Battle Droid [Dirty] - EI - Basic

The greedy Trade Federation has created an army that requires no food, no drink, no sleep. Millions of these high-tech battle droids amass into a virtually unstoppable armed force.

If you look back on the Episode I line, there are four figures which probably hail as the best from the line. Interestingly, they’re the same figure save for their differing paint jobs. We’re of course talking about the various Battle Droid action figures based on their droids’ appearances in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Affectionately dubbed “Roger! Roger” droids, the B1 Battle Droid is a staple of Episode I and the Trade Federation. Although the politics intertwined within the plot of the film were murky, vague and all around confusing, these droids helped play an important part as they were the foot soldiers involved in the Battle of Naboo against the Gungan army. They also played significant background roles elsewhere in the film creating a police state within Queen Amidala’s palace and surrounding areas. The Episode I Battle Droid action figure is significant for many reasons. Firstly, never before did Hasbro repack the same sculpt four times and give the action figure four distinct paint operations. Aside from the differing paint jobs, all four Battle Droid action figures are identical to each other. They were cast in an extremely sturdy plastic which prevented the legs from bowing and allowed them to maintain their poses for ages.

Clean, Dirty, Shot and Sliced are the four descriptors collectors gave these uniquely decorated Battle Droids. Battle Droid [Clean] was meant to show us how the Battle Droids looked right off of the MTT. Battle Droid [Dirty] was meant to show us how these droids appeared after appearing in months of battle (we assume). Battle Droid [Shot] was meant to recreate the battle-damage sustained from a blaster. And Battle Droid [Sliced] was meant to recreate the battle-damaged sustained from the swing of a lightsaber by one of the Jedi. Together, these four distinct Battle Droid action figures allowed collectors to army build at a breakneck pace while instantly affording us a diverse looking army. When you had multiples of each, it appeared that there were significantly more than just four different versions. What a sweet way to build a Star Wars collection! All of the Battle Droid versions came with a removable backpack and droid blaster. Hasbro cleverly added a notch to the backpack as well as a plug to the droid blaster which allowed you to attach the blaster to the backpack when not in use. It was special features like this that made collecting exciting and fun. And it created even more anticipation for the film than just the film all by itself. It was truly a special time.

But perhaps the Battle Droids’ most significant attribute to the Episode I line was its articulation. Coming in at a whopping ten points of articulation, collectors began drooling over the fact that Hasbro seemed to be taking the basic figure line in a significantly important direction. With so many figures from The Power Of The Force “2” line not exceeding the standard six points of articulation, getting a brand new action figure with nearly double that was almost too much to bear (in a good way of course). You could pose the Battle Droid in a running motion. You could pose the Battle Droid kneeling. And you could make the Battle Droid point its droid blaster in multiple directions instead of just “straight out.” This type of upgrade makes collectors extremely thankful. We can recall how happy and excited we were to see these Battle Droid action figures upgraded in this manner. We’re sure many others recall similar feelings. As with all Episode I action figures, all four Battle Droids come with a CommTech chip which allows them to talk assuming you also owned the CommTech reader. They also dually function as action figure display stands (which most collectors used them for in their collections). These Battle Droid figures are historically relevant and excellently designed. They were highlights of the Episode I line for us.