L8-L9 - LC - Build A Droid

Would it be blasphemous to admit or even imply that the Build A Droid figures are getting more enticing and exciting than many of the figures in the basic line? Well, with the likes of HK-47 and now L8-L9, Hasbro is outdoing themselves on the pack-in figures when compared to what they are providing to us in the basic action figure line which ironically are the figures responsible for bringing us the Droid Factory figures piecemeal. To say that L8-L9 is the best Build A Droid yet may be one of the biggest understatements of the year; it even rivals HK-47. To get things out in the open, we are pure and true lovers of the original Clone Wars series. This no doubt could be blinding us to any potential negatives this figure may indeed have, but L8-L9 is nonetheless a stellar figure (nearly perfect) and it makes us want more and more Clone Wars figures. (We are never happy, are we?) And our zealousness has everything to do with the unadulterated adoration we have for the micro-series and the action figures based from it, not because we feel like being whiners. L8-L9 appeared in the Clone Wars as one of the many foes who combated Asajj Ventress in the arena in order to prove worth to Count Dooku. The droid's flamethrower hands are so cool and are a nice concept that was never previously established in the films. L8-L9 is unique in many other ways too. Although this arena droid has very little detail in the face his lack of features actually work towards his benefit to make him more ominous and strike fear in even the most unassuming victim.

L8-L9 has an incredible 21 total points of articulation and the joints are camouflaged very well across the figure. You actually do not expect him to be as articulated as he is and this proves incredible construction is possible even with figures that you personally build from the ground up. We give sincerest kudos to Hasbro for a job well done. (Why can't other characters have this amazing benefit of hidden joints too?) The droid is mostly red with beveled or indented texture that is colored in a metallic orange-red. This color is also used in the middle section of the figure and functions as a truly beautiful accent against his mostly solid red frame. His joints are silver (in addition to some other fine details including the tubes that come down from the helmet and plug into the back of his chest box) and the only other color on him is the purple visor/helmet on top of his head. This is the second Build A Droid figure to also come with weaponry and this time it is in the form of detachable fireballs. They of course attach to each hand and protrude down to the ground and can work as nice "figure stands" if you so choose. Depending upon what direction you decide to pose his arms, they can even be positioned up towards the sky and the figure can also balance them very well without falling over too. Again, this shows perfect engineering on an already great figure. On the center of the L8-L9's chest box is a circle that is painted in the same orange-red metallic color also seen on his abdomen. It is another detail that adds the perfect finishing touch to the figure's personality.

As we re-watched the scene that L8-L9 appears in to get a better sense of his role in the arena battle, it made us again ache a little more for the Clone Wars characters Hasbro never got the chance to make yet. Just the arena confrontation alone is a rich source for Hasbro to create an amazing wave of figures (and there are quite a few additional potential Build A Droid figures they can cull from these scenes too). We hope that this is somewhere within their parking lot for sure! L8-L9 was a perfect choice for a Build A Droid figure and is continually whets our appetite for more exciting droids for down the road. Hasbro has proven that they can break out of the astromech/protocol droid box and yet deliver stunning new droids. If you check out Wookieepedia or other sources, you will find other another color palette for L8-L9 in a blue theme. We suspect that a Build A Droid repaint is inevitable, just like how a blue repaint is due for HK-47 in the very near future. (Editor's Note: That repaint is HK-50 released in December 2009 as part of The Empire Strikes Back wave.) And it is something we will look forward to because L8-L9 is a very cool droid design. As of this review, the new wave 1 of the red phase Legacy Collection has just started hitting, so expect this to start showing up in greater numbers very shortly. The good news is that you will have twice the opportunity to gather pieces for L8-L9 as the first 12 figures will allow you to build him twice. We hope Hasbro does more waves like this in the future. It makes things easier on collectors and allows us to "droid army-build" if that is our wish! But whatever the future holds, we do know that L8-L9 is one of the finest action figures Hasbro has made for us. And if you’re a Tartakovsky fan, well, L8-L9 should bring a tear to your eye.