Battle Droid - SW [Y/AOTC] - The Clone Wars (CW09)

Battle Droids are deployed across the galaxy by the Separatists. (European packaging)

Battle Droids are deployed across the galaxy by the Separatists. The Droids are designed for mass production, ensuring that the Separatists always have a vast army at their disposal to fight the Republic's Clone Trooper forces. (North American packaging)

The last figure in the final The Clone Wars line ever is a fantastic upgrade to previous versions. Hasbro always has a knack for mastering the aesthetic structures and physiques of their Star Wars action figures, but they often forgo articulation in places that desperately need it. We’ll get into this more in a minute or two, but the final wave of The Clone Wars line brought about significant change to most of the action figures inside the mix. Many sadly won’t come to realize just how important the enhancements have been because they’re things that need to be seen in hand to appreciate. Thankfully they made a significant update to the 2008 TCW [B] Battle Droid (No. 7) figure by enhancing the arms so it now has the ability to hold the droid blaster in both hands. It seems like this should have always been a “no-brainer” but they finally pulled through for collectors. But they also have given the B1 Battle Droid a completely new coloring, almost to th epoint of looking a bit pale. Sadly, we’re not so quick to rank this version of the Battle Droid as definitive, but ironically it will become definitive by default since The Clone Wars line is now dead. As a whole, the Battle Droid will still score high marks from us, but let’s look at why there is still some room for growth.

The Battle Droid still lack in leg articulation. What makes this maddening from a certain point of view is that Hasbro already has Battle Droid legs with hinge-jointed knees. If you recall, 2011’s TCW [SOTDS] Separatist Droid Speeder With Battle Droid brought The Clone Wars line its first Battle Droid with articulation below the hips. Granted, the points are simple, but it’s enough to assist with posing and displaying the action figure with greater diversity and flexibility than previous sculpts. If you’re a painter, we imagine that you’ll find satisfaction in switching out the legs and giving the figure an all-new paint job, but why couldn’t Hasbro have been proactive and updated this figure even further than they did? As you can imagine, the current legs borrowed from the 2008 figure aren’t sculpted in a stand-friendly nature and the figure falls over quite easily without a precariously inventive pose. Still, the enhancements made to the forearms are very exciting and it makes overlooking the static legs all the more easier. If you take the time, you will discover that the Battle Droid can indeed be posed dynamically, but let’s be clear that all that credit should be given to the arms that allow the Battle Droid to hold his droid blaster in a natural configuration.

One other issue we have taken with the Battle Droid (as far back as 2008) is the inability for the droid blaster to attach to the backpack. Many collectors have been able to let this go, but we think it’s such a key detail for this Star Wars character that it borders on egregious that they’ve managed to overlook it for so many years. (It’s not like they haven’t overlooked other glaring errors in the past as well.) Despite our criticisms, we absolutely find more favor with the Battle Droid than anything else. The figure has an amazing silhouette and an even better paint job. Hasbro included more elements of silver carbon-scoring and/or scratching throughout the frame of the droid. And it seems that they have gotten the exact shade of “tan” perfectly for the very last figure in the line. (Better late than never, right?) Battle Droids are admittedly an overproduced character in the Star Wars toy line. But when Hasbro takes the time to update things to give the character more authenticity and accuracy, we applaud them for whatever efforts they put forth. Battle Droid is one of many characters in the final 2013 The Clone Wars line that has received a fantastic upgrade. Be sure to find a way to enjoy this “new” figure.