SL05: Saga Legends (2013) Super Battle Droid Review

"Super Battle Droids are capable of inflicting a punishing assault on their targets."

The 2013 Saga Legends figures have started to hit, which is either a case of 'about time', or 'oh God no', depending on your articulation/price point preference ratio... I plan to cherry pick from the first wave (I'm more excited about the Mission Series line-up), but today I saw the first single-carded figure that I was always aiming to get: the Super Battle Droid. 

Battle Droids (Super and not-so Super) in action.

In the interests of full-disclosure, I should point out that I've never been against this line. When it was announced at New York Toy Fair in February, I thought that the sculpts looked fantastic and the move back to a lower price point was long overdue. Many online were more reticent, to say the least, but the proof was always going to be in the final product.

Card Front

This is the first Super Battle Droid figure I've owned as I wasn't collecting much other than the odd Luke or Anakin during the AOTC/ROTS years, but now I've got a fairly sizable clone squad this seemed like the ideal opportunity to pick one up. Significantly more substantial than the Episode I Battle Droids, the Super Battle Droids, along with the Droidekas, present a far greater challenge to any Republic forces on the toy shelf...

Card Back

First up, the packaging. Now I wasn't sure about this at first, but in person it really works. Smaller than the cards we've been used to, the Vader picture on the front works surprisingly well and the cracked effect of the plastic bubble helps it to look more dynamic. This is exciting packaging, and an inspired choice for the kids/budget line. The card back is still ruined by more warning signs than I have fingers, but at least they managed to get some character info and pictures of other available characters on there. For any fellow EU collectors who picked up the late Vintage Collection, this makes a welcome change.

Face Front!

My immediate first impressions were of how sturdy the Super Battle Droid felt when I removed it from the bubble. The limbs feel solid and the joints are tight, and the figure has some weight to it. As you probably know, the most controversial aspect of the new Saga Legends line is the reduced articulation, with most figure clocking in at five (swivel head, arms and legs). The Super Battle Droid goes one less however, with the head being sunk into the body as it is. For this character that's not so much an issue as it only really stands to attention or extends its gun arm at 90 degrees anyway, so I'll have no problem using this with my clones and other droids.

Take Aim...

The payoff from the limited articulation (other than the lower RRP) is the more accurate sculpt. Unencumbered by multiple joints and hinges, the Super Battle Droid has an accurate silhouette and decent proportions, which means that for display this is one of the best versions of this character you can get. There's a lot of detail in the sculpt, from the pistons on the arms to the grooves on the soles of the feet, and the plastic has a shiny quality to it that gives the Super Battle Droid a metal-like sheen representative of the films. There isn't really a paint job to speak of, which given some of the boss eyes being reported on Mace Windu and Yoda may not be such a bad thing; all we get here is a simple red dot to indicate the power light. A wash might help bring out the sculpt a bit more, but it doesn't require any vital work to look like the character.

'10 to 2' position on the (imaginary) wheel

There's a lot of baggage around the new Saga Legends on message boards and nerd sites the world over, so I think the fairest way to look at this figure is without the context. It's got a great sculpt, stands well (didn't fall over once whilst shooting), and accurately represents the character. Elbow joints would be nice, even just on the left arm, and the almost total lack of paint shows how much the figures are being stripped back for this line. But then at least that's reflected in the price; probably the biggest plus point of all.

"Freeze, Jedi!"

Ultimately, the economy isn't what it was, and if this is the direction Hasbro has to take to keep action figures affordable, then so be it. For the Super Battle Droid the pros outweigh the cons, but I don't think the entire line will fare so well.

*****

Thanks for reading!

Review: Clone Wars Republic Commando Boss

"Alone against all these droids...heh, they don't stand a chance."

RC-1138, better known as Republic Commando Boss, is a character that I'm mostly unfamiliar with. However I know a cool looking Clone when I see one, and when I spotted the 2012 Clone Wars line in my local B&M for just £3.99 I snapped him up. What do I make of him? Find out below!

Clone Wars Commando Boss

Despite Captain Rex appearing on the banner for this blog, I've not really invested much in the Clone Wars line to date. I never liked the skinny legs or the stylised takes on the characters, but then I wasn't hugely into the show either. Around Series Three that started to change, but I felt that in terms of the toy line there was too much water under the bridge to start collecting. I saw Republic Commando Boss in Sainsburys last year and was immediately taken with the design, and went away to research the figure - but by the time I returned to buy him, he was gone.

Carded Front, Rear & Loose

The packaging follows the Darth Maul Movie Heroes template, which is alright. It's slightly evocative of the POTF2/Episode 1 packaging, and does a good job of displaying the figure. It's easy to flick through these on pegs/in boxes and see which character you're getting from the side, which is always handy.

