Topic: So what's up with these Battle Droids?!

[Darth More]

B1 Battle Droid


    "Roger, roger."
    - Typical response of a B1 battle droid 

"The B1 battle droid, sometimes referred to as the standard battle droid, was the most widely-used model of battle droid manufactured by Baktoid Combat Automata and Baktoid Armor Workshop. The B1 battle droid saw extensive service as the mainline soldier of the Trade Federation's mechanized armies during the Clone Wars, where it served the Separatist Droid Army of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Following the defeat of the Confederacy, B1 battle droids along with the Separatist Droid Army were deactivated by the Galactic Empire, although they continued to see use on the black market."

Source: Wookieepeida
Read the full article by following this link: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/B1_battle_droid


I do not own this image. All rights reserved to starwars.com
Source: http://www.starwars.com/databank/battle-droid


So what's the deal with these Battle Droid figures that are currently sold on eBay?!

For my next custom project I was looking for some (cheap) Battle Droids. Since I didn't want to repaint the few SA Battle Droids of the TVC or LC I have, I kept looking for some alternatives online.
And luckily I found some on eBay some weeks ago. Since they ship directly from Asia (China) it took 1-3 weeks for them to arrive here in Germany. These droids are supposed to be origonal Hasbro figures, I even asked one of the sellers, who confirmed it. But since they do not have Hasbro's print beneath their feet and not even a peg hole, I doubt they are authentic. Anyway I got them around $3 each and they use the same mold as the TVC release with less articulation. In fact they seem to be a copy of the Battle Droid which was released in the Mission Series 2-Pack in 2013:


I do not own this image. All rights reserved to rebelscum.com
Source: http://www.rebelscum.com/Hasbro-Star-Wars/mission-series/Figures/Battle-Droid-212th-Battalion-Clone.asp

It's significant that the packaging shows a red tan Battle Droid, although a beige Droid is included. Maybe all these loose red/brown Battle Droids on eBay are leftovers of a running change? Correct me if I am wrong, but this red tan version hasn't been released, yet, was it?

The second Droid that is sold on eBay in quite big amounts is the Pilot Droid. Here I am sure they're copies of the Pilot Droid that was released in this set of the Movie Heroes line:


I do not own this image. All rights reserved to rebelscum.com
Source: http://www.rebelscum.com/MTT-Droid-Fighter-A0920-A0918-Movie-Heroes-Hasbro.asp

1st Order:

Before I placed my first order I asked one of the sellers if these were authentic Hasbro figures:

Me:
Dear (seller),

thank you very much for your offer! Are these Battle Droids custom made or made by Hasbro?
And do you also have these "beige" Battle Droids here? Please, see pictures below.

Thanks and best regards!

Philipp"

Seller:

"Dear friend ,

152628697102 these figure are hasbro star wars.
Pls don't worry .
But the attachment ,we not have .
More figure you can check here : http://stores.ebay.com/cutesource?_dmd=1&_nkw=star+wars
Thank you so much .
Look forward for your order ."

I then ordered the first three sets of "3pcs Star Wars BATTLE DROID Figure Rare Geonosis Arena Shwodown Target Toy". That was on August 2, 2017. The order with the 9 Battle Droids arrived here on August 24.

The 9 Battle Droids were all good except for all the bent parts (legs, arms, antennas). But I had my doubts that they are authentic. So here is what I wrote the seller after I opened the package:

Me:
"Hello back (seller),

the first shipment has arrived and I am very happy with the Battle Droid figures, although they are not authentic.
Do you combine shipping for my next order, so that I pay $2.99 only one time for 4 items?

Best regards

Philipp"

Seller:
"Dear friend ,

The order have sent to you .
But their color is not Uniform.
Pls kindly note .

best regards."

Conclusion: The seller did not answer both of my questions properly or not at all...After I placed my second order, I figured out why he didn't anwer my second question:

He DOES NOT combine shipping! I ordered 4 sets of 3pcs Battle Droid and I had to pay $11.96 for shipping!! And the fact that drives me mad is that on eBay's history it says: shipping cost: FREE!!

I haven't given a feedback, yet, but it might be my first negative one...this is deception.

So this is what you get (in the best case):








Follow this link to see where I got them from:
Just look for "Star Wars (Droid)" entering via ebay.com!

etoyshop: http://stores.ebay.com/EToyshop?_trksid=p2047675.l2563

cutesource: http://stores.ebay.com/cutesource/?_dmd=1&_nkw=star+wars

moresource: http://stores.ebay.com/moresource?_trksid=p2047675.l2563



2nd Order:

This is what I received on Wednesday (September 20, 2017):


This is porbably what the seller meant by saying "the color is not Uniform"...


And this time around I got two droids with their heads falling off very easily, but I will fix that with Citadel's Liquid Green Stuff or just Imperial Primer:


The dirt on them was also new to me...




So I washed them all with soap and a toothbrush:




The legs being of a completely different color is not a big deal for me. I am re-painting them anyway so I don't care. But I just wanted to make you aware of it if you want to buy them, too.

Here's the conclusion:

I am almost sure these BD figures are not authentic and here's why:

- they don't have the information under their feet
- there're no holes in their feet like in all original Hasbro figures
- they're made of plastic that does not have a consistent quality and color

BUT: They still seem to use the same mold as the original ones from Hasbro.

I still recommend them to you if you:

- look for cheap fodder (less than $3 a figure)
- want to army-build them or use them for your dioramas (when details don't matter that much)
- need some Pilot Droid figures because they're all good (as far as I can tell based on my experience)

As we learned no company is allowed to OWN factories in China. All you can do is placing orders in corresponding factories to produce a specific product for you. Maybe these Battle Droid figures are from a "pre- or post-production run"...who knows...any ideas?

So based on these two different Battle Droids I made a series of repaints.
Follow this link to see the result:
http://www.imperialshipyards.net/SMF/index.php?topic=10186.msg202899#msg202899

[Tamer]

Definitely one thorough review I have ever seen of this character. I will get a review archives button made for it and get it on the front page soon.

[(SID)]

Thank you for posting this review it was both detailed and informative. I've been soooo tempted to get these types of lots from these sellers since I have thousands (at this point) of SW toys an honestly don't care about Hasbro/Disney let alone authenticity. I'm just soo afraid to pull the trigger and get screwed over. I remember at one point EVERY SW item I bought off eBay never came lol... It was like I was cursed... So glad that been years ago now... But international sellers always make me weary... The only country I've ever imported from has been the UK and even then like 4x in my life... An only for something extremely specific like POTF '85 figures or CDs