Spider Droid (Separatist Forces) - CW - Deluxe

Begun the Clone Wars has!" – Jedi Master Yoda
On the remote planet of Geonosis, the growing conflict between the Republic and its foes explodes into all-out war. The Republic's Jedi Knights lead a massive Clone Army into battle on hundreds of planets. The Separatists, led by the powerful Dark Lords of the Sith, fight back with their own formidable droid armies. As this terrible conflict rips across the galaxy, Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala and Obi-Wan Kenobi are swept into the turmoil of war and the rising shadow of the dark side.

The Dwarf Spider Droid is a squat, multi-legged droid of destruction deployed during the Battle of Geonosis. These mobile tanks typically serve the Commerce Guild in hunting down evading operatives, but when the Galactic Republic engages the Separatist armies in a full-scale ground assault, Dwarf Spider Droids are deployed to counter the Republic's massive clone army. Their striding legs are ideal for the rugged terrain of Geonosis, and their crimson eyes radiate with infrared photoreceptors for targeting the enemy through dense clouds of battle.

Hasbro decided to create realistic action figures when it came to making companion products for the awesome Clone Wars multimedia event. While most of the toys were realistic interpretations of characters and vehicles seen in the Tartakovsky Clone Wars micro-series, others were based on stories from the comics and other publications. With a whole gamut of products already tooled from the Star Wars “Saga” line (from Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones), Hasbro was in good shape to make new items for collectors based on the Clone Wars for very little since the sculpts were available. They just needed to repaint them to make them Clone Wars specific. When it came to the Spider Droid (Separatist Force) character, Hasbro simply repainted and re-released 2003’s Star Wars “Saga” Spider Droid Deluxe figure and called it a day. It was honestly a great choice to re-release because the 2003 Star Wars “Saga” version was difficult to find at the retail level.

There isn’t much new to discuss with the Clone Wars version versus the Star Wars “Saga” version. Aside from a slightly different base paint job, the two are nearly identical. Technically a dwarf spider droid, the Spider Droid has a very juvenile action feature that is about silly as it is neat. By simply winding up the the Spider Droid, you can make it was across pretty much any flat surface in a movement which is almost reminiscent of how they moved in the film. All four legs attach to the moving/pivoting platform which gives the Spider Droid is unique scattering movements. Once it completely winds down, you can just wind it back up and continue utilizing its action feature until you’re no longer interested. From a visual perspective, the Spider Droid actually looks pretty good and screen accurate. But aesthetics are always sacrificed when action features are added, so until Hasbro makes a Spider Droid without them, we feel that we just won’t have a completely acceptable version.

The Spider Droid has another play feature which is great for kids but maybe not so much for collectors. It comes with a projectile that can be lodged in its “nose” cannon and a button when pressed will fire it. The projectile is bright red and looks a little bit silly, but it adds play value which is always great for a kids toy. Great for background fodder in displays and the like, the Spider Droid sort of meets our expectations. It is what it is may come across as a little noncommittal, but that’s about the best way we can explain it. It serves a purpose, but we’re not head over heels crazy about it. The last thing we would like to mention is that the Spider Droid’s antenna is much too flaccid. References images show that the antenna is upright on its head, but on the toy version is can hardly stand. Certainly not the end of the world, we wish Hasbro would have found a way to use stronger materials on features that tend to “wilt” over time thanks to gravity.