A few days ago we reviewed the (Dwarf) Spider Droid, and even included a rare video showing the wind-up walking action feature.  Neat!  But that little guy is, uh, dwarfed, by the Homing Spider Droid.  Several of these were seen at the Battle of Geonosis.  While they seemed to be slow moving, they had powerful laser that could be sustained to deal heavy damage to enemy targets.  This walking artillery platform was the CIS’s answer to the GAR’s SPHA (Self Propelled Heavy Artillery), which was most notable to me because the cockpit of one such piece of Republic equipment was the subject of a cool snap-zoom camera effect.  I don’t know why I liked that so much, but I did.  Screw you for judging me!  Besides being prominent at Geonosis in Attack of the Clones, these could also be spotted in the deep background on Felucia when Aalya Secura steps up to survey the battlefield moments before she is gunned down by her clone troopers.

This is a pretty large toy, as it towers over most others, despite the fact that it seems pretty small in mass (plastic).  It is articulated by four multi-angle hinges at the point where the legs attach to the ball/body.  They open horizontally, so as to allow the legs to move forward and back, and they also have hinges to that allow greater flexibility with the leg positioning and to perform (assisted) realistic walking motions.  The foot pads are also articulated, so the whole package allows the spider droid to walk over uneven terrain.

The central body is actually where the reactor and brain are supposed to be housed, but Hasbro took some liberties and turned it into a cockpit of sorts.  This is, of course, rather silly, since this “vehicle” is actually a droid itself and executes its tasks independent of a pilot.  Such is the case with just about all of the CIS weaponry, so as pointed out in a previous review, they’re not quite as toyetic as traditional vehicles since they aren’t meant to interact with figures.  But with Hasbro’s liberties, you can still have this piloted by a figure.

The Homing Spider Droid comes with two articulated cannons, each firing a spring-loaded projectile.  The cannon on the underside of the body is meant for close-quarters, anti-infantry targets, while the one on the top of the body is the one that generates the sustained laser fire meant to disable shields and destroy larger enemy targets.

It’s a pretty well made toy, and seems true to the on-screen Spider Droid.  It’s great that Hasbro made this, as it gives the CIS some larger, heavy weaponry to combat the plethora of Republic military vehicles that are available to collect.  It may not be the most exciting release in Hasbro’s history, but it fills an important need in the line, and helps flesh out your PT battle setups.  7/10.