I have always liked Star Wars, but never have collected the figures. I have a handful of characters that I particularly like (e.g. Boba Fett and Darth Vader), but have always been more interested in G.I. Joe or DCUC. However, I do love robots, in fact Lego’s Bionicle was one of the first lines I bought as an adult and has a lot to do with why I collect toys at all. The design of this guy, and even just his name “IG-86 Assassin Droid” drew me to him at the store. I am unfamiliar with the origins of this character, so can’t swear to how well his sculpt stands up to any film or game incarnations, but after a quick google search of the IG-86 Assassin Droid, from what I can tell he is pretty spot-on. This toy comes from Hasbro’s Clone Wars Collection, so I’m pretty sure he has been on the TV show.  Apparently the IG-88 droid is what we see in The Empire Strikes Back as a bounty hunter, so this one would predate that one, which makes sense as to why he would be a part of the Clone Wars story arc.
     This assassin droid has really great proportions. His arms and legs are appropriate lengths compared to his torso. The IG-86 does not have many intricate details, his head is the most complex piece with several sensors sticking out of the front (I can only imagine that these are his eyes), but what he does have looks great.  His arms and legs are basically rods connected with joints, and he has a hose on each thigh and each side of his chest. He also has asymmetrical shoulders, which helps to convey a “thrown together with spare parts” kind of look.  His knees look to be placed a bit low, with his thighs being long compared to the lower leg.  From what I’ve seen online this seems to be exactly how he is designed though, so not lost points for that. He does not have a smooth finish instead he is rough, almost porous, which helps with his paint (I’ll get to that next).
     Given his primary directive and paint job I think some sculpted battle-damage would be appropriate. Some dents and dings would add some interesting elements to a rather simple sculpt. My figure does have some unsightly mold lines running down what would be his robotic shins, as well as on his upper arms. These are not unforgivable given the scale, and also because he is a robot.
     His blasters look appropriately powerful and are sculpted for his clamp-hands to hold (a bit loosely, but not horribly so).  A bonus is that IG-86 comes with a backpack in which his guns can be stored.  For me, even going back to when I was a child, it has always been important that a toy figure provide a place to store his included accessories. Overall he looks like a very dangerous assassin droid. Tell me you would like to take a round house to the face with those metal wedge feet.

Sculpt Score: 9 / 10

 

  
     This is where this figure really shines.  Well, actually it’s quite the opposite. Hasbro has done a great job making the IG-86 look like a heavily used droid.  He looks like he would have been a copper color when new, but after years of missions and adventures he has become quite weathered. His paint is mostly copper, with some silver coming through. The silver looks like galvanized steel showing due to scraped off paint. He also has dark wash added here and there, which gives the impression of dirt and grime build-up. He almost looks rusted and corroded; it is very nice in person. The aforementioned texture of his plastic really helps to sell the distressed look of his paint.
     IG-86 also has bright red spots to represent lights on his head and at the tips of each eye/sensor coming out of his noggin. There is a bit of slop when it comes to the red, not exactly staying in the lines so to speak, but it is not very noticeable when I’m not four inches from him examining him for a review. Despite the slop on the head, the rest of the body is just great, so I can’t help but give him a very high score.
     This assassin’s guns look just as beat up as him. They have a blue finish, with silver coming through to make it look like paint scraped off. Earlier versions of him apparently had gray guns with the distressed paint job. However, his backpack, which only serves the purpose of storing the blasters, is devoid of any paint. It is just gray plastic. Were it at least black, brown, silver or some other color that could pass for metal it would have been a huge improvement. If his backpack had the same paint job as IG-86’s body, so that it would look like a part of him, that would be tops and would have been a 10 out of 10 for me. However, if you want him to just hold his guns then you can take that backpack away so it is not an eyesore.

Paint Score: 9 / 10 

     This is another area where IG-86 beats any other Star Wars figures I own. This Assassin Droid is fitted for duty with ball joint shoulders, pin and post elbows, ball joint hips, ball joint ankles, swivel neck, swivel wrists, swivel waist, pin knees, and my personal favorite, pin clamps for hands. This is getting very close to a G.I. Joe level of articulation. Plus, none of these joints were stuck out of the package, and they are all easy to move without feeling loose. I wish he had a ball chest, but really with his simplistic design I think all of the swivel joints work very well. He is lacking swivel thighs, which I think would have been pretty easy to put in, or at least make his knees pin and post like his elbows. This is really just getting picky though, I mean G.I. Joes do not have swivel thighs, nor does Marvel Universe, and when IG-86 is in hand you won’t miss them as much as you might think.  The most important thing is that all of the articulation works extremely well with his design.
     The pin and post hips make a huge difference here when compared to my other Star Wars figures (which have t-hips) and really opens up the opportunities for some dynamic desktop poses. And those menacing hand clamps allow him to grasp his guns, and possible squish some soft, fleshy humanoid heads.

Articulation Score: 8 / 10

 

Fun Score: 10 / 10

     Ok….like any 3.75 inch figure these days, this is where his awesome clamps start to hurt. You can expect to find IG-86 for about $7.99 at retail. I got mine for $7.49 on sale (whoopee, 50 cents!) but that does not help much. That being said, he is a much better value than other Hasbro figures that I have purchased recently in this scale, and for the same cost. Nevertheless, I feel $5.00, maybe $6.00 is more appropriate.

 

Value Score: 6 / 10

Summary

9 - Fairly simple sculpt, but overall a fantastic design.

9 - Best paint job I’ve seen lately from a small figure. There seems to be some love put into this guy.

8 - That love was carried over into his joints. IG-86 has enough articulation to make anyone happy. He looks fast and acrobatic, and you can get him in most of the poses that you would want.

10 - Feels sturdy in the hand; he is fun and easy to pose.

6 - A little expensive for his scale, but I don’t feel like I wasted money on him either.

 

I did not curve his score because my love of his simple robot design (almost Scud-like) might have skewed him up to a 90-99 if I wasn’t careful.  There are enough good things going on here that I highly recommend him. Hasbro did a great job on this figure, and I think that the designers must have had some fun putting him together. If you find yourself at the store and you’re on the fence about getting the next G.I. Joe, Marvel Universe, or Wolverine figure and can’t make up your mind; then you should mosey on over to the Star Wars section to see if this guy might be able to help you out. Just take him out of the package, aim towards target, hit the ‘on’ switch, and let the destruction commence.

-Clark

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