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LEGO REVIEW: Star Wars Hailfire Droid #75085


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As a countdown to the Force Awakens, I will be writing reviews on Star Wars LEGO sets this week.

I haven't really done an exclusive set before. I kind of wonder if the exclusives are the sets that people would be most excited about getting, or the ones that people wouldn't mind missing. Let's dive into the Hailfire Droid set and see if it's a can't miss, or a swing and a miss. 

REVIEW: SET DETAILS
Set #: 75085
Name: Hailfire Droid
Theme: Star Wars
Parts: 163
Price: $19.99

Before we get to the build, let’s talk value. At $19.99 the price per piece works out to a bit over $.12 each. This is to be on the high side of pricing for a licensed set. There are 3 minifigures Clone Trooper Lieutenant, and 2 Super Battle Droids. The Clone Lieutenant is exclusive to this set.

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BOX CONTENTS

Some people may wind up picking up a set that is open box or, want to verify the box contents before beginning a build. For this set, there are 3 numbered baggies, 2 decorated 10x10 trans clear radar dishes and an instruction book.

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THE BUILD AND EXECUTION

Bag 1: You build your clone trooper and the central body of the Hailfire Droid. There's not really any interesting techniques in this portion of the build. You're basically setting up a solid chunk in the middle that you are later going to pin everything to.

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Bag 2: This bag combines with the 2 radar dishes to create the fenders and attach the dishes as the wheels. Shown below are the fenders and the new attachment points for them.DSC_0103.thumb.JPG.4dea502acd6542a74c8b4

You also build both of your Super Battle Droids. I have no clue why there's a trailer hitch on this thing.

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Bag 3: You finish out the build by creating external fenders and the missile racks. I'm usually not a fan of these spring missiles, but for this particular set, I feel like it works. A few greeblies to give a bit more dimension to this thing, and a tilt of the wheels, and off you go.

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REACTION

I like the look of this set. It's a fairly quick build. It needed a small gun emplacement or something for the Clone Trooper. He's massively outclassed in the firepower department, and a small build for him, would have made this seem more like a $19.99 set instead of a $14.99 set. I'd say it fits in well with all of the Geonosis stuff from 2013. Too bad that means it has been out far too long without anything to pair it with.

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The Super battle Droids are standard. Nothing terribly exciting about them. They're nice to fill out a scene. I like the Clone Lieutenant though. The blue pops, and looks good when mixed in with all of the standard clones. He's got a standard trooper face, not a Clone Wars one, so that's a real plus.

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FINAL THOUGHTS

This set is overpriced. It's a Prequel Trilogy set in a Sequel Trilogy world. There's nothing big to lift it up, and there are no main characters to draw in Timmy's mom. Scene builders, completionists, and impulse buyers are probably the target market for this particular set. It looks cool, but it's not instantly recognizable in the way that an A-Wing, Luke's Landspeeder, or the Droid Escape Pod is. If they had thrown in a main character or a unique Jedi, there would probably be more demand for this set.

What I haven't mentioned yet is that this an exclusive set shared by Target and the LEGO Store. In the long run, it will be harder for completionists to get if they want to fill in holes later. I don't know if the demand will ever be huge, but I anticipate the value to climb modestly just due to the fact that it is an exclusive. I would recommend pairing it with the AT-TE or Republic Gunship.

Shop for it on Amazon

EXTRA PIECES:

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

Thanks so much for this review! I was going to ask about this set in the daily deals section since its 15.99 instead of 19.99 at Target, but to be honest, 15.99 seems like the right price, not a discount. 

I'm not much for prequel sets, but i'll admit i think the hailfire droid was an AWESOME looking vehicle that i clearly noticed in Ep 2 and said, WOW.

As to this particular set, it seems very underwhelming. First off, the piece count (160 ish) seems low for a $20 set. I assume that can be chalked up to the big 1 piece wheels vs treads.

Also, there seem to be 2 previous versions of this set. The last one was the same price, but ALSO came with a spider droid. That one has gone from 20 to 44 bucks. I would be happy with this one doing that, but doesn't the lack of the spider droid mean this one won't do as well? Also there seems to be a superior larger version at 600 something pieces that has gone from 50 to 100 bucks. If i'm a serious prequel guy, don't i just go for that one?

As to the figures, I understand you're saying it's unique, but is it desirable? I have no idea, and am really asking. Sometimes a figure may be unique, but nobody cares. As to the battle droids, i imagine the super battle droids are harder to find in quantity than the basic ones, so maybe there's some army builder value there?

The exclusivity angle DOES make it interesting. Could this go from 19.99 to 39.99? Maybe. But i'm not sure it's a safe bet. I could also see this languishing at $25 for a long time making it an effectively worthless investment for your effort.

If you get a bunch at $15.99 plus red card discount and can ship them cheaply (first class because it's likely very light), then maybe you can make $10 a pop if they retire quickly and people care. Maybe they reach 29.99 relatively soon. Is that worth your time and effort per transaction? Maybe, maybe not.

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4 minutes ago, exciter1 said:

I think the scale of this thing compared to the figures and movie is waaaay off. They need to create a bigger $35 - $40 version.  This is by far one of my favorite prequel vehicles, but they haven't done it justice yet.

I agree with this--it's a cool vehicle/droid and a set I didn't have yet. I wasn't willing to pay for the older, retired versions, but picked up the new Hailfire droid and think it's a nice, but small set.  And a better deal at 20% off compared to $19.99.  Unless you're looking for that specific Clone Trooper Lieutenant, the minfigs aren't anything special.

The 2003 Hailfire Droid 4481 set http://brickset.com/sets/4481-1/Hailfire-Droid was more of a Technic approach with no minifigures, but sold for $50 back then.

 

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31 minutes ago, exciter1 said:

I think the scale of this thing compared to the figures and movie is waaaay off. They need to create a bigger $35 - $40 version.  This is by far one of my favorite prequel vehicles, but they haven't done it justice yet.

I think the size of the body is fine, but it could use wider discs / wheels

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I doubt that this set will make it through the summer. Target's had it for $15.99 for a while. They're probably either trying to clear their warehouses, or fulfill their commitment for whatever the quantity was. I think this set will be quickly replaced with a larger, more desirable exclusive. I also doubt there will be much revisiting of PT/CW era stuff in the next few years. This is all speculation.

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  • 1 month later...

Now that this set has been out awhile, I was wondering if the "exclusive" blue clone trooper makes it more valuable, or sought after in the collectors / builders world?

I was reading about it. The only difference is some printing on the legs, that separates it from a Polybag version.

Whats the outlook for this set MIB.??

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18 minutes ago, Legbrick said:

I am talking future value? Because of the exclusive mini fig? research I did shows some design difference from a previous polybag version.

does this add anything to the collectaibility?

I'd say this will appreciate to $40 - $45 until the remake arrives.

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