Merrick here...
...with a look at two items from the fine folks over at Sideshow. Both from STAR WARS, both Droids from different eras in that franchise’s continuity, and both from the bad guy persuasion. First up is IG-88, who appeared briefly appeared in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK back in 1980.
He was one of the bounty hunters Darth Vader recruited to hunt down the Millennium Falcon in that film, appearing briefly in a sequence in which Vader tasks them with their mission.,
As a character, “assassin droid” IG-88 went on to enjoy a detailed career in the STAR WARS “Extended Universe” before becoming immortalized by Sideshow as part of their SW-themed “Scum and Villainy” character collection. Being a STAR WARS wars dork, and a hopeless Geek in general, I of course knew who IG-88 was before receiving this figure - although I certainly wouldn’t have considered myself a “fan” of the character in general. Which makes my reaction to this figure all the more surprising. It’s good...it’s very good...and has a depth and personality not fully evident in the photos herein. Described thusly by Sideshow’s website:
Newly Developed and Fully Articulated IG-88 Assassin Droid with over 20+ points of articulation
Head features light up component (Requires Three (3) LR-41 Batteries - Included)
Fully functioning extendable legs
Authentic and hand painted deco application with highly detailed weathering deco
Fabric Bandolier with magnetic attachment capabilities
One (1) Detailed BlasTech DLT-20A Blaster Rifle
One (1) Detailed BlasTech E11 Blaster Rifle
One (1) Sculpted E-11 Blaster bandolier holster
Three (3) Mines
Two (2) Instrument pins
Deluxe Illuminated Display Base (Requires Two (2) AA Batteries - Included)
...IG-88 has somehow managed to stand out amongst my dense and scattershot collection of Science Fiction-flavored figures, toys, robots and vehicles. Several people have walked into my “office” - not knowing I’d received the figure - and instantly singled it out as being “cool.” “badass,” etc. There’s a lovely, retro, Jules Vernian quality to the droid’s weathered, spindly design...and the coppery, brassy finish of this figure accentuates this aesthetic strongly.
As mentioned in the product description above, IG-88’s battery-powered base illuminates - rather brightly in fact - providing a grilled under lighting evoking (but not necessarily representing) a Bespin Cloud City chamber.
The functionality of this base would’ve been greatly accentuated if its power toggle had been placed somewhere on the surface of the base, rather than underneath it. Essentially, in order to turn the base off and on, one must unseat the figure every time. A tad inconvenient and awkward, and a strange move for a set whose overall design and functionality is quite admirable.
IG-88’s head lights up as well - internally illuminated a la the clip seen above - an “on” / “off” function accomplished cleverly and simply by depressing the figure’s conical head. The figure comes with pancake shaped mines, which attach magnetically to an adjustable/positionable bandolier.
Beautifully and smartly executed on the whole, and highly articulated, IG-88 is a welcomed and surprising find,and should make a nice addition to any number of STAR WARS collections. It’s available from Sideshow HERE, and note that it is eligible for Sideshow’s FLEXPlay program (allowing you to secure a figure while paying in installments).
Moving from extremely cool STAR WARS to not-so-cool STAR WARS, Sideshow has also issued a set of Infantry Battle Droids. My five year old calls these “Roger, Roger robots!” (that's how they acknowledge orders in the movies).
These battle droids may require many fans to draw a careful but critical distinction between the quality of figure, and the relatively inept characters they represent. I’ve never been a big fan of the “Roger, Roger robots” in the STAR WARS prequels. I think they’re not terribly provocative opponents, and believe they were designed so that our heroes wouldn’t have to beat up on too many living, breathing things. Which represents a softening of STAR WARS, and I don’t think this softening served the mythos well at all.
This said, the figures themselves are quite nice...surprisingly sturdy considering their inherently slight design and build. They can be heavily articulated without ever feeling floppy or flimsy. A marvel of engineering, they stand firmly and hold whatever position you put them in, etc. Part of Sideshows “Militaries of STAR WARS” line, these Infantry Droids come two per box.
Each droid sports slight and individualized weathering, and one of several backpacks can be mounted onto your droids - each backpack is stenciled with different droid ID (serial?) number. 1138, the droid Jar Jar tips over at the end of PHANTOM MENACE (its number an homage to an early George Lucas film - arguably one of his “best” and “most interesting” efforts) is one of these backpack options. All of the backpacks feature telescoping antennas...which look rather flimsy at face value, but are quite sturdy in actuality. I can’t speak to whether this was the ultimate intent for these backpacks, but I’m guessing a number of collectors will opt to adhere the backpacks onto the droid’s bodies in one of several ways. They WILL stay put, unaided, but they don’t seem to make a terribly forceful connection.
All in all, the Infantry battle Droids represent highly impressive product engineering for a figure whose inspirations may not quickly warm the hearts of a number of STAR WARS fans. These are very nice figures, and in many ways they’re more enjoyable than the source material with birthed them. The Infantry battle Droids are available HERE, note the FLEXPay options for these as well.
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