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Collectibles => The Vintage Collection => Collect All 92! => Topic started by: Scott on May 15, 2010, 07:18 PM

Title: Death Star Droid
Post by: Scott on May 15, 2010, 07:18 PM
Source Images:

(http://www.jedidefender.com/collect92/dsd anh.jpg)

(http://www.jedidefender.com/collect92/dsd comparison.jpg)

Data

Vintage

(http://www.jedidefender.com/collect92/dsd carded.jpg)
(http://www.jedidefender.com/collect92/dsd vintage.jpg)

Modern

BAD Figure

(http://www.jedidefender.com/collect92/dsd modern.jpg)
Title: Re: Death Star Droid
Post by: Scott on May 15, 2010, 07:25 PM
This guy was and is probably my least favorite vintage figure.  Of all of the figures they could have made from ANH, the Power Droid and the DSD are huge head scratchers.  I get the Jawa droid theme they did but they could have probably made Tarkin or some more Cantina dudes instead.  I never played with him even though I had one...and he's also one of the few remaining original figures I have proving that when I sold all of my old stuff...no one else wanted him either

The BAD version is kick ass though and I was glad they did him and have done the different RA schemes many times over the past two years, covering all of the bases.  The Clone Wars one is an even better figure and one of my favorites of that line...who knew :P
Title: Re: Death Star Droid
Post by: BillCable on May 15, 2010, 07:37 PM
Of all of the figures they could have made from ANH, the Power Droid ... [is a]... huge head scratchers. 

BLASPHEMY!!

Power Droid was one of the best Vintage figures.  Clicky legs!!!
Title: Re: Death Star Droid
Post by: Scott on May 15, 2010, 08:46 PM
Again, looking at it that they only really ever made 22-23 ANH figures (if you count Death Star Gunner) when passing on:

Owen
Beru
Dr Evazan
Wuher
Garindan
Sandtrooper
Tarkin
Motti
Tagge
Han Stormtrooper
Imperial Commanders (Jir, Praji etc)
Wedge
Biggs
Dodonna
Rebel Fleet Trooper
Luke Ceremonial
Leia Ceremonial

IMHO those two spots were sort of wasted...not too mention when we get to Power Droid (who is next) they chose to make an ultra obscure model instead of the GNK droid on the Sandcrawler...its weird...which is the opposite of the Death Star Droid, where they made the Sandcrawler droid and not the obscure model on the Death Star.

I feel the same about Snaggletooth and Hammerhead (even though I like both of those :P)
Title: Re: Death Star Droid
Post by: Matt_Fury on May 15, 2010, 08:53 PM
I didn't mind him...I figured the Imperials needed a protocol droid as well.
Title: Re: Death Star Droid
Post by: Pete_Fett on May 15, 2010, 09:53 PM
I didn't mind him...I figured the Imperials needed a protocol droid as well.

Yeah - as a kid my play patterns were similar. Luke/Han/Leia/Chewie had R2D2 and C3PO and Darth Vader and his Stormtroopers had R5D4 and the Death Star Droid. Otherwise, when the huge smackdown took place in the back-yard, who else were R2D2 C3PO gonna fight if it wasn't those two other droids?  ;D
Title: Re: Death Star Droid
Post by: Phrubruh on May 15, 2010, 11:10 PM
Actually I perfer the original prototype design that Kenner came up with for this figure.  They pretty much put a giant bug head (from a model kit) on C-3PO's body.

(http://www.toysrgus.com/images-unpro/dsdroid-proto-front.jpg)
Title: Re: Death Star Droid
Post by: Matt_Fury on May 16, 2010, 12:18 AM
I forgot to mention earlier that this is the first one that the modern equivalent is NOT a carded figure.
Title: Re: Death Star Droid
Post by: EpicGon on May 16, 2010, 01:56 AM
The tlc version shows more marked chest plates in the torso sculpt

The vintage version has a torso which depict something like wires, perhaps the protocol droid mid section.
Title: Re: Death Star Droid
Post by: Jesse James on May 16, 2010, 03:18 AM
I've never really cared for the DSD myself, but it's funny how we've gotten basically 3 verions of the same (sort of) figure, and some people made a 4th by removing the black coating of an original DSDroid.

I don't think we even had a Death Star Droid as kids, at least that I rrecall being handed down by my older brother, and so I'm pretty sure it sucked to us too since we had most of the original figures through Empire...  I had most of the Jedi stuff then as that was more my time of collecting.

He does sort of suck...  The POTF2 figure with the black chrome, which obviously was to represent a different character but basically the same, was pretty spiffy in its day.  I have a handful of those and still pick it up if I see it cheap at toy shows and whatnot.  And if you remove the black, you get one really chromed out DSD with usually black residue in the crannies that looks like grime and grease.

The first actual modern representation of the SC Droid wasn't bad though either.  I thought it was a good likeness, and in some ways superior to the BAD since it has actual grime and wear deco to it.  The BAD figure is fantastic, but basically a super clean version of the SC Droid.

I don't consider the CW Droid to be the same...  There's differences in the design that go beyond animation compromises I think, so to me they're not from the same "robot family".  But that figure is definitely in my collection as it's quite realistic looking too, and makes a cool sepaeratist smuggler guy.  Mine just got an upgraded realistic Sep rifle, and he was ready to roll.
Title: Re: Death Star Droid
Post by: CloneF13Y35 on May 16, 2010, 10:46 AM
my original DSD survived until I let my son play with it and he left it outside one day and I ran over it with the lawnmower :(
Title: Re: Death Star Droid
Post by: Phrubruh on May 16, 2010, 11:10 AM
Here is a picture of the POTF2 figure after removing the black with nail polish remover.

(http://www.thecustomalliance.com/hruby/ph-sand.jpg)
Title: Re: Death Star Droid
Post by: Darthfloyd on May 16, 2010, 11:23 AM
Blast it, now I'm gonna have to hunt down a few of those black POTF droids.

I love that everyone is upset about the DSD vintage figure - I liked him fine.  He was a nice addition to my droid army of 3PO, R2, 8D8 and IG88...I'm pretty sure those were the only droids I had...though as my parents got me mostly figs that were clearanced out for like a buck each (including a Wampa without a box), it is probably a wonder I didn't have two or more DSD's.  Still, DSD got plenty of playing time at my house, and he's probably still there somewhere (albeit a bit worse for the wear, I suppose).
Title: Re: Death Star Droid
Post by: MisterPL on May 16, 2010, 04:42 PM
Thank you, Master Phruby, for saving me the time of posting my own version of the modified Death Star Droid. I did the same thing and, in my collection, it holds the spot of the definitive modern counterpart to the vintage figure. Which is kinda sad when you think of it.
Title: Re: Death Star Droid
Post by: darthmac on May 17, 2010, 02:18 PM
Sad, no love for the DSD.  While he was not my favorite, I always liked this guy.
Title: Re: Death Star Droid
Post by: Muftak on May 17, 2010, 02:51 PM
As for the DSD, I got him with the same mass purchase of the entire set of new ANH figures as a kid, so I probably never gave him much thought. One of my favorite things to play was Jawa Droid Sale, though, and he was always there. And he hung out in the Death Star, too, I think he ran the elevator or something.

I don't have that BAD version...obviously didn't get that wave, even though I would like the figure, so oh well. Maybe someday Hasbro will make big Droid Factory sets of the pieces or something. Or maybe in a few years ebay will be the answer.

I am happy with the black POTF2 version (The real DSD anyway, IMO) and I like the Sandcrawler version a lot to cover my other memories. And I really like that Clone Wars version, too.
Title: Re: Death Star Droid
Post by: Darth Broem on May 20, 2010, 12:53 AM
I liked him but would agree he was not one of my favorites.  Yeah, I would have rather had some of the others mentioned of course.  I liked the head design from the film and usually made him a "bad guy" because of it.