DSD1 Dwarf Spider Droid Model Kit Review (AMG)

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This is my Star Wars Legion review for the Separatist Alliance's kooky little artillery walker, the DSD1 Dwarf Spider Droid.

Look and feel (5 / 5)

Even though the Dwarf Spider Droid only had a blink and you'll miss it appearance in Attack of the Clones, this unique little Droid has such a unique look that it's not surprising they continued to pop up in the Clone Wars animated series.

Despite only having four multi-jointed legs, the bulbous body and spindly limbs actually present quite a spidery profile.

Although comparatively slow compared to some other droid types, the fact that these little clankers can traverse pretty much any obstacle makes them extremely useful for outflanking Republic forces, arriving from unexpected directions.

The fact that these Droids can be equipped with extremely powerful weaponry makes them quite a potent threat; the ability to crawl up from the depths of a lake and deliver heavy blaster fire should not be underestimated!

The Star Wars Legion model kit for the DSD1 seamlessly translates this sassy little mech to the tabletop. The thing I love about the Separatist Droid forces is that each unit has a very unique look. Even the B1 and B2 Droids which have a shared design lineage are unmistakable in silhouette and the Dwarf Spider Droid goes even further.

I love how the Dwarf Spider Droid is scaled; it's fairly squat but is still more substantial than the rest of the ground units in the army. Surprisingly it only just fits onto it's large base!

There is no other unit in the game that looks quite like these little guys and I absolutely love them!

Functionality, Cost & Quality (4 /5)

The boxed set contains a single Dwarf Spider Droid. It feels a little expensive for a single miniature, but is slightly offset by the three weapon options. I feel like this set would have been better if the sprues were designed to build two Spider Droids from three available weapons in order to reduce the cost per unit overall even if the boxed set was more expensive overall (in the same way as the Crab Droid boxed set).

I'd love to get a second Spider Droid at some point but have held off for the time being in order to add other new units. If the cost were lower off the bat, I would definitely have bought two by now.

The quality of the kit is excellent, with nice crisp details which go together beautifully with no gapping. The mould lines on the legs can be a pain to clean up due to where the flash lines are located.

I believe the intention of the kit was to allow you to hot-swap the three weapon options as the head assembly comes apart for a plug and play change. I decided not to use this option due to the very thin aerial which would undoubtedly snap off with over handling. Of the mini. This is the reason I feel sharing three weapon options between two miniatures in a single box would have been more sensible.

Construction (4 / 5)

This kit was very easy to assemble and the AMG instructions from the website were perfectly adequate.

I appreciated the substantial pegs which attached the legs to the domed body as they created a strong fit, avoiding any chance that the legs might come loose or snap off with handling during game play.

In spite of my own reluctance to keep the weapons changeable, it is still an option if you wish to use it.

My only niggle with the construction is with the foot overlap on the base. This is annoying for a gaming model kit which may end up getting caught on other miniatures or scenery and although it's not a deal-breaker, this sort of oversight is irksome for anyone that intends to play regular games with their miniatures. 

Kit posing and options (3 / 5)

I've already mentioned the weapon options in this kit - it comes with three choices, the laser cannon, flame thrower and ion cannon. Each of the three options have been specifically modelled for this miniature so look great regardless of which one you choose. Mine is equipped with the ion cannon, but the flamethrower especially is a great modelling option as it comes with canisters and hoses for the fuel.

The options I haven't mentioned yet at the legs. Now I am normally fine with leg options, but these were just odd. The kit comes with two sets of four legs. One set makes a squatting pose and the other set is a lot more upright.

The trouble is that both poses are quite static in their own way and the upright legs just look a little odd. Quadrupeds normally have a walking rhythm which means their legs alternate in position in order to move their weight distribution between limbs allowing them to lift one or two legs off the ground, moving them then repeating the cycle in order to move their central mass forwards. The upright legs in particular just don't look very naturally posed.

The kit isn't a write-off as you can change the leg rotation a little and even swap the legs between the two sets. I opted for straight legs at the front and squatting legs at the back to make my Droid look like it's angled upwards in a sort of mid-aim pose. The trouble with swapping the legs around is that they no longer sit flush on the base so you either need to hit the join with base kibble or live with the gapping.

In conclusions, I think the way in which the legs and poses were designed was flawed and is my main gripe with this kit.

Final Score & Comments (4 / 5)

Overall I do like this kit, but the niggles with cost and posing have made me hesitant to buy another at this point.

I feel that AMG missed an opportunity to update this set when they moved to the new edition. Just tweaking the leg poses and sprue layout to make a dual kit could have made this an outstanding product, but as it currently stands it's good but not great.

Considering the improvements made to the B1 Battledroids, if feel that this wouldn't have been outside the realms of possibility - I guess the kit just wasn't a big enough priority in amongst some of the other older kits.