Militaries of Star Wars - 12" Infantry Battle Droids

[JeffSaylor]

"Roger roger." - Battle Droid

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Sideshow's 12" Infantry Battle Droids are currently IN-STOCK priced at $119.99 a pair.

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Sideshow Collectibles and Star Wars have been a force to be reckoned with for a while but due to the scale and assortment of characters, it’s been a seemingly longer time before the many Clone Troopers have had a target to shoot at. Now available through Sideshow and other online retailers are the Infantry Battle Droids, the “inferior” army of robots introduced in Star Wars Episode I The Phantom Menace. I for one loved Doug Chiang’s designs for Episode I and especially of the Battle Droids. The skeletal frail bodies make it understandable why an army of these droids wouldn’t stand the test of time but after getting Sideshow’s take, we can almost get a sense of how they could work in the real world.

What’s great about this release of the Battle Droids is that you get two droids in one purchase! Two really is better than one in this case and what you should do is get FOUR as Sideshow’s team was clever enough to release slight variations: the Battle Droids themselves are virtually identical with the exception of their identification number assigned to their backpacks. The exclusive release gave you the fan favorite “1138” Battle Droid seen at the end of The Phantom Menace. The regular release gives you a few different pairings of IDs which means you could potentially get more than six unique Battle Droids. A great idea for army builders or not, making it a fun surprise to see what you get. The regular release has an edition size of 5,000 units or 10,000 Infantry Droids (500 exclusives were made).

The packaging design for these droids is the same as it has been for every other release and that’s fine with me. Magnetic flaps hold the box shut making it easy to inspect the toy prior to opening. There’s also the usual product photography, screen grabs, and description, making the product even more fun to collect. The droids are packed side by side in almost their compacted state which is a great idea.

Being that these Droids were made completely from scratch, it’s more impressive to me than say, another character using the same body as a previous figure. But here is where future re-use will make complete sense. These are very faithful recreations of the Battle Droids but they’re not perfect. Just from eye-balling it I can tell that the neck even when fully extended isn’t quite long enough. The backpacks also rest a bit too high, which, along with the shorter necks make the clearance of the head a bit limited. The fingers also aren’t able to fully grip the blaster pistol, which means the fingers are too wide apart or the blaster handle is too small. Aside from those nits, the Battle Droid is a beauty and quite sturdy as well.

While it’s probably safe to assume that the droid is molded in the tan colors already, a lot of detail and weathering was applied to the droids and some good news, they’re both unique to each other. I would love to get a few more of these guys to see if they too have personalized weathering but it wouldn’t be a big deal if they didn’t. Overall, the paint work when it needs to be is clean and nicely applied. Even the ID numbers on the backpack have a small amount of wear and tear which adds to the realism.

If you bought these droids or plan to, you may have noticed metal plates on the bottom of their feet. No, these aren’t magnets but are intended to stick to magnetic surfaces in future releases, perhaps with the upcoming STAP vehicle.

The articulation on these droids is truly magnificently executed. If you recall the Hasbro release, this certainly puts that one to shame. I count over 30 moving parts, most of these in the arms, that allow extreme poseability. Not included in that count were the two antennae that extend out of the backpacks. Essentially, if you had any fear about the articulation on these Battle Droids, don’t.

As you probably assumed by now, the backpack and E-5 Blasters are included for each droid. There are no display stands which is fine as they do stand decently without them, but perhaps a magnetic base would have been ideal here.

There are things to be careful of or watch out for. The backpacks don’t stay on the droids very well at all and will fall off when handling. Be extremely cautious as the material can chip and you don’t want to risk damaging the antennae if they’re fully extended. Even when they’re not, you can seriously bend or break the very tip. Just the tip.

Overall though, these Battle Droids Infantry are just what my collection needed. Not only does it give us an enemy to shoot at, it’s the very start of the enemy forces that will no doubt eventually be made. I’m not too thrilled about Super Battle Droids but if they do Destroyers to go along with my Battle Droids, I’ll be one happy camper. These Infantry Battle Droids are available now through Sideshow priced at $119.99 and the upcoming STAP with Battle Droid is also up for pre-orders at $174.99. After owning these, you will believe that droids can be assassins. You won’t regret it.


Review and Photography by David Yeh

Review Sample Courtesy of Sideshow Collectibles

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[Peajam]

These look great, the fact they come as a two pack is brilliant. I would grab some myself were my funds not being held back by Hot Toys. These are however the first star wars figures that have really interested me, possibly because they are so iconic. The mass of articulation that can be achieved due to their design, while still practically hiding all the joints is done very well. This review may have persuaded me.

[JeffSaylor]

Yeah, I'm pretty tempted to pick up a pair as well. $50 a droid isn't bad at all.

[Coheteboy]

Yeah, I'm pretty tempted to pick up a pair as well. $50 a droid isn't bad at all.

$60 a droid, jeff! But yah, while they aren't 100% perfect, they are 98% perfect and indeed they are iconic Star Wars for me (odd that I don't consider anything ep2 and ep3 iconic).