Would you accept thicker limbs on Battle Droid figures?

[JediTricks]

The Battle Droid, first shown 10 years ago in Episode I, has always been a challenge for toy designers. George Lucas was none too kind to the action figure crowd by insisting on an ultra-thin robot design that in the film enjoys massive range of motion and transforms. Almost every aspect of the Battle Droid design has proven difficult to translate into toys, starting with the head and neck joints, going all the way down to the feet.

Arms suffer limited articulation, just a simple hinge elbow if anything, and only with the Clone Wars line has Hasbro tried ball-jointed shoulders. Poses involving holding the blaster are either limited to straight-armed inaccuracies, or require preposed arm sculpts which lose their looks when posed in other angles. However, many collectors continue to ask: what's a Battle Droid when it can't even hold its weapon properly?

But nothing has crippled Battle Droid figures like their slim leg designs. Once Lucasfilm insisted on a more accurate design, the leg designs got too thin to employ knee articulation, and Hasbro feared that the parts are so thin that a harder plastic would easily break and cause danger to small children. This has led to the notorious bendy-legged Battle Droid figures which cannot stand on their own. Their small feet, narrow stances, and top-heavy bodies simply cannot stand on their own for very long no matter which figure is involved.

Hasbro has shown with their Super Battle Droid figure that they are willing to beef up droid limbs a little in the service of adding articulation, yet that figure's lack of articulated ankles ultimately suffered the same bending problems as the other Battle Droids and Super Battle Droids.

There may need to be significant thickening of the arms and legs to get us to a point where there's enough articulation to keep the figure upright and allowed to pose in a multitude of ways.

So the question becomes: how much beefing-up of the limbs are fans willing to endure to get a Battle Droid that does what fans want?

[Maerj2000]

Hi, first post!

I voted yes, as all of the Battle Droids I have are slumping over. Even using display stands doesn't work, they eventually bend. I would love to get replacement legs in a harder plastic so they stand up. Maybe they can have collector grade Battle Droids?

Maybe they could make a chiropractor droid for them named Roger?

[JediTricks]

Ha! "Roger", nicely done. Welcome to the forums! I totally agree. I started this poll when I looked down at my Clone Wars BD and noticed that it was on its back.

[Maerj2000]

Thank you! I was looking at mine the other day and the ones on stands with one peg are slumped off to the side. Battle Droids on 2 peg stands seem to just cause them to bend over like they have a stomach virus.

I imagine kids are sort of dissapointed by this as well. Speaking of which, do the new Clone Wars Battle Droids suffer from this as well?

[JediTricks]

My Clone Wars BD sure does, that's the figure I was referring to above which caused me to start this post. I had been hoping the CW BD wouldn't suffer from this, then I look over and it's all drooped down on the ground already, the limbs having bent out of position.

I don't know if kids will care, a lot of kids don't display their figures, and it's a really tough one to get standing anyway. But if I were a kid again, I know I would have been bothered by this.

The strange thing is, the wider stance of the Security BD figure from back in the day kept it from suffering as much droop, and they've completely avoided dynamic posing for the legs since then.

[Darth Jax]

titanium series bd's seems the only logical fix to me. can have the look and the structural support to prevent collapsing.

otherwise, make those legs thicker - if it'll keep them upright, i'm willing to overlook the aesthetics of it.

[Slicker]

There has to be some sort of thicker substance they could use. I'm quite sure that it's all in the material they use and not just how skinny the limbs are.

[dr_evazan22]

Yeah, I'm all for thicker legs and or more durable plastic that doesn't wilt. I have a slew of BD's still in E1 packaging and the only reason I don't release them from the plastic prison is b/c they'd fall and droop.

When the BD's were released again, in whatever the last series was, I bought a 2Pac of the camo BD's. They're still imprisoned as well.

The only thing the droopy's are good for are the deactivated BD's in TPM.

[JON9000]

This will never happen, but the could make clear stands that clasp them at the waist .

[Kidhuman]

Heck Yeah I would