Tank Droid and Large Tri-Droid

[JediTricks]

I received the Octuptarra Droid for xmas, opened it up the other night. I think Hasbro is in a bind, the packaging is so tight to get more on shelves, so this box looks plain next to the $20 vehicles, but a bigger box that would appeal to customers more would bother the retailer. The vehicle requires substantial assembly, more than any in the SW line that I can remember, but only the feet are difficult, so I didn't mind. The thing is big when standing at its lowest, which is 1' tall. Extending the legs all the way out is ridiculous though, this thing is MASSIVE, it adds 75% more height (1' 9") putting it into that rare "big vehicle" category such as the AT-AT. Imagining being a clone trooper running into this thing must be utterly freaky and demoralizing, it's 30' tall and it's walking and shooting in 3 directions at once!

The articulation is very good, although I wish the claws were a little more movable, they can grasp a figure but only the "thumb" hinges and only a few clicks, the "ankle" rotates but doesn't bend. There are 2 sets of knee joints per leg, they're very strong. The legs are naturally wobbly due to their thin design, but the toy doesn't suffer for it, it stands well. Posing any tripod design is a challenge though, but this has as much mobility as you could ask, with swivel "hips" and a rotating pod with hinged, rotating guns.

There's also the cockpit which is nice to add, it's the same interior as the Spider Droid vehicle but why wouldn't it be? Cool addition, you can change the way Anakin interacts with this vehicle now, have him swing around it and break in, control it into the other troops.

So, let's get a few not-so-great aspects...

First, there's great confusion about the Tri-Droid/Octuptarra Droid at LFL because they're based off the same design and were thrown in last-minute to the film, then The Clone Wars and the Clone Wars Micro Series versions are different to them as well, and the Essential Droids guide has a different variation on the movie one! The "Tri-Droid" is actually the 30' big one in the film, the "Octuptarra Droid" is the 10' little one. The basic figure we got in the TAC line is super wrongo, it's a little version of the 30' droid, not the 10' droid it should be, but it does include the asymmetrical dome pattern of the smaller droid. Unfortunately, Hasbro's take on the 30'-represented vehicle is basically a recreation of the same mistakes as the 10'-represented basic figure. This vehicle sports the deco from The Clone Wars, but uses the little one's dome design, and uses the movie cannon design instead of the TCW which has its own eyes and cannons (left unpainted here, but they're still quite obvious) adding a small red "eye" above the cannon to fake it. So it's a massive blending of designs. As a stickler, one could feel this is a horrible disastrous mistake, but that's unfair to the toy as these inaccuracies harm it NOT AT ALL.

Second, as with the Droid Tri-Fighter vehicle, the nature of manufacturing required that screws be visible on the legs, so no matter which way you turn it, you will see those screws.

Third, the cannons are fattened up to act as missile launchers. It's not a big deal, but it further takes from the accuracy, and adds a little toy-styled look to an otherwise mighty vehicle.

Fourth, where am I supposed to put this thing? It's got a big footprint. Is that a bad thing? You'll have to decide. My cat seems a little fascinated and intimidated by it, so I can't put it near him or he'll mess it up. He enjoyed walking under it when I had it on the floor though, and he's a big cat.

But none of that is major. Sculpting overall is good but not exceptional, it straddles realistic and animated, but is sharper than the V-19 Torrent. Paint on the dome is pretty good, the shiny coloring distracts from the TCW line's lack of weathering. The legs are a gray plastic which doesn't wow.

Bottom line for me is that I dig it, it's definitely worth the $28 my mom paid off the WM website. $35 is an ok price too, but it's hard to know that until you've already gotten it home and assembled it, which is a catch-22. The size is a jaw-dropper when you see it in person, and would be demoralizing for your little figures if they were real. It will definitely be a fantastic foil to my AT-TE, and makes the Homing Spider and pretty much everything else in vehicle-land look dinky by comparison. I'm kinda sorry this one got lost in the numerous exclusives this year. I think if it had come out in 2008, it would have been a hit.

[El Chuxter]

This might not be exactly the right place for such a comment, but the design of things like the Octuparra are a major turn-off for me regarding the prequels overall. The OT has almost exclusively utilitarian designs, usually with some heavy modification and wear showing. There are a few exceptions, like the AT-AT, clearly built for intimidation, or the Sail Barge and Twin Pod Cloud Car, owned by folks who had lots of dough and weren't involved in the war.

TPM was supposed to show almost all vehicles that were more aesthetically-designed than utilitarian, and it succeeded admirably with things like the Naboo Fighter. But the Trade Federation's vehicles were clearly built with war in mind; even if they weren't perfectly suited for it. Why did the Trade Federation take such a step backward between TPM and AOTC? And why did the entire Confederacy step even further back between AOTC and ROTS. By ROTS, you've got things like the Octuparra, which looks like a War of the Worlds reject. Aside from looking cool, it doesn't seem like it could possibly serve any purpose to construct a weapon like that. One good shot to a leg with a powerful blaster would incapacitate it.

Never mind that it would logically seem that the Rebels would've gotten their hands on some old Confederacy equipment at some point. I doubt the Empire was thorough in destroying the entire bulk of it overnight.

[JediTricks]

I agree, the prequel designs get odder and odder the more you look at them. There was too much focus with the baddies on looking "alien" and conglomerated, and it comes off like a modern art show where every piece is more bizarre and different than the last. But the prequel ground vehicles make good foils to stuff like the AT-TE and TX-120.