21 Sep 2006 :: Figure of the Month - Battledroid with STAP

The 'Figure of the Month' is a new semi-regular SWNZ feature, wherein we take an up close look at a selected character collectible, focusing on interesting features of both the toy and its on-screen persona. We don't aim to compile an extensive database about all available Star Wars figures, but make a choice based on elements of interest to hopefully expose readers to different collectibles, or new directions of collecting. Today, we take a look at the Episode 1 Battledroid with STAP, from Hasbro.

This EP1 Battledroid with vehicle came in two packaging variations, but it almost certainly the larger 1998 Sneak Preview box for which it is best remembered. Along with the Mace Windu sneak preview figure, this early release gave us a taste of the still well-protected characters and hardware of 'The Phantom Menace'. It came out at about the time we also had Freeze Frame figures on the shelves, when Hasbro (then still using the 'Kenner' brandname) had started to move away from the overly bulky/muscled sculpts of the earlier years. We still had some unecessarily staunch poses, and gigantic, over-sized weaponry, but both the Battledroid, and its Single Transport Aerial Platform, were amongst the most accurate sculpts of their time. Indeed, the basic Battledroid sculpt has seen only minimal development since then, even in the upcoming Saga Collection releases. The only criticism I have of any significance is that the relative sizes between the droid and his STAP are off - in the movie, the Battledroid is proportionally larger.

The STAP itself is a well engineered collectible, and features firing missiles that, when not being launched from their spring-loaded sockets, looked like a normal fixed part of the toy - unlike many of its vehicle successors, where missiles suffered from fluorescent colouring that breaks from the overall accuracy of the replica. It came with an elegant clear plastic stand that included a push-button mechanism to move the robot pilot in its riding position, and to fire the dual "laser missiles". The droid had intentionally loose arm joints, unlike other Battledroid releases, to facilitate the "action features" of this toy. This means he's not that much good as a standalone figure...but who'd want to display him anywhere but on his repulsorlift reconnaissance vehicle?

The Sneak Preview-packaged versions were quickly snapped up by hungry collectors, riding the wave of the early Episode 1 hype. Fortunately a 1999 re-release sat around in reasonable numbers (still available through various collecting channels), allowing for the rare possibility of vehicle army-building. Stick a bunch of these guys with one of the Armoured Assault Tank versions, and those pesky Gungans won't stand a chance.

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Matt G