Battle Droid (Boomer Damage) - POTJ - Basic

The wealthy Trade Federation secretly assembled a massive army of these unfeeling-skeleton-like battle droids. When the time was right, they were deployed against the peaceful inhabitants of Naboo as part of a Trade Federation power play. Many droids received severe damage during their clash with the Gungan army in the epic Naboo land battle.

When a company like Hasbro reaches the end of their rope for ideas on how to make a character unique, they start thinking outside the box. And we couldn’t be more grateful to them for doing this. After a plethora of B1 battle droids released in the Episode I line, Hasbro needed to come up with a way to make a staple character like the Battle Droid fresh and new again in the basic figure line. Sure, clean, dirty, shot and sliced were all novelties in 1999, but what else could they do to make a Battle Droid scene specific yet generic at the same time. The answer friends is the Battle Droid (Boomer Damage) action figure. (Just so you're aware, these defense balls are actually called booma. "Boomer" is the slang.) This all-new action figure is truly an impressive release. Not only does it come with removable boomer damage effects, Hasbro tooled an all-new sculpt with enhanced articulation and free of action features to bring collectors a fantastic release of a core character in The Phantom Menace. Battle Droids were everywhere in the film and many had unique color flashes to denote ranks and duties, but thanks to the Power Of The Jedi line, a new infantry Battle Droid is the new model for 2000 and we hope that Hasbro continues this trend to make characters like droids who look the same throughout the films unique.

Battle Droid (Boomer Damage) has one issue that is very difficult to overlook however. He has been cast in very, very rubbery plastic. Because of this, gravity is its enemy and his legs will start to bow after a short time standing up. In fact, we have had sample on an action figure display stand almost bend beyond 45 degrees where the head and upper body are nearly perpendicular to the legs. With a little bit of cleverness however, you can find the right pose that will fight the affects of gravity the most and allow you to enjoy this action figure posed on your shelf. The Battle Droid (Boomer Damage) figure comes with two removable electro effects. The first wraps around its head. It falls off very easily, but if you tilt up the head a bit it will stay on better. The biggest accessory is the exploded boomer ball and its surrounding electro effects. The strands of the electro effect are long and can wrap around both of the figure’s arms. And the center of the boomer ball places nicely in the center of the droid’s chest. These “effects” are fully removable and should you decide to remove them you’re left with a very nice action figure. Hasbro also included light battle-damage (an explosion in the center of the chest) to give the figure some deco when the effects are not utilized.

The Battle Droid (Boomer Damage) comes with a nice range of articulation in the upper body and legs. The most notable articulation is the inclusion of hinge-jointed elbows and knees. These points allow for a nice range of motion and enable you to pose the the Battle Droid (Boomer Damage) figure is many ways. The backpack is removable and there is a spot on it where the blaster can be attached. The Battle Droid (Boomer Damage) can be folded up almost exactly how these droids looked when they were unloaded from the MTT in Star Wars Episode I: A New Hope. This is really one of the few, if not only times, collectors have been able to achieve this pose with this character in the basic figure line. We’re impressed to say the least. We should probably also mention that on top of a rubbery plastic used, Hasbro also hollowed out the legs of this figure for reasons unknown. It’s partly why the figure has a wobbliness when you try to stand it. There isn’t much support in the lower body to fully sustain this figure’s weight. But overall, we feel that the Battle Droid (Boomer Damage) figure has a lot of potential. It’s certainly an interesting, yet screen accurate interpretation of this character. And those are the kinds of figures we love to see. And who doesn't love a figure that can sport two distinct looks. This figure does it all!