Anakin Skywalker/Cortosis Battle Droid - LC - Droid Factory (2 of 5)

In Star Wars: The New Droid Army video game, Anakin Skywalker must stop the creation of a new battle droid army after the Battle of Geonosis. This time, the Techno union is creating battle droids with shells made of cortosis, a material that blocks lightsaber attacks, making these droids a particular threat to the Jedi.

The 2009 Legacy Collection Droid Factory sets for the most part looked a lot more like the Expanded Universe Comic Packs than anything else due to the fact that most of them were inspired by print materials. But the Anakin Skywalker/Cortosis Battle Droid set was the only one in this series based on a video game, and we know how we love our video games. Sadly, the set is a tad on the boring side and so far seems to be the only "peg-warmer" of the set (if you have been fortunate enough to find the new Droid Factory sets at your local Walmart that is). Taking place in time directly after the Battle of Geonosis, Anakin must seek out and destroy the creation of a new battle droid army. The most interesting part of the story is that these new super battle droids are composed of a material called cortosis which is capable of blocking lightsaber hits. This obviously will be an issue for the small number of Jedi desperately trying to maintain peace and order throughout the galaxy (and during a time when planets are threatening to cede from the Republic). A lightsaber is nearly invincible, so any story that attempts to prove its weaknesses certainly makes it an interesting read. As stated earlier, this particular Droid Factory set is probably the least interesting of the five as there is not that much new inside (save for a few changes on the repacked/retooled figures) and not the most exciting duo we have come across. Since one slash of a lightsaber can disable a Super Battle Droid into two pieces instantly, we don't expect the battle to last much longer than that.

Anakin Skywalker is a very slight repaint of the figure that came in 2007's TAC Anakin Skywalker/Assassin Droid (No. 11) Comic Packs set (and we really mean very slight). Besides a different dirt application on Anakin's face, not too much else have been revisited here. Cortosis Battle Droid however, is a retool of 2007's TAC Super Battle Droid (30 08) with a new upper body and forearms as well as a repaint to represent the Cortosis model. It's important to note the original base sculpt of this originated from the 2008 TAC Battle On Mygeeto Battle Packs set. While Anakin comes with his lit lightsaber, it appears that the battle droid is already armed with weapons for fists (which from the looks of the game shoot lasers or fireballs). The oval on the very top of the battle droid's head is painted in red and it looks very cool. It is a sharp detail that makes the Super Battle Droid very unique from the others. Every previous incarnation of the Super Battle Droid has been very cool thus far and this one is no different, and in fact, the design gets tweaked to be more improved each time it seems. The overall set is fair, but it is definitely not one of the standout sets of the group. We think that a better revisit of the Anakin figure (more than just a repack and more like his Episode II likeness) would have made this set a whole bunch better. But such are the ways of Hasbro; they are notorious for “cheapening out” on something whenever they can, especially in exclusives. That isn't necessarily a dig, but it's just a fact. Besides, this is necessary to guarantee future and awesome new action figures. This is indeed the set where they saved their pennies on tooling costs and sacrificed the quality a bit by not bringing something completely new to the table.

The Anakin Skywalker/Cortosis Battle Droid set comes with the Dark Trooper (Phase III) arms and you may find it interesting that the Build A Droid arm parts and almost as tall as the figures contained within the set. This should give you a pretty good sense of the Dark Trooper Phase III's size. He is a huge droid and is so well designed, that we really can't fault Hasbro by giving us two "repeat" figures required to complete this massive Build A Droid. (Well, maybe we can fault them a little bit. A significantly different paint job would have suited Anakin perfectly. Since Hasbro decided not to go this route, we have to admit that this is a little bit of a boring release.) The Dark Trooper Phase III is the absolute reason to pick up this set. Unless you are a freakish fan of the Gameboy video game, we don’t see anyone having the need for this flavor of Super Battle Droid. But if you are into different models of Super Battle Droids then you have another reason. And this is a great choice just for the fact his coloring is so different from what we have seen before. Hasbro has hinted that if this series does well, they may just continue it with a whole new series for 2010. We hope this sees the light of day because we think the Droid Factory is the greatest things Hasbro has brought to collectors in a very long time, especially as an exclusive. And we really don't want there to be an end in sight. If they can continue to bring us large Build A Droid figures like the Dark Trooper Phase III, then we should be very happy collectors for sure!