Target Geonosis Arena 2-Packs

[David]

Yeah, I noticed the dead-alive-dead thing as well. Very weird.

[P-Siddy]

The Force is not so strong with him. He needs to reenergize during battles.

[CorranHorn]

there's only one set that looks like I'd want to army build - the Battle Droid set.

Hasbro said that the new BD sculpt there will definitely be carried forward - you can expect to see it again in many colors/deco in future box sets/cards/etc.

I'm conflicted about this. While it's a nice upgrade, Hasbro can do better. All they did was add ball joints to the shoulders and hips.

In addition to the shoulders and hips they put joints in the ankle, as well as bringing together many features from many different figures. (articulated arms, knees, retracting head, etc.) I will say that the apparent lack of a two handed grip is a letdown. IG-88 proves that Hasbro can make droids with thin limbs SA. It's not a deal breaker, as I think the CW Battle Droid is fine, but it sure isn't great either.

My concern for these Battle Droids would be that it appears they're still using thinner plastic for the limbs which will lead to the eventual warping, especially at the knee/elbow joints. Regardless of extra articulation as it stands now, I don't see how these BD's are any better than the ones we've received in the last 7 years.

http://www.rebelscum.com/sdcc09/hasbro-sw/IMG_1732.JPG

If in Hasbro's own displays the Battle Droid is bent backwards due to warping, this pretty much shows that the plastic is going to suck. I'll be sticking with the Episode 1 Battle Droids.

[Jesse James]

Actually his knees are bent, as are his right ankle/foot.  It doesn't appear to be the plastic, but maybe more how they intentionally posed him.  It could be he's just that sturdy, actually, to pose like he's getting his ass kicked by the Jedi.  I'm hopeful on these figures right now.  I liked the Boomer Droid well enough so I'm not disappointed.

[CorranHorn]

I don't know, the right leg looks warped to me from the knee joint up. A look at the slide presentation on SW.com also shows the BD to have a warped leg. Maybe it's just the prototypes they're using for the photography and display, hopefully the production item is a far better quality than it appears to me at this time. I want this to be a sturdy and quality Battle Droid, but we've been burned so many times in the last 7 years that the cynic in me doesn't see the hope that you do JJ.

[Jesse James]

Does anyone with CW3D droids have a critical comparison?  If they're good, I'd imagine these will be too.

Then again, they did the security droid right and haven't done it right since, so go figure.

[Greg]

I have a bunch of the CW Battle Droids. All of them are in good shape. The Super Battle Droids are problematic, but that's not due to warping but rather the top heavy nature of the figure/design. In addition, you can get the CW Battle Droid to hold his gun two-handed. It's not great (i.e. not anywhere near movie accurate) but it doesn't look as though the figure is firing a giant pistol either.

[Darby]

I really like these, and hope the foldable aspect of the Battle Droid's is a hint of things to come.  I'm definitely getting the BD's and the new Jedi, but I may actually pass on a few of these.  Until they go on clearance.

[Jesse James]

We can't forget about these, can we?

Actually I like them substantially more than WM's Droid Factory 2 sets, which are ok, but pricey and less popular figure choices IMO.  These Target sets, to me, are home runs all around.

But...  The Battledroids are the real question.

Well, we have two new loose images of the Battledroid and Battledroid Commander.

 

I'm pretty excited...  Barring these wilting easily, they should be good.  They cannot cup the blaster with their left hand which is slightly disappointing, but with a little boil-&-freeze, they COULD be modified.

As a fan of the Boomer Droid, and Security Droid, these are (to me) fantastic updates.  Far superior to the 2-pack droids from Legends '07.  I'm HOPEFUL Hasbro will see fit to deliver us another 2-pack of them with the new sculpt, but I'm probably being very generous with my faith in Hasbro on that.  Hey, I love the company, but I also know they're not likely to give us 2 SA Droids in a pack.  They should though, IMO.

[Greg]

Gotta love the bug eyes on the Commander and the no eyes on the trooper. I'm diggin the figures but not the paint apps. Hopefully these figures are corrected before release. 

[Darth_Anton]

 They cannot cup the blaster with their left hand which is slightly disappointing, but with a little boil-&-freeze, they COULD be modified.

I dunno. These images make it look like the forearms could be articulated, especially the commander. They didn't look that way at Comic-Con though.

[Greg]

I beg to differ Mr. Anton. The arms look pretty solid to me. If they had the forearm articulation they probably would have posed at least one droid at SDCC in that particular pose. It's a shame, as figures such as the Commando Droid, IG-88, and IG-86 have proven that Hasbro can do better articulation on Droids with tiny limbs. I don't mind the lack of forearm articulation, but right now the detailed paint apps (or lack thereof) are making me angry.

[Phrubruh]

After being ripped off from Walmart's 2packs, I can't find any reason to buy these too. It looks like all we get is jedi with a new head and yet another battledroid. At lease walmart gave me a DT.

[CHEWIE]

The commander's eyes look HUGE. 

[Greg]

After being ripped off from Walmart's 2packs, I can't find any reason to buy these too. It looks like all we get is jedi with a new head and yet another battledroid. At lease walmart gave me a DT.

I'm thinking the opposite. You can get 12 very well done SA figures, including some new characters/figures, for at least $25 less.