Spider Droid - ROTS - Deluxe

These droids have a powerful, centrally mounted laser cannon that is highly effective in battle. With their small size, they can enter mines and caves to launch surprise attacks or track fleeing enemies.

The Spider Droid made its debut in the Hasbro toy line during the Star Wars “Saga” deluxe line, but then was quickly repainted and added to the Clone Wars line for the corresponding multimedia event. Between Star Wars “Saga” and Clone Wars, these highly-engaging toy lines brought a whole new facet of collectors into the throng while the toy lines themselves broke new ground by offering never-before-made vehicles and droids. Many of the new toys could be sourced to Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones, but many others were exclusive to the Clone Wars storyline. Either way, collectors were digging them. Now that we’ve reached the third Prequel Trilogy film, many of these already existing sculpts were utilized once again. Because Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith takes place at the tail end of the Clone Wars, many of the Separatist Droid Army members would be seen in the many battles of the film. In particular, the Spider Droid makes another return appearance during the Battle of Kashyyyk. Because Hasbro had tooled this toy back in the Star Wars “Saga” line, they repainted it and proudly added it to the Revenge Of The Sith Deluxe line. The Spider Droid, technically a Dwarf Spider Droid, is not the most exciting addition to the Deluxe line, but at least this character was in the film and it fits in well along with the many other characters from Revenge Of The Sith.

Getting the Spider Droid out again was honestly a wise choice to re-release because the 2003 Star Wars “Saga” version was nearly impossible to locate at the retail level. Shortly after its release Hasbro included it in the Clone Wars line, but even the Clone Wars version came and went with very little fanfare. Now it’s been repainted to be screen-specific to Episode III, so we get a new take on the Spider Droid which will interest collectors in picking it up again. In all honesty, there isn’t much new to discuss with the Revenge Of The Sith version when compared against the Star Wars “Saga” version. Aside from a different paint operations, the two versions are otherwise identical. The Spider Droid has a very juvenile action feature that is about silly as it is neat. By simply winding up 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 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. 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. At least it matches the color scheme of the Separatist Droid Army. The Spider Droid is great for background fodder in displays and the like, and from this perspective it meets our expectations. We constantly must remind ourselves that the Deluxe is designed for kids, hence the play features. But if we’re honest, these play features definitely encumber the aesthetics of the toy. We can’t conclusively say we dislike this toy, but we’re certainly not going to say it’s one of Hasbro’s finest moments. This of course may come across as a little noncommittal, but that’s about the best way we can explain it. The Spider Droid serves a purpose, but we’re not head over heels crazy about it. Kids likely WILL be crazy about it.