Anybody know why the Destroyer Droids have the hand mistake?

[JediTricks]

As per what I wrote in the SSG news on Friday night, the Clone Wars Droid multipacks (Droid Army & Droideka Battle Launcher) have a Destroyer Droid figure that has hands with the wrong orientation (vertical instead of horizontal). At first my guess was that this was to accomodate packaging restrictions, but the figure has shoulders that allow the arms to move inward which would accomodate this, and the Droid Army set has the Destroyer Droid at an angle so it's not even trying to minimize the amount of space it's taking up. So, anybody know what the deal is here?

[LTBasker]

I've been wondering this since we first saw the pics of them. It's crazy.. I'm guessing they may have wanted to do something more visually different from the disappointing Saga Droideka. That's really the only thing I can figure aside from a miscommunication happening, but that's highly doubtful. You gotta think though that if they really wanted to change to appearances some, why didn't they turn the hand on the Super Battle Droid? There's obviously a significant reason behind it as the turrets do looked jointed so a modification in the arm mold would've been needed for the joint.

Perhaps they have something planned with a basic carded rerelease of the Droideka in that mold, but to make it appear new they'll correct the turret hands.

[JEDIpartner]

Well... correct or incorrect I'm still diggin' these over the lackluster "Popeye arms" SAGA version. You know that Hasblah doesn't REALLY pay attention to detail so this sort of thing doesn't surprise me. Although, it may have even been a case where it was easier to mould a single piece in this configuration as opposed to the proper firing configuration.

[JediTricks]

I'd think that if they had been so careful on this design issue previously, that they'd continue to do so here. But as for it being a single-piece mold issue, that does make some sense since this piece of the arm appears to be the same width from tip to shoulder. Still, I would rather have the proper look than the easy design, it's an $11 toy after all.

Oh, and the hands on the SBD should be on pin hinges to rotate around like the deluxe Yoda version has all the time.

[mista_carrot]

Hasbro has cut corners on all of these figures, so to me it makes sense that the reason for the incorrect position of the guns is precisely because added articulation or a more complex mold would have upped the cost of the figure. I just wrote a review for this set and the clone trooper set and I've become keenly aware of Hasbro's cost cutting techniques for these figures.

For ten bucks it's pretty much what I expect; we usually get two crappy/below-average figures and some accessories for ten dollars, and now we are getting three crappy/average figures and almost no accessories for the same price. Don't get me wrong, I like these 3-packs, but if these figures were carded alone they would be pretty craptacular by today's standards, don't you think?

[JEDIpartner]

Absolutely... I think these sets are really just meant to bulk up collections/dioramas. Being part of a three-pack, again, I really don't have much of a problem with these. It seems that people are having a problem getting past what they are not and moving on to what they are...

[tgr3328]

Since the firing meachanism is glued to the droid's hands, you can pry it off without hurting the droid if you are careful. Then you will have a destroyer droid without the silly action feature. The blast effect might even fit in another weapon, like the Clone pilot laser or Jango's jet pack. If you have regrets, you can always glue it back in.

[JediTricks]

It seems that people are having a problem getting past what they are not and moving on to what they are...

IMO, they are too expensive. If these 3 lower-quality figs were like $7 a pack, then it'd be worth it, but considering all the recent SW sales and the lesser quality of these toys to those, I don't think Hasbro has the right to complain about the mold being made more complicated by properly-oriented hands when they're charging so much for these sets.

[JEDIpartner]

IMO, they are too expensive. If these 3 lower-quality figs were like $7 a pack, then it'd be worth it...

I suppose I could go with you on that to a certain degree but I don't think $3.33 per figure is too far out of line. About a month ago, I was talking with someone in the toy biz about manufacturing costs and was told that the most expensive part of many toys is the packaging (blisters and cards). Sadly that cost is passed onto the consumer. It's possible that, if people weren't so card crazy, Hasblah could have put these on front only cards and dropped the price to $7/set.

As it stands I read (on GH) that a more articulated Clone Trooper is in the works. Hasblah also plans to reissue the red Clone Trooper without the rank colour applied to the figure. That should help people bulk up their armies with "proper" figures. I guess it's just a matter of waiting it out.

[JediTricks]

About a month ago, I was talking with someone in the toy biz about manufacturing costs and was told that the most expensive part of many toys is the packaging (blisters and cards).

Honestly, I've never heard that, maybe this person meant "ounce for ounce, they cost more" but I can't imagine the cards & bubbles costing Hasbro as much as the figs (which don't cost them that much either). If the packaging is really costing so much, this would reinforce my "these multipacks cost too much" theory since it's only 1 package for all 3 figures. However, Hasbro certainly doesn't need this level of die-cut cards or billions of twisty ties and could save a few bucks there.