One thing I really like about Hasbro’s Black Series is they don’t just make Star Wars movie figures, but will make characters from alternate media like games, cartoons, and comic books. I’ve been playing a lot of Star Wars video games lately between Battlefront and Fallen Order, so I was pleased to hear about a gaming focused sub-line to the Black Series. Let’s take a look at Gaming Greats Revan and Heavy Battle Droid!
The packaging here is in line with what you expect with the black series with a slight twist. They switched up the accent color from the usual red to a character specific purple for Revan and brown for the Droid. They also incorporated those colors into the usual artwork to good effect. These boxes do look a little snazzier than the usual Black Series box.
Revan comes with his lightsaber and nothing else. It’s got some nice detail and the blade can be removed from the hilt. It’s a little awkward in the hand due to the shape, but he holds it fine. I’m not sure what else he should come with since I’m no Revan expert, but an alternate force-push hand would have been nice.
The figure is a repaint of the original Black Series Revan figure, so if you are familiar with that, you know what you are getting. There is a change in the soft goods, however. Gone is Darth Revan’s distressed skirt and cape and they are replaced with a simple cream-colored skirt.
I’m not really familiar with Revan, so I don’t feel expertly qualified to judge the sculptural fidelity to the source material. The box specifically references the Galaxy of Heroes mobile game and I think they get pretty close to the mark with his look there, however the belt/skirt details don’t quite line up. It’s not an issue for me, but may be for fans of the character.
As I said before, I’m not a Revan fan and I also didn’t much care for that original figure, but I find myself really liking this repaint. I am a bit of a sucker for a palette swap, but this design in these colors evokes the Clone Wars Jedi Palace Guards look that I really love.
The articulation is fairly standard for the Black Series with:
- Swivel/hinge neck, shoulders, hips, elbows, wrists, and ankles
- Double hinged knees
- Ball and socket mid-torso
- Swivel thighs
The head movement is impeded by the hood which is fixed to the shoulders and immovable. The head can swivel and hinge, but to my eye it looks awkward within the hood at any pose other than straight on.
The arm articulation can get into some decent saber holding poses and the skirt allows for good leg movement. The ball and socket joint gets some good wobble, but could be better.
The paint is good on Revan and I like how the skirt color matches with the rest of the paint. I particularly like how the brass chest armor has a nice shine to it and a wash bringing out all that detail.
Overall I dig this figure a lot more than I thought I would, far more than I liked the original figure.
The Heavy Battle Droid is from Battlefront II and matches the Heavy Battledroid from that game in deco and weapons (almost). I played as a Heavy a lot, so I have special affection for this guy. He comes with a removeable pack, a removeable antennae, and three blasters (an E-5, DLT-19, and FWMB-10).
The blasters are re-used weapons from previous figures that get pretty close to matching three of the four weapons you can choose when you play as a Separatist Heavy trooper.
The FWMB-10 is a First Order blaster rifle seen in TFA and was previously released in the First Order trooper accessory pack. Like the gun in that pack, this version of the FWMB is missing the fold-up stand and that does change the look of the weapon.
There is a shapeways part you can order to fix this error, but it really should come with the part.
The gun isn’t designed for this figure, but you can get him to hold it reasonably well with a little finagling.
The E-5 blaster included in this set is the same as the E-5 that came with the first Black Series Battle Droid and it’s a fine weapon with sharp detail, but not quite the same gun the Heavy Battle Droid Uses. He has an E-5 in the game, but it is the modified E-5C with a stock and longer barrel. There’s also a Shapeways model of the E-5C, but you can see the cost of properly outfitting this droid is going up and up.
Finally the DLT-19 comes from the original Sandtrooper figure and looks pretty much on-model for the game, however it’s not a gun that the Heavy Battle Droid uses in Battlefront II. It’s a little trickier for the droid to hold since the handle is thinner.
The DC15 Clone Trooper rifle might have been a better weapon to include since the Heavy Battle Droid can use the DC-15LE in the game.
The pack is removeable and has two little antennae that you can raise. I much prefer this design to the swappable and easily lost piece on the Figuarts droid. The E-5 blaster can also attach to the pack.
Finally, the pack can be removed and replaced with a small antennae array that plugs into one of the holes for the pack. I think the officers and had these in The Phantom Menace, so I imagine that Hasbro will eventually issue an officer repaint of this droid.
The figure is a repaint of Hasbro’s first Battle Droid and has all of that figure’s strengths and flaws.
The sculpting captures the frail physique of the B-1 droid design perfectly. All the details are sharp, and I especially like all the panel and rivet holes scribed all across the figure. I sometimes think it might be slightly too tall, but I wonder if that’s because I got used to the slightly smaller Figuarts droids.
The articulation is very nice and has:
- Ball and socket head, hips, and mid-torso
- Swivel/hinge shoulders, neck, wrists and ankles
- Single hinged elbows and knees
- Swivel biceps, forearms, and ankles
He’s also got an extension piece in the neck that to allow him to fold up for storage. The figure moves well, the only part I don’t love is the hips. I wish they could accommodate a wider stance because they don’t move outward very much. The swivel/hinge at the ankle also doesn’t get much swivel.
Paint is pretty good on the droid with the right color scheme markings and some battle damage paint hits, however a light wash would be nice to bring out all that panel detail.
Overall, I like this figure and he adds a nice variety to my Battle Droid army, but the weapons don’t quite hit the mark for me. I do wonder why these figures cost a little more than regular retail for the line ($25) when there is zero new tooling involved.
If they had included the correct guns or made the TL-50 heavy repeater (the fourth heavy weapon for the heavy class) it would be more worth the price to me. I realize that I’m a bit of a Battlefront nerd and others might not find these faults as significant as I do.
