"The way these droids are swarming, one might think we weren't welcome."
Like their Clone Trooper opponents, once the B1 Battle Droid had been released in the Star Wars Black Series line it was inevitable that variants would follow. The original Trade Federation Droid landed in 2019 and since then we have had a number of variations both from the Prequel Trilogy and within the ‘Gaming Greats’ video game line. The latest of these Gaming Greats releases was the 2023 release of the Battle Droid as seen in the Republic Commando video game, providing some on-shelf cannon fodder for Boss and his Republic Commandos. This new Battle Droid variant was a plastic-free release coming in an entirely enclosed box with figure illustrative images on the front, sides, and rear. The Droid featured the blue accent colour of the Gaming Greats series and was number 19 following on from Republic Commando Scorch and sitting before Darth Malek in the combined side art montage. The Droid was a Gamestop exclusive in the US and sold via Fan Channel retailers including Hasbro Pulse in the UK.
As a plastic-free release, this new Battle Droid arrives wrapped in waxy paper with no protective plastic tray to keep the relatively thin arms and legs aligned. On arrival, you may need to do a bit of work to straighten out your droid using a bit of safely applied heat. The sculpt is identical to all prior B1 Droids but now with a light grey colouring contrasted with darker grey joints, of which most are a metallic gunmetal finish. Over the base colours our Droid has some red weathering as seen in the game and painted white eyes which does look slightly comical and a full off white eye would have been a bit more accurate and slightly disturbing in the wider look of the figure.
Our droid comes with the same backpack as all the other B1’s and this clips into place by way of two pegs and a shaped section that corresponds with the rear of the droid. There is no additional aerial or Command parts as seen in some of the releases. The backpack piece follows the same decor as the main body with a grey base colour and painted on red smears/weathering.
Our Droid features the same standard blaster, the B-5 Blaster Rifle in a dullish gun metal finish with plenty of sculptural detail, but no paint apps. It features a plug on the opposite side to the larger magazine and this lines up to a socket on the side of the backpack allowing the weapon to be shouldered when not in use, when being wielded it's designed to slot into the Droid’s right hand and can be cradled by the left.
Articulation, like many of the Battle Series humanoid Droids, is incorporated into the complement parts of the Droid design itself which gives it a natural mechanical look with circular rotating joints at each main joint of both arms and legs. There are 19 points of articulation in total, most of which have a full range of motion and work perfectly to achieve a variety of posed positions. The droid can also be folded to a degree into the deactivated ‘stored’ position. The issue remains one of stability for what is a very light skeletal figure with a top-heavy design which is exaggerated by the backpack and the weaponry. Stability is difficult and while after-market stands help to a degree, the ankle joints don't have the required ratchet to hold an upright pose therefore the B1 figures are among the most likely to fall within your display.
The B1 Battle Droid from Republic Commando is a neat variant which allows collectors to expand their videogame collection, or wider collectors to flesh out their Separatist forces with a different-looking Droid Trooper. I am personally not too keen on the decor used on the eyes which doesn’t quite match the game, but I do like the variant decor with the grey base colour and red markings. The main downside is that this release brings with it the same issues as all the other B1 figures in terms of stability and it will need very likely require a stand.
Keep Track of all the Star Wars Black Series figures from Hasbro at our comprehensive
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About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...
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