It’s not the best of times to be in the NY/NJ area right now.  If there are still people in the future reading this, please note that due to the COVID-19 outbreak, I’ve got a little more spare time on my hands.  As such, I’m hoping to put that spare time to good use.  No, I’m not volunteering at a hospital, or supporting local small businesses, or joining the National Guard.  Instead, I’m doing the next best thing.  Photographing and reviewing small plastic men for your enjoyment.  On a more serious note, Chris and I do thank you for reading Banthaskull, and hope it provides a brief respite from the woes of the real world.

Today, in what may seem like a bit of randomness, I bring you the amazing Super Battle Droid Builder (with Droid Factory Assembly Mold) from the 2002 Saga line. A quick note about this line.  As most of you know, Hasbro/Lucasfilm decided (for reasons unknown to me) that while there would be new product packaging and a Midnight Madness launch dedicated to supporting Attack of the Clones, the design itself makes reference to neither the title nor any character from the film.  We get a generic “Star Wars” logo, along with a rather vague image of a lightsaber held aloft by a pair of hands, which is more reminiscent of some of the original 1977 artwork.  The line has taken on the name “Saga”, which also isn’t featured prominently on the packaging, but can be found as part of the numbering system of the basic figures in the line.  While the Episode I packaging was used solely for figures and toys from TPM, Hasbro phased into POTF2 Commtech and POTJ when they were ready to include figures from previous media.  In 2002, the Saga line (which I call “Blue Saga” to help differentiate it from 2006’s The Saga Collection) quickly evolved and included characters from earlier films.  The line changed looks and numbering in 2003, before finally phasing into the Original Trilogy Collection in 2004.

So I was rummaging through the various cartons that store much of my collection, and came across this particular unopened item.  Chris and I have a goal to complete our basic figure galleries at some point before we die, and that would include carded images of every figure.  That goal is probably a bit too ambitious for items outside the basic line, but when possible, we try to deliver there as well.  Since I had this lying around unopened, I figured I’d take a stab at it, and it inspired me to do a run of related items that I hope to share over the coming weeks. 

Before Hasbro introduced Nerf features into their Star Wars mainline toys, they took one quick stab at combining Star Wars with Play-Doh.  Now to be clear, this is not a Play-Doh set with a Star Wars theme(which had been done many times over the years); this is meant to be a legitimate part of the 3.75” toy line, with a Play-Doh gimmick/feature.

The set is a large piece of Geonosian machinery that would somewhat resemble the giant presses that Padmé scrambled through during her harrowing tour of the assembly line.  As depicted in the last images of the gallery, you can see that this accessory actually connects to various other assembly line parts, which in turn, connect to the Geonosis Arena Playset.  Therefore, it is a valid part of your collection. 

The Super Battle Droid figure ends up being more of a curiosity than anything else.  The idea here is that you take the SBD “chassis”, and use the press to mold a blob of “Quick Steel” into the shape of the torso and head.  Incredibly, after almost 18 years in the package, the clay was still in pretty good shape.  It was a bit dry, but the instructions include a tip to add a drop of water until the clay returns to its original, uh, viscosity.  If you were so inclined, you could sculpt the clay into anything you wanted, including a damaged version of the droid.

Even if you skip the “Quick Steel” entirely, the SBD chassis ends up being somewhat useful as diorama fodder.  It could either be unfinished on the assembly line, or it could be left as a droid carcass on the battlefield.  It could even work as some leftover scrap in a junkyard, sandcrawler, or Bespin foundry.  Also included is a switch-out cannon arm (which is accomplished quite easily), with a spring loaded missile launcher.  If Hasbro had the foresight to make this missile out of Nerf, I think the universe would have collapsed in on itself.

And here’s one remarkable aspect, at least according to Cris Colinsworth.  The SBD chassis has articulated ankles!  That’s pretty amazing, considering it was 8 years before a Super Battle Droid figure had ankle joints. 

In any case, the main attraction here is the piece of the Geonosian droid foundry, while the figure itself holds minor value as a diorama filler.  Of course, Hasbro apparently knew this, because the figure isn’t even featured in the name of the product as a separate item.  It’s really an environmental piece, with some other stuff included.  I have no problem with this.  I enjoyed opening the 18 year old package, and I think it’s a worthwhile addition to to your Geonosis display.