Super Battle Droid - LC - Saga Legends (SL05)

At the onset of the Clone Wars, the Trade Federation revisits the design of its battle droids and decides that a slightly smarter, more independent and more heavily armed droid is needed. The result is the much more powerful and deadly super battle droid.

Did you know that when the Super Battle Droid was released in The Legacy Collection Saga Legends wave that it was technically an all-new figure? It's true. The 2008 TLC Super Battle Droid (SL 10) figure has had something removed (or filled in rather) that makes it unique to its original release. Oh, and of course it has been repainted as well. Perhaps we should define “new” a little bit more before getting you too worked up. There are a few things that collectors need to be mindful of when carefully considering the next Star Wars action figure for their collections. The reason is that certain action figures receive updates from their original releases. We live in a collecting climate that delves us into one repack after another and we sometimes overlook the same old lists of figures when they are incessantly repacked. But keep in mind that those “repacks” could be slight or even major repaints and/or they can even be retooled from their original release. And that's what happened to this figure's original release. Now Hasbro has carried it forward into the red phase of the Legacy Collection Saga Legends line look.

In 2008, Hasbro managed to squeeze out the gorgeous Battle On Mygeeto Battle Packs set out to the public in the last phase of the 30 (77-07) line, right before The Legacy Collection came aboard. A definitely rare set of figures, it was unfortunately missed by many. But inside of it was a very uniquely painted Super Battle Droid figure. It had a stunning paint job that nearly resembled a Cortosis Super Battle Droid in many ways. Yet, its paint job wasn’t the only unique trait about it. Hasbro took 2007’s TAC Super Battle Droid (30 08) figure sculpt (and of course repainted it) but they also took the time to fill in the holes in its chest where the flame attachments were designed to plug into place. This action allowed the figure to have a smooth contour throughout its body and the glaring aesthetic issues of “holes in the chest armor” were beautifully corrected, thereby forever updating this sculpt to be more pleasing to collectors’ eyes. Well, Hasbro came back to this updated version (thank goodness) and came full circle. They repainted the figure back in its original Episode III color scheme giving us for the first time a screen accurate Super Battle Droid from Episode III sans holes in its chest.

This figure made its debut in The Legacy Collection’s Saga Legends line, and now everyone has a second chance in the Legacy Collection lineup. Obviously the figure has never looked better. The flame attachments were certainly scene specific and look great for display purposes. But once they were removed, collectors were left with a Super Battle Droid with holes in its chest. We probably could have lived with this micro “action feature” but we’re thrilled Hasbro took the time perfect the Super Battle Droid because we would have no problem designating this figure as definitive. The paint job is almost identical to its 2007 iteration, but in all honesty this type of paint operation lends itself to making no two figures alike, almost like a snowflake effect. The washes collect in different spots on multiple Super Battle Droids and your eyes will easily pick up on all of the different nuances. This is indeed the best looking Super Battle Droid for your collection. It’s a shame that Hasbro doesn’t mention these types of enhancements in advance so media can help spread the word that it’s a “newish” type of figure. Well, that’s maybe the reason why columns like this are necessary. But hopefully you’re already well aware that this Super Battle Droid is new enough for your collection.