Grievous’ Bodyguard - ROTS - Basic (III 60)

General Grievous is surrounded by droid bodyguards. They protect the commander of the droid armies with impenetrable electrostaffs as the Republic forces attempt to stop this dangerous and deadly enemy.

You already know our propensity for loving the so-called “Repack & Repaint” waves of action figures Hasbro includes in applicable line looks where a placeholder is needed for delayed wave of figures or just to pad the end of a line look while they get ready for the next one. Whatever the reasons and whatever the method, these types of “special waves” offer collectors a chance to get figures they normally wouldn’t because of their obscurity in the films. But the “Repack & Repaint” waves can also bring different versions of previously made characters. The best part about this for Hasbro is that it’s a cost effective and very quick way to get “new” figures out with relative ease that’s nice on the wallet (but maybe not our wallets). Take for instance the MagnaGuards in Episode III. There are multiple styles and colors of MagnaGuards and Star Wars reference books clearly show that blue and alabaster (off white) MagnaGuards exist in the film. Star Wars fans love our figure variations and we’d probably take every colored Republic clone trooper and Separatist droid possible if we had our way.

Hasbro designed early on in the Revenge Of The Sith basic figure line 2005’s ROTS Grievous’s Bodyguard (III 8) figure. And it was the perfect opportunity to include another unique version of the MagnaGuard since they were releasing a dozen final figures before canceling the Revenge Of The Sith line. So Hasbro tool that Grievous’s Bodyguard figure and repainted it, renumbered it, and lastly dropped the last “s” in the figure’s name and a new figure was born! We think the white/alabaster Grievous’ Bodyguard turned out significantly better than the first version. Perhaps it’s because they were more clearly seen in Revenge Of The Sith, but both styles of MagnaGuard are present in multiple scenes including Anakin’s and Obi-Wan’s confrontation with Grievous on the Invisible Hand as well as on Obi-Wan Kenobi’s second confrontation with Grievous on Utapau to defeat the Separatist Leader. All of the same accessories come with this version of the figure too. And both droids look fantastic posed next to each other. As a result, we’re thrilled that Hasbro decided to include it in the line before it came to an end.

It’s really hard to pinpoint the reasons why the white version of Grievous’ Bodyguard looks so much better, so you’ll have to compare the figures in our gallery and come to your own conclusion. It’s quite possible that this MagnaGuard is called IG-102. If a MagnaGuard is called anything other than IG-series 100, then it’s that droid’s personal designation. Perhaps Hasbro was designing these MagnaGuards as generic army builders, but it’s even more possible that they designed them after IG 101 (for III 8) and IG 102 (for III 60). The paint job is especially fantastic on Grievous’ Bodyguard (the III 60) version. There is a great deal of marbling on the droid’s exterior to represent wear and tear or perhaps it’s simply just dirt, but it looks incredibly realistic. The cape is very nice looking, but it really inhibits the movement of the figure. Soft-goods would have been ideal here. And of course we would have loved to see Hasbro eliminate the action feature altogether and include more points of usable articulation, but that wasn’t meant to be here. Grievous’ Bodyguard is a great figure. Better will come, but this one will serve a wonderful purpose in your collection.