Spider Droid - SW [S - P2] - Deluxe

Ten years after the fight to save Naboo from invasion, the galaxy is on the brink of civil war. Under the leadership of a renegade Jedi, thousands of solar systems threaten to secede from the Galactic Republic. A courageous Jedi Knight, his impulsive and headstrong apprentice, and a queen-turned-senator are drawn into the heart of the conflict... and the beginning of war.

The Dwarf Spider Droid is a squat, multi-legged droid of destruction deployed during the Battle of Geonosis. These mobile tanks typically serve the Commerce Guild in hunting down evading operatives, but when the Galactic Republic engages the Separatist armies in a full-scale ground assault, Dwarf Spider Droids are deployed to counter the Republic's massive clone army. Their striding legs are ideal for the rugged terrain of Geonosis, and their crimson eyes radiate with infrared photoreceptors for targeting the enemy through dense clouds of battle.

Many new characters were introduced in Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones. This is especially true of the Separatist Droid Army. From B1 and B2 battle droids to larger spider droids, Star Wars fans never saw so many unique droids in all one place until the Battle Of Geonosis. With a whole gamut of products already tooled for the Star Wars “Saga” line, Hasbro continued to bring unique characters into the toy line via various formats like basic figures and the Deluxe line. When it came to the Spider Droid character, Hasbro opted for less realism and decided to add gimmicky play value instead. Inspired by the classic "wind-up" toys of yesteryear, the Spider Droid comes with less screen accuracy than the average Star Wars figure. Although difficult to find at the retail level because of poor distribution and too many repeated products reissued, the Spider Droid became a little easier to find months after its intended release.

The Spider Droid will help to round up any great Battle of Geonosis display, but aside from that, it doesn't bring anything that noteworthy into the toy line. Technically a dwarf spider droid, the Spider Droid has a very juvenile action feature that is about silly as it is neat. By simply winding up the Spider Droid, you can make it was across pretty much any flat surface in a movement which is almost reminiscent of how they moved in the film. All four legs attach to the moving/pivoting platform which gives the Spider Droid is unique scattering movements. Once it completely winds down, you can just wind it back up and continue utilizing its action feature until you’re no longer interested. From a visual perspective, the Spider Droid actually looks pretty good and screen accurate. But aesthetics are always sacrificed when action features are added, so until Hasbro makes a Spider Droid without them, we feel that we just won’t have a completely acceptable version.

The Spider Droid has another play feature which is great for kids but maybe not so much for collectors. It comes with a projectile that can be lodged in its “nose” cannon and a button when pressed will fire it. The projectile is bright red and looks a little bit silly, but it adds play value which is always great for a kids toy. Great for background fodder in displays and the like, the Spider Droid sort of meets our expectations. It is what it is may come across as a little noncommittal, but that’s about the best way we can explain it. It serves a purpose, but we’re not head over heels crazy about it. The last thing we would like to mention is that the Spider Droid’s antenna is much too flaccid. References images show that the antenna is upright on its head, but on the toy version it can hardly stand. Certainly not the end of the world, we wish Hasbro would have found a way to use stronger materials on features that tend to “wilt” over time thanks to gravity.