The Good: Good sculpt, Fine accessories, Decent playability, Good balance.
The Bad: Could still use more articulation.
The Basics: The latest Destroyer Droid toy from Hasbro has a lot in common with the prior one and is not the ultimate version of the figure . . . yet.
It is tough to criticize Hasbro for not improving much on the design of their Destroyer Droid toys. First, the Destroyer Droids were done surprisingly well in the first Phantom Menace toy line (reviewed here!). Second, there is very little that can be done with the figures as they were based upon computer generated models and some of their functions simply do not work in the real world. But with the new Discover The Force Destroyer Droid, there is the distinct feeling that Hasbro did not even try. The sculpt does not add any new articulation, the neatest accessory does not quite fit the figure and the overall impression is that this was an inexpensive way to beef up an otherwise blasé toy line.
For those unfamiliar with Destroyer Droids, early on in The Phantom Menace ( reviewed here!) Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn are surrounded by shield-generating rolling droids that are not an easy kill for them. Outmatched or at a stalemate with the unfolded, blaster cannon-wielding droids, the Jedi are forced to retreat .
The Discover The Force Destroyer Droid are the robots unfolded and ready to blast apart the Jedi. They feature the packaging that includes 3-D glasses and a 3-D image on the back of the card, used to coincide with the theatrical release of the 3-D version of The Phantom Menace.
Basics
The Destroyer Droid figure is very well-detailed, which is pretty easy when one considers that it is a very clean droid based entirely upon a CG model. The bulk war machine stands 4 5/8" tall when it is on its toes and standing as tall as it can. This Destroyer Droid was released in 2012 as part of Hasbro's Discover The Force Collection and it may be the same as the prior casting of the mass-produced droids (I did not pick up the prior rendition of the figure). This figure is cast entirely in hard plastics.
This toy is a good sculpt and includes all of the essential parts of the Destroyer Droid. The Destroyer Droid is a weird combination of curves and lines, with the three solid, pointed legs descending from a ball abdomen. The rounded head unit resembles that of an insect or the alien queen from Aliens. The thin, curved metal spine is connected to two arms that end in pairs of blaster cannons. This sculpt features support pipes on the arms and tubes on the backs of the elbows. The coolest molded detail has to be the delicate work on the eye turrets and the descending “mouth” gun.
As for coloring, most of the body of the Destroyer Droid is gunmetal. The parts that are not are a metallic purple-gray that is brushed with a rust color. This is a very clean version of the Destroyer Droid.
Accessories
Destroyer Droid is a mass-produced killing machine and needs little in the way of accessories. It comes with two blaster bolts and a shield portion. As part of the Discover The Force Collection, the Destroyer Droid also comes with a stand. The stand has two pegs for the holes in Destroyer Droid's feet. The stand is 2 11/16" wide, 1 7/16" deep and 1/4" tall. It simply tells fans that this figure is from Star Wars and has a slot for the Galactic Battle Game card. This is not a stand customized for Destroyer Droid, so it is pretty much useless for this figure; there is no easy configuration that allows this figure to stand on the stand. As well, none of the three feet have the holes needed to use the pegs on the stand!
The blaster bolts are simple red translucent firebolts that plug into the two blaster cannon hands. They are 1 9/16” long and are interchangeable between either hand set. They do not launch and are simply used to help people illustrate the firepower of these very cool droids.
The shield is a half-globe 4 1/4” wide by 3 7/8” tall by 2” deep. This translucent purple-blue globe looks like the energy shield that protects the Destroyer Droids in the movie. This is also an accessory that Hasbro really screws with the fans with. If you’re going to do this accessory, do it right I say! In this case, the globe is not at tall as the figure and it features weird pegs and holes that do not connect to anything! As a result, what could have been one of the coolest possible accessories for this figure ends up as a huge letdown.
Playability
The four inch toy line was designed for play and the Destroyer Droid is good in that regard. This Discover The Force figure has impressive balance! Because the Destroyer Droid has three legs which stand on flexible feet, this is a very balanced toy and because of the articulation of this figure, it is very easy to keep it balanced. This is aided by the fact that it is virtually impossible to put this figure in outlandish poses. The Destroyer Droid comes with twelve points of articulation. This Destroyer Droid has joints at the ankles, groin socket, shoulders, wrists, and head. All of the joints are simple hinge joints and the only joint still not articulated that could be would be the elbow joints. This Destroyer Droid is very, very good for its poseability as a result of all of these joints, but could use that last set of joints articulated to make the ultimate Destroyer Droid figure.
Collectibility
The Destroyer Droid is part of the 2012 Discover The Force four-inch series, a series of Star Wars action figures that is a strange mix of dull characters and neat new sculpts. Destroyer Droid is one of the initially cool figures cast in the Discover The Force series, but its problems make it less than perfect. Even so, Destroyer Droids are popular and if I had to bet on the market, I would guess that this is a figure that will appreciated in value.
The Destroyer Droid is number 3 of 12 in the Discover The Force collection.
Overview
The Destroyer Droid is a cool figure and you can never have too many Destroyer Droids, so this is certainly one worth picking up, though it is not the ultimate incarnation of the figure one might have hoped for.
For other droid figures, please check out my reviews of:
Vintage Collection 4-LOM
Legacy Collection Build-A-Droid HK-50
Power Of The Force C-3PO with removable limbs
8/10
For more Star Wars toy reviews, please check out my index page!
© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
| | |
No comments:
Post a Comment