Review: Star Wars Black Series Gaming Greats Exclusive Clone Commando 'Urban Fighter' and Training B1 Battle Droid from Battlefront II
- Mephitsu
- Apr 16
- 8 min read
“Battle Droids! I'm on them!”
Following a run of single releases since its inception in 2020, the Gaming Greats sub-line of the Star Wars Black Series branched out into multi-packs in 2024 with two trios from the Star Wars Jedi games and exclusive to Amazon globally. That series continues in 2025 with a pair of two-pack releases, the first of which is taken from the Battlefront II videogame by EA. As is the core principle of most Gaming Greats releases, the set re-uses the existing figures of the Clone Commando and the B1 Battle Droid to bring us two variants seen in the Battlefront II game - the Urban Fighter Clone Commando and the Training B1 Battle Droid. Both are playable skins in the game, with the B1 Training Droid having its origins back in Season 3 of the Clone Wars series, and the episode ‘Clone Cadets’.
The set is packed into a new format rectangular box, widened from the standard releases to accommodate both figures. It uses the same matt black base colour and overlays this with the turquoise colouring assigned within the Galaxy Collection for Gaming Greats releases. This colouring extends to the side artwork, which is a 50:50 split of both figures. The set is not numbered and does not directly connect to a wider montage for the Gaming Greats. The back of the box features a brief overview of both figures and carries a wider image of both on either side. The cardback, sitting behind the figure tray inside, features the same blue colouring as the artwork and text, but incorporates the backdrop from the Battlefront II character selection screens.
As you can see from one of our pictures, having Amazon handle this as an exclusive globally is going to cause issues for many collectors, as a lot of sets are being shipped without an outer box and with a shipping label and barcodes stuck all over the back. These stickers, and the fact that the box is unprotected in transit, will cause issues for boxed collectors with the residue of the stickers extremely difficult to remove even with applied heat and gentle solutions. Amazon are now showing out of stock, so they won’t replace any units, only offer a refund using their standard returns process.
Starting with the B1 Battle Droid and this is the same B1 sculpt that has been in circulation since 2019. This time round, the entirety of the figure is cast in a white plastic with no further application of paint on the internal joints, or to add weathering. What we do get are golden bullseye targets applied on the chest, head, shoulders, elbows and hips - most likely as decal applications as they are too crisp to be painted. The only other decor is the split circular eyes, added in black to the head.
If you look at the Training Droid skins in Battlefront II this is the basic Trooper and the one with the least decor, but in the game, the droids still include darker panel lines and grey/silver around the joints. The other classes of Heavy, Specialist, and Officer all included additional orange markings, and any of these other three would have presented a more visually impressive droid.
The standard B1 backpack is included, slotting into place using the shaped sockets on the figure's back. It is the same base white plastic and features two further bullseye targets on the reverse. The twin aerial extends up out of the pack for some further variation of the figure, and the blaster can be holstered using the socket function on the right hand side.
The blaster itself is the E-5 Blaster Rifle, again the same piece that has been in circulation since 2019. Unlike the earlier versions of this gun that featured a gun metal finish and dry brushing, this version for the Training Droid is plain grey with no decor of any description to enhance what is a pretty detailed sculpt. As well as holstering, the weapon can be handled using the three-pronged droid hand with sufficient articulation for two-handed grips and firing positions.
While the articulation on the Training Droid remains the same 18 points as the original release, these have been feeling and working much better over recent years, with this B1 Droid feeling pretty secure and stable out of the box compared to the earlier models, which often were difficult to keep standing. The joints are all worked in as part of the sculpt and mimic the joints on the Battle Droid props with large circular gears around the main jointed areas, such as the knees, hips, elbows and shoulders.
The torso joint is the least mobile, offering a partial ab-crunch designed around a central hinge and the two supporting pieces. The head is ball-jointed at the top of the neck and can be turned and pivoted, with a second joint on the rear section of the head moving outward so it doesn’t clash with the neck. The entire neck piece also extends up and out of the chest, allowing the neck and head to be folded downward into the deactivated folded position.
We move now to the Clone Commando and the rare Urban Fighter skin playable in the game. The figure utilises the existing Clone Commando body, a body that originates with the first figures from The Bad Batch and the first figure of Hunter from 2021. The figure is engineered in a similar fashion to the normal Clone Troopers with white cast armoured panels connected with ribbed black joints to reflect the Commando’s undersuit. While most of the parts are left in their base colour, there are elements where sections have been overpainted. Thankfully, this is in black around the lower legs and lower arms, so while the edge finish is not quite as crisp, the black is forgiving enough to cover up the white below fully. Looking closely at the armour you can also see battle damage sculpted into the panels with some gouging and scratching visible on the chest, shoulder pauldron’s and midsection. There is no further paintwork to enhance these, leaving the Commando with a clean, factory-floor finish.
Our Commando comes with the standard backpack, a slight deviation from the one used within Battlefront, but close enough when we consider these exclusive Gaming Greats packs rarely introduce new pieces. It slots onto the rear of the figure by way of a shaped socket, and uses the same base white plastic and overpainted green and red markings. A few other details are added around what appears to be a control panel, picked out in gun metal. And like the body, the backpack includes sculpted ‘wear and tear’ with scratches evident around the piece.
The markings of the Urban Fighter are applied onto the white armour with an olive green base applied to the chest, upper arms, lower gauntlets, hands and knee panels. Over this are further burgundy markings in a triangular design on the chest, with further black striping on the shoulder pauldrons. The helmet, cast in white and non-removable, features the same colour scheme with green and red trim around the reflective blue of the visor. Within all of the markings, there are no dings or scratches as seen in the game.
The original Hunter figure was always off proportionally, despite the Black Series' usual principles of converting animated, stylised characters into a real-world setting. This has translated through to every figure since using the Commando base, leaving them without the bulkier armour we are used to seeing in games like Battlefront II and prior to this, Republic Commando. Elements of the Hunter base figure are also left without resolution on subsequent re-use, so our Urban Fighter still carries a large socket in the left gauntlet where Hunter’s knife sheath was originally.
The sole accessory of our Commando is the DC-17m Clone Commando Blaster Rifle, another direct re-use from the original Bad Batch figures and subsequent Clone Commando releases. This is plain grey with no paint apps to bring out what is a detailed sculpt. It fits only in the Commando’s right hand, the left lacks the trigger finger to hold it. Despite the size of the backpack, there is no function for stowing or holstering the blaster on the figure.
There are 17 points of pinless articulation on our Commando, a relatively standard format for the 2019 era figures. The key miss is a butterfly shoulder, which might have helped arm movement, but there is sufficient range in the joints for two-handed weapon positions, including raising it up to fire. The legs are clunky in their movement and are not helped aesthetically by the large overhanging knee armour panels, which are fixed and do not move with the joints. The body itself includes a decent range within the torso ball joint, and the head and helmet include a dual joint neck, allowing a broader level of movement for the head.
While the Amazon Gaming Greats Exclusive multi-packs to date have focused on more recent gaming content, such as Jedi: Fallen Order and Jedi: Survivor, this Battlefront II pack seems a bit of a lazy release, even within a line that recycles existing figures into new designs. There are plenty of other Battlefront II skins to go after, most better looking than the designs chosen here. Paintwork and decor is sorely missing on both figures. The B1 needs more contrast to the base white and needs the panel lines and ‘wear and tear’ seen in the game. The Commando markings are relatively accurate, but again lack the weathering and battle damage we see on the game skin.
The set is going to be further hampered by the way Amazon are handling these, shipping many without outer boxes and with damaging labels covering the packing itself. When we consider this is a £45 item aimed at the collector market, then this level of handling is pretty poor overall. One for the purists, or maybe one to monitor for future discounts - while it is currently out of stock at the time of writing, there are usually restocks on these lines and deep cuts in price to be had if you keep a close eye on them.
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About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...
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