STAP With Battle Droid - TCW [R] - Deluxe (Exclusive)

Battle droids use Single Trooper Aerial Platform (STAP) vehicles to patrol a sizable amount of ground in a concise time period. If a droid happens upon Republic forces, he can use the STAP's blaster cannons, but his primary purpose isn't to engage the enemy but rather to look for trouble and, if he finds any, call in reinforcements. It's not without risk, since droids are completely exposed on STAPs, leaving them vulnerable to attack.

Hasbro’s “figure with vehicle” assortment of deluxe figure can be really hit or miss. And even some of the hits are not too exciting as we have seen them umpteen times already somewhere in the course of Hasbro’s Star Wars line. Two of early sets in 2010 were held back and released as Toys R Us exclusives, the Speeder Bike With Scout Trooper and this STAP With Battle Droid set. While we are fans of the Original Trilogy first, do we dare exclaim that this STAP set is a bit more exciting and perhaps better? We find this opinion peculiar ourselves because the STAP has been released “too” many times already just like the speeder bike. But for some reason, the STAP ranks as a bit better when all is said and done. We think it has a lot more to do with the pack-in figure than the actual product as a whole, but The Clone Wars fans should be very happy with this deluxe set because they get a new flavor of Battle Droid in addition to a new paint pattern for the STAP vehicle.

You have seen the STAP plenty of times already, so nothing is new or exciting here. But we have to admit that is does look very sharp when you display the Battle Droid on it. Emblazoned with Separatist symbols on it, the STAP is the consummate advantage for ground battles trying to defeat the Republic in any way possible. It comes with a clear display stand and it looks perfect as an “invisible” prop to give the illusion that the STAP is floating in mid air. And it makes us wish that Hasbro included similar contraptions for the larger vehicles because it is a very effective display tool. We are however extremely impressed with the included Battle Droid. We get a color that we have never received to date and we have to admit that it is one of the cooler styled battle droids we have ever seen. The droid doesn’t being anything new or exciting to the table other that his color, but admittedly it is a great reason to generate interest in the set. We love this set for the droid alone and we think it will be the reason collectors may want to pick this up.

The Battle Droid has been cast in a brown (not maroon or red) plastic and it looks fantastic. No droid blasters are included, but since the droid has its STAP vehicle, it is about all the artillery it is going to need to fight off the enemy. We have seen the STAP since Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace and it has been a mainstay in the extrapolated Expanded Universe stories. So it clearly makes sense that Hasbro utilizes the sculpt time and time again to continue to bring us the vehicle periodically into the toy line. The Battle Droid is itself a repaint of the Battle Droid that came in 2008's TCW B'omarr Monastery Assault Battle Packs set. It's a fair sculpt and although it desperately needs knee joints, it fits well on the STAP vehicle. In fact, this release could have benefitted from a retool Battle Droid with articulated knees since it is on a STAP, it would certainly allow for more posing options on this vehicle. But to be fair, the figure interacts pretty well with the vehicle as is and it's been repainted significantly. This is a good Deluxe set, but we are concerned it may not perform as well as intended because of the ridiculously high MSRP. But that is a decision you will have to make.