According to the back of the box, "Republic Commando Boss is the sergeant in Delta Squad, an elite clone trooper unit". Now, for someone who hasn't seen the episode he's in, or played the Republic Commando game, that's a little bit vague, but I get the gist - this clone is the best of the best. Why Anakin and Obi-Wan hang out with Rex and Cody when this guy's going spare I have no idea. Maybe I had better brush up on my Clone Wars a little bit...

Loose with Pack-ins

Out of the box, you can see that Boss comes with a lot of kit. It's a refreshing change to get a figure so loaded with extras compared to some recent finds, and much like the Rebel Commando it adds massively to the value of the figure. In box you get the Boss figure, two pistols, a larger gun, an opening backpack and a grappling hook with real string line. On top of that there's the Maul-card standard game die, character card and stand. This is a toy that was made for playing with, and that in itself gives it plus points.

Republic Commando Boss comes with eight points of articulation: ball jointed head, shoulders and elbows, and swivel waist and hips. The legs are in a stance somewhere between standing and battle-ready, which makes for a good standard pose and works well with the backpack but also leads to the figure's biggest flaw - it has quite a bit of difficulty standing. When you hit the sweet spot with the balance he stands and looks very cool, but it takes quite a bit of fiddling to get there and could easily lead to toy shelf dominoes unless you use a stand.

Front, Open, Back

The backpack was one of the selling points of this figure for me, because it looks good and serves a practical purpose. As you can see from the above shots the grapple claw clips neatly inside, and there's also space for the pistols. The larger gun doesn't fit but I think Boss looks best holding that anyway, so for me it works. There's a lot to like about the design and sculpt of the backpack, and it really does conjure up memories of the Kenner Hoth backpacks from the ESB line. 

Backpack Off & On

It attaches by both a peg, and a clip on the back of the belt. This extra security keeps it in one place and makes the belt sit forward of the figure's torso slightly, which is a good effect. I know some people might not like the hole in Boss' back, but to be honest you'd be a fool to display him with the backpack off anyway...

Best of the Best

The paint apps on my version are pretty clean, apart from a few flecks of orange on the visor. The visor itself looks very cool, the shade of blue reflecting light and really setting the orange and white armour off. As a design Boss is very striking, and this figure really does that justice. The sculpt is fairly detailed with contours and lines cut into the armour, and the legs are just about thick enough for my tastes - if they'd been the skinnier pins of earlier CW figures, I probably wouldn't have bought him.

In conclusion, Republic Commando Boss is a figure that's flawed, but still fun. I think the good outweighs the bad with him, and he's a welcome addition to the collection, but there are still issues. If you like clones, the Clone Wars series, displaying your figures on stands or buying them at discount prices, then absolutely go for it. On the other hand, I think if I'd paid full price for him I would've been disappointed.

*****

Thanks for reading!

Vintage Wednesdays: G1 Transformers Panini Sticker Album

If it's old school, it must be Wednesday, right? I'm marking the return of Vintage Wednesday with this cracker of a find from A Most Marvellous Place to Shop, Northampton's premiere retro and vintage rummage market. I present... The 1986 Transformers Panini Sticker Album, 3/4s complete!

Ah, sweet memories...

Now, some of you may be wondering what the appeal of a part-used sticker album that I'm unlikely to complete is, but for 50p I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity for some shameless reminiscing. My older brother had this album and he used to give me the spares - I remember one sticker being on the wall next to my lower bunk bed for quite some time. And besides, my collection of vintage TF paraphernalia is the largest claim to a genuine (pre-1990) vintage collection I have, so I guess you could consider this a focus piece...

S.O.S. Dinobots

Following a slightly confusing introduction to the Transformers on the inside front cover, the majority of the book is split into chapters that re-tell several G1 episodes, with the stickers providing the pictures. 'The Beginning' covers 'Arrival from Cybertron', 'S.O.S. Dinobots' and 'War of the Dinobots' introduces Grimlock and crew, 'Fire in the Sky' covers Jetfire's brief return, and then the album bows out with 'The Heavy-Metal War' and 'Fire on the Mountain'. Sounds kind of like a prog-rock album when I put it like that.

Cover Fire!

Two-colour illustrations sit between the sticker boxes, showing various scenes from the episodes. Nowadays this kind of crude picture, with its questionable accuracy, would be derided by kids and collectors but for the 80's this was as good as it got.

Shiny!

In addition are the profile pages that use shiny one-stickers for a TF's robot and alt mode, and then a larger six-sticker collage of them in action. The profile is similar to but not the same text as the on-box Tech Specs, and is enough to give kids an idea of what that character is like. For example, Inferno here 'does not follow orders very well' - goldmine info for setting up an Autobot vs Deception game.

Triple Cool Spread.

Finding this sticker album has been a genuine blast from the past, and is one of my favourite second-hand purchases I've made. It wasn't all I picked up though, so look out for more Vintage Wednesday action soon...

Pow! Right in the - uh... Yeah.

Any info on how to complete the gaps in the collection would be much appreciated. Thanks for reading!

Shelf Review: AOTC Blu-Ray Commemorative Pack Anakin Skywalker

Re-Armed in the Arena

Shelf Review! Not as in-depth as my regular musings, but a look at the equally-deserving items on my toy shelf all the same. This time round it's the turn of AOTC Anakin Skywalker from the Blu-Ray Commemorative four pack. How does he stack up? Read on to find out...

The Padawan Menace

Now, Attack of the Clones is a mess of a film, and is by far the worst entry into the Star Wars canon. Even with a re-edit (which it sorely needs, given how flabby it is) there's still more bad than good there. However, some of the good bits are great, are amongst them I'm going to include the costume designs. Anakin's costume is a unique and stylish take on the Jedi garb that echoes the costume later worn by Luke in ROTJ. As the look of a Jedi adventurer it works fine, and if you can get past the whiny, emo character wearing it (CW and EU do a much better job of representing Anakin to my eyes) it makes for a good look.

Face Front

That costume is well recreated here, and it makes for an equally stylish figure. The faux-leather robe looks great, even if it does feel a little flimsy, and there's even a soft goods skirt below the belt. Articulation-wise, there's a ball-jointed head, shoulders, elbow and knees, with swivel hands, waist and thighs. The legs are solid below the knee which works fine for me, as ball-jointed ankles usually look a bit... unnatural.

...And Back

The figure has all the articulation it needs for the toy shelf, and other than slightly bulbous elbows it maintains an accurate overall silhouette. As an Episode II Anakin however, I wouldn't go as far as to call this release definitive, even if it does fly pretty close.

Bare minimum, Baby.

The main issue is the lack of accessories. For a multipack figure that's not so much of a problem, but if this were on a single card I'd be annoyed by there being no mechanical replacement for the removable right arm, or spare lightsaber hilt to plug into the port on the belt. The original release of this figure, a Revenge of the Sith Evolutions multipack, included both of these parts. It doesn't kill this Anakin's appeal, but it doesn't feel complete either.

Not a good day to be a Tusken on the toyshelf...

In conclusion, this figure is a decent iteration of AOTC Anakin, and he stands proud in my collection as the single best Episode II figure I own. Given my disdain for the film that's not saying much, but this is a good toy nonetheless. All the same though, if you do have a Padawan-shaped hole in your collection, perhaps you should be looking to pick up this newer take from Hasbro's upcoming Black Series:

2013 Black Series AOTC Anakin Skywalker

Looks good to me, and there's a mechanical hand in there too...

Thanks for reading!

The Little Things

Flee, mighty Pteranodon!

It's been an insanely hectic month just passed, with film edits, festivals, and a three-part celebration of my lovely lady's birthday all wrapped up in glorious summer sunshine. As you may have noticed though, that's left me with little time for blogging - and there's never any time like the present to turn things around...

King of the Thunder Lizards!

And so, back on track. These little Dino guys were unsold from a car boot sale the Emcat and her Mum were doing a couple of weeks ago, and I was kindly obliged to take care of them afterwards. I've wanted some dinosaurs for a little while; firstly because dinosaurs are perpetually stunning feats of nature, and secondly because I wanted to take some actual toy photos again. There's a real charm about toys like this, and the small scale makes them easier to photograph in multiple environments - well, the scale and a shallow depth of field, that is!

Head Shot! Gears of War's Anthony Carmine

Small scale figures are clearly on my mind right now (clearing the palette for the Black Series, perhaps?), and my latest purchase was this Gears of War blind bag figure. Costing £1.50 from Tesco and made by Meccano it's a surprisingly well-made toy, featuring 12 POA and a massive gun accessory. Gears of War is one of the few 'big' games of recent years I've played, completing one and being halfway through two as I type, so when I saw this line reduced to clear I thought I'd give it a go. It is really impressive for the size and price, and there's an easily-affordable six figures to the first series, so if you're into GoW and/or blind bags, I thoroughly recommend picking them up.

Invader on the Loose: Alien Conquest Lego & the Future of Space...

And so, full circle. All this thinking of mini-figures and blind bags put me in mind of the toy that started it all, Lego. Actually, that's somewhat a lie - I was thinking of Lego roughly concurrently, after finding out about the new Space line due later this year. You may recall, I'm quite a fan of the extra-terrestrial line...

Galaxy WAR!

Galaxy Squad looks like a lot of fun, and like a natural continuation from the recent Alien Conquest line. Insect-themed alien villains are a natural fit for playtime bad guys, and there was something about seeing the new spaceship designs and mini-fig uniforms that made me more think the Space sub-series was in better health than it has been recently.

Ad-Infinitum.

It's not enough to get me back into Lego any more than the blind bags did (picking up the occasional pack here and there), but if it's looking good I might get the odd small budget ship. Both of the above pictures are from brickshelf.com, and are used without permission. Hope that's OK...

It's good to be back in the saddle. I've got a load of reviews to write and will hopefully soon find the time to write them. But I'm not promising anything! :D

Thanks for reading!