JediTricks
08-27-2010, 04:09 AM
This is my first experience with this new Battle Droid mold. I didn't realize this mold has added ankle hinge articulation, which makes a pretty big difference in display choices, and I suspect may alleviate some of the drooping issues prior BD molds have suffered (although I can't picture it completely fixing that).
First off, it was brought to my attention that the neck was assembled backwards on this mold originally, and it holds true with this 2-pack as well. That said, the neck is incredibly easy to pop out of the hole and reposition without any perceived loss of functionality.
It was also brought to my attention that the 2 original versions came with problems at the eyes, one with no eyes and the other with huge eyes. This Saga Legends set, both figures have big eyes. Is it jarring? Perhaps I've gotten too used to the Clone Wars droids with their bigger eyes, because it's not particularly fazing me. I think it helps that these are red versions of BDs so the eyes don't stand out as much, if this were the tan variants I would probably be more annoyed by it.
Finally, it was brought to my attention that the commander droid the first time around didn't have his chest dot in the proper location. That is also true here, the dot is entirely on the "stomach" panel rather than half chest, half stomach. It should bug me more, but so far is only a minor annoyance.
Now, things I have noticed on my own. The figure has quite decent sculpting, and even if the neck doesn't transform the way it did in the film, the telescoping is a fair way to get this to a transforming bot - folding hands would go further tho'. The plastic isn't particularly firm, so I'm not sure what to expect, but both figures came out of the package relatively unwarped.
Although the grunt droid gets a backpack with a slot, the gun each figure comes with does not have the side clip to tab into the slot, so he cannot store his gun on his back - this makes less than no sense since the movie rifle HAS a clip on it! Luckily, as this is a Saga Legends pack that comes with the same weapons from all the previous Saga Legends sets (not every SL set in 2010 comes with the same weapons), this set comes with the version that has the clip that properly pegs into the backpack. And since the commander droid has antennae rather than a backpack, only 1 replacement gun is needed anyway. Comparing the 2, they're nearly identical, they have slightly different shininess and sharpness here and there, and the new one is missing the trigger as well as the clip but that doesn't affect holding.
Articulation is decent, ball-jointed neck, hips and shoulders; hinged ankles, knees and elbows; telescoping neck. There's still no rotation at the elbow for 2-handed posing, but the ball-joints let you fudge it a little. None of the joints are particularly strong, but the figure can stand on its own in a decent pose - I plan on leaving the grunt up overnight in a pose, see if it stays up, but the tiny feet may affect that more than wilting. The neck doesn't pivot backwards the way it should, but there is enough play to suggest it once you reorient the neck.
Paint is decent if simple, the red plastic is the right color and there's light to medium blackwash weathering (it varies set to set). The commander droid's yellow paint on his head is nicely weathered, but the chest dot isn't.
As for accessories, there's the bag o' weapons (taped to the bottom of the tray), there's the identical blaster rifles, grunt has his backpack, commander has his antenna array, there are 2 stands (which are 2-pegged and work nicely with these feet, if perhaps a bit tight for the pegholes), the standard game die and 2 game cards - one for each figure with specific rank-appropriate score changes, if you're into that sort of thing.
Overall, the set is decent for what it is, you get plenty of product, but it's not great for army-building if you have an issue with a mountain of commanders. The neck issue is easily fixable, that makes this set better in my eyes than I expected, and the included E-5 blaster rifle with clip in the bonus bag makes up for the goof of removing it on the main figure. I do think it's still too soft of a material, but in the short-term it stands fine once you find something that works with the itty bitty feet. The inclusion of 2-pegged stands for both figures is also a nice bonus even if you avoid the game, as most of us will. That said, there are corrections that need to be addressed in the paint with the eyes and chest dot, and I would like to see rotation joints above and below the elbow - that would make this figure ultimate. But for this set, it's a decent purchase, although I do think the choice of sticking with Geonosis-colored BDs is a poor choice as they're very scene-specific where the tan ones are prequel-ubiquitous.
First off, it was brought to my attention that the neck was assembled backwards on this mold originally, and it holds true with this 2-pack as well. That said, the neck is incredibly easy to pop out of the hole and reposition without any perceived loss of functionality.
It was also brought to my attention that the 2 original versions came with problems at the eyes, one with no eyes and the other with huge eyes. This Saga Legends set, both figures have big eyes. Is it jarring? Perhaps I've gotten too used to the Clone Wars droids with their bigger eyes, because it's not particularly fazing me. I think it helps that these are red versions of BDs so the eyes don't stand out as much, if this were the tan variants I would probably be more annoyed by it.
Finally, it was brought to my attention that the commander droid the first time around didn't have his chest dot in the proper location. That is also true here, the dot is entirely on the "stomach" panel rather than half chest, half stomach. It should bug me more, but so far is only a minor annoyance.
Now, things I have noticed on my own. The figure has quite decent sculpting, and even if the neck doesn't transform the way it did in the film, the telescoping is a fair way to get this to a transforming bot - folding hands would go further tho'. The plastic isn't particularly firm, so I'm not sure what to expect, but both figures came out of the package relatively unwarped.
Although the grunt droid gets a backpack with a slot, the gun each figure comes with does not have the side clip to tab into the slot, so he cannot store his gun on his back - this makes less than no sense since the movie rifle HAS a clip on it! Luckily, as this is a Saga Legends pack that comes with the same weapons from all the previous Saga Legends sets (not every SL set in 2010 comes with the same weapons), this set comes with the version that has the clip that properly pegs into the backpack. And since the commander droid has antennae rather than a backpack, only 1 replacement gun is needed anyway. Comparing the 2, they're nearly identical, they have slightly different shininess and sharpness here and there, and the new one is missing the trigger as well as the clip but that doesn't affect holding.
Articulation is decent, ball-jointed neck, hips and shoulders; hinged ankles, knees and elbows; telescoping neck. There's still no rotation at the elbow for 2-handed posing, but the ball-joints let you fudge it a little. None of the joints are particularly strong, but the figure can stand on its own in a decent pose - I plan on leaving the grunt up overnight in a pose, see if it stays up, but the tiny feet may affect that more than wilting. The neck doesn't pivot backwards the way it should, but there is enough play to suggest it once you reorient the neck.
Paint is decent if simple, the red plastic is the right color and there's light to medium blackwash weathering (it varies set to set). The commander droid's yellow paint on his head is nicely weathered, but the chest dot isn't.
As for accessories, there's the bag o' weapons (taped to the bottom of the tray), there's the identical blaster rifles, grunt has his backpack, commander has his antenna array, there are 2 stands (which are 2-pegged and work nicely with these feet, if perhaps a bit tight for the pegholes), the standard game die and 2 game cards - one for each figure with specific rank-appropriate score changes, if you're into that sort of thing.
Overall, the set is decent for what it is, you get plenty of product, but it's not great for army-building if you have an issue with a mountain of commanders. The neck issue is easily fixable, that makes this set better in my eyes than I expected, and the included E-5 blaster rifle with clip in the bonus bag makes up for the goof of removing it on the main figure. I do think it's still too soft of a material, but in the short-term it stands fine once you find something that works with the itty bitty feet. The inclusion of 2-pegged stands for both figures is also a nice bonus even if you avoid the game, as most of us will. That said, there are corrections that need to be addressed in the paint with the eyes and chest dot, and I would like to see rotation joints above and below the elbow - that would make this figure ultimate. But for this set, it's a decent purchase, although I do think the choice of sticking with Geonosis-colored BDs is a poor choice as they're very scene-specific where the tan ones are prequel-ubiquitous.