Considering year, this one is...pretty cool actually. (Never had it.)

@MCLegoboy said: "Man, I am so glad to be back to normal times with Random Set of the Day. I can start going to bed at a normal hour again."

Yeah, that caught me by surprise too. I thought, I have to wait until midday, and, wait, it's already been updated? Oh, daylight savings.

@CarolinaOnMyMind:
Are you trying to attract sharks?

Is this minifig scale despite being technic?

Loved this set, even took a few bites from my dog back in the day and came out just fine! (though those shield pieces beg to differ!)

@PurpleDave
Always.

It's Star Wars in Bionicle style.

@PurpleDave said:
" @smkomer:
It landed in a stretch when they were trying to debrand both Technic and Duplo. SW Technic sets were simply Star Wars sets. Bionicle dropped the Technic brand that it was launched under. They were still essentially Technic sets, but the logo was gone."

This is Technic and it's so far the most accurate version of the Hailfire Droid LEGO has made so far.

@alfred_the_buttler said:
"I got my son the Lego Star Wars Visual Dictionary and he became obsessed with the technic sets as they are so different from anything he’d ever seen. So of course I had to start looking for some for him. Managed to pick up this one along with the Super Battle Droid and Jango Fett for a bargain.

Of the three this is easily the most impressive. Of course those wheels are insane, I can’t believe Lego made an exclusive part that big. The set only has one minor play feature, a missile launcher at the bottom which acts more like a boxing glove. However, the wheels are designed brilliantly and allow the vehicle/droid to go in any direction as well as spin in place.

Those wheels alone will set you back a significant amount of change, but if you can find this set at a reasonable price, get it, you won’t be disappointed. "

That isn't a missile launcher on the bottom, it's suppossed to be a rapid fire laser cannon.

@Vladtheb said:
"Is this minifig scale despite being technic?"
I cannot remember where I saw it, but it was somewhere official by LEGO that this was indeed to scale with a Minifig, which is why it was also sold as part of a Geonosis bundle with the AT-TE and Gunship back in 2003. That fact only made it more desirable.

Shouldn't this be categorised under Technic instead of Episode 2?

When LEGO was asking what people wanted from Technic, I wonder if anyone suggested a set like this? This is still a cool set, even 18 years later!

@MCLegoboy said:
" @Vladtheb said:
"Is this minifig scale despite being technic?"
I cannot remember where I saw it, but it was somewhere official by LEGO that this was indeed to scale with a Minifig, which is why it was also sold as part of a Geonosis bundle with the AT-TE and Gunship back in 2003. That fact only made it more desirable."
Is it? Blimey I never realised Hailfire Droids were supposed to be that massive

I noticed this set at the time, but didn't think very much about it, since the vehicle itself is kind of blink-and-you-miss-it in Attack of the Clones.

Nowadays, I'd love to get this, it looks like an absolutely fascinating set and build; but of course, finding it affordably anywhere? ...yeah, I don't fancy my chances at that xD

On another note, I always loved playing 'spot the Bionicle pieces in non-Bionicle set images' when I was younger. This has Bohrok shields aplenty (Kohrak and Gahlok-Kal, it looks like to me?) and... I used to think that was a Rahkshi shell on its back, but looking closer now I think the rounded shape is actually just flexible tubes and a Lewa Katana or two? That surprises me, but okay!

Also, is this old brown? Does that make this one of the last sets to use old brown, before the switch to reddish-brown?

@PurpleDave said:
"Huh. Got caught off guard by the UK time change (in the US, it’d happen at 2am so as to not mess with the start of the day).

I think this might be the Bioniclest non-Bionicle set ever, with all those silver Bohrok hand/shields."

It happened at 2am. UK time of course.

@Vladtheb @Brickalili @CapnRex1010
So I took a guess at where I heard the Hailfire was minifig scale and while it may not be the first place I heard it, the 2009 Visual Dictionary confirms it: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/816843294808997889/825719983237496832/IMG_3190.JPG
Of course there is a glaring inaccuracy about flick-fire missiles, too... Who wrote this thing?

Don’t worry. All of the visual dictionaries have errors. You could probably make a whole article on here about them

@MrBob said:
" @brickengineeringdude said:
"Ah yes, the elusive Hailfilre Droid wheel/gear.

Also, I have a feeling that the guy who came up with the name "Hailfire" had a slightly more aggressive name in mind that couldn't be used on a LEGO set..."

Considering it's based off the Star Wars droid of the same name, I doubt Lego had anything to do with the name XD

Always thought this set was so cool as a kid, and I still find myself being impressed by it to this day. No other version of the Hailfire droid has ever come close to the accuracy and detail of this one. In fact, they seem to get worse with each iteration."

I meant to say when they named the droid for the movie lol.

I wonder if Technic builders have done anything interesting with the wheels that are, in reality, huge ring gears?

@kwickbrick said:
"When LEGO was asking what people wanted from Technic, I wonder if anyone suggested a set like this? This is still a cool set, even 18 years later! "

The early 2000s had some neat experiments regarding Technic, Bionicle gave us creature sets and mech suits (think the Rahi, Boxor and Exo-Toa, Cadhok and Gahdok, etc.) Star Wars had characters like Stormtroopers, C3PO, and the Super Battle Droid all done in Technic. Personally, I would love to see this kind of era back; the current trend of Technic being supercar after supercar has got a bit stale, and throwing in something as wild as a Rahi or a Technic-based Darth Vader again would do wonders to spice up the line. There is a knockoff set that uses Technic and Mixele joints to create a bumblebee and a dragonfly out there, and its one of those very few knockoffs I look at and think "man why is Lego not doing that as an official set." I found an image of it here: https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1B8Z5bgaH3KVjSZFjq6AFWpXab/Simulated-Technic-Bumblebee-insect-Bee-Wasp-Building-Blocks-Compatible-Legoed-Bricks-set-Educational-Toys-for-kids.jpg

@Lordmoral:
Well, it does empty its entire ammo supply faster than a CIWS...

@nushae:
Huh. For