BLAST-APART BATTLE DROID (Tan Edition) with Mace WinduSaga Deluxe Figures
Item No.: Asst. 84859 No. 84876
Number: n/a
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Includes: Blaster, Mace Windu, Force pieces, lightsaber
Action Feature: Goes to pieces
Retail: $9.99
Availability: April 2002
Appearances: Attack of the Clones
Bio: A senior member of the Jedi Council, Mace Windu is a highly revered Jedi Master. He personally leads a battalion of Jedi to the red rock planet of Geonosis in an attempt to rescue Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Padmé. (Taken from the figure's packaging.)
Image: Adam Pawlus' back yard.
Commentary: When it comes to some troopers, Hasbro isn't shy about the resculpts and variations-- like the Battle Droid. There were several molds made for the first prequel, and quite a few more for the second-- of which this is one of the first. His main feature is that he was designed to split apart at the waist on impact, which he does-- the problem is that it's really tough to get him to stay together without added support, like rubber bands or some sticky substance like, for example, glue. I hate to poo-poo this droid because the deco is really remarkable and very different than the dirt and damage painted on other droids, but it's worth noting that he's really hard to stand up and keep together without difficulty. He isn't as articulated as other figures, but as part of a larger "action" package he works well as one of Hasbro's many "victim" figures. Toy fans should get a kick out of him in that respect, although it's really hard to say that any figure that can't hold itself together is much of a success.
Collector's Notes: This figure was originally available in tan (pictured) and was later reissued in red. The tan one is seemingly the most common. The reason for this is that Hasbro found out late in the run that the Battle Droids of Attack of the Clones would be red, so their initial figures were all the wrong color.
--Adam Pawlus
Day 1,213: February 5, 2010
Hasbro likes to talk about tooling costs and expenses, yet at times they made entirely new molds for what amounts to junk, which they never reused again. Even in a movie year, that was pretty short-sighted. The profit margins on deluxe figures must've been high.
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