that you get two
droids in one purchase! Two really is better than one in this case and
what you should do is get FOUR as Sideshow’s team was clever enough to
release slight variations: the Battle Droids themselves are virtually
identical with the exception of their identification number assigned to
their backpacks. The exclusive release gave you the fan favorite “1138”
Battle Droid seen at the end of The Phantom Menace. The regular
release gives you a few different pairings of IDs which means you could
potentially get more than six unique Battle Droids. A great idea for
army builders or not, making it a fun surprise to see what you get. The
regular release has an edition size of 5,000 units or 10,000 Infantry
Droids (500 exclusives were made).
The packaging design for these droids is the same as it has been for
every other release and that’s fine with me. Magnetic flaps hold the
box shut making it easy to inspect the toy prior to opening. There’s
also the usual product photography, screen grabs, and description,
making the product even more fun to collect. The droids are packed side
by side in almost their compacted state which is a great idea.
Being that these Droids were made completely from scratch, it’s more
impressive to me than say, another character using the same body as a
previous figure. But here is where future re-use will make complete
sense. These are very faithful recreations of the Battle Droids but
they’re not perfect. Just from eye-balling it I can tell that the neck
even when fully extended isn’t quite long enough. The backpacks also
rest a bit too high, which, along with the shorter necks make the
clearance of the head a bit limited. The fingers also aren’t able to
fully grip the blaster pistol, which means the fingers are too wide
apart or the blaster handle is too small. Aside from those nits, the
Battle Droid is a beauty and quite sturdy as well.
While it’s probably safe to assume that the droid is molded in the tan
colors already, a lot of detail and weathering was applied to the droids
and some good news, they’re both unique to each other. I would love to
get a few more of these guys to see if they too have personalized
weathering but it wouldn’t be a big deal if they didn’t. Overall, the
paint work when it needs to be is clean and nicely applied. Even the ID
numbers on the backpack have a small amount of wear and tear which adds
to the realism.
If you bought these droids or plan to, you may have noticed metal plates
on the bottom of their feet. No, these aren’t magnets but are intended
to stick to magnetic surfaces in future releases, perhaps with the
upcoming STAP vehicle.
The articulation on these droids is truly magnificently executed. If
you recall the Hasbro release, this certainly puts that one to shame. I
count over 30 moving parts, most of these in the arms, that allow
extreme poseability. Not included in that count were the two antennae
that extend out of the backpacks. Essentially, if you had any fear
about the articulation on these Battle Droids, don’t.
As you probably assumed by now, the backpack and E-5 Blasters are
included for each droid. There are no display stands which is fine as
they do stand decently without them, but perhaps a magnetic base would
have been ideal here.
There are things to be careful of or watch out for. The backpacks don’t
stay on the droids very well at all and will fall off when handling.
Be extremely cautious as the material can chip and you don’t want to
risk damaging the antennae if they’re fully extended. Even when they’re
not, you can seriously bend or break the very tip. Just the tip.
Overall though, these Battle Droids Infantry are just what my collection
needed. Not only does it give us an enemy to shoot at, it’s the very
start of the enemy forces that will no doubt eventually be made. I’m
not too thrilled about Super Battle Droids but if they do Destroyers to
go along with my Battle Droids, I’ll be one happy camper. These
Infantry Battle Droids are available now
through Sideshow priced at $119.99 and the upcoming STAP with Battle
Droid is also up for pre-orders at $174.99. After owning these, you
will believe that droids can be assassins. You won’t regret it.
To buy action figures, take a look at BigBadToyStore.com, TheToySource.com, Toynk.com, BriansToys.com, ToyWiz.com, MonkeyDepot.com, EntertainmentEarth.com, Amiami, HobbySearch and Hobbylink
For hobby miniatures and all your gaming needs, visit MiniatureMarket.com.
0 comentarios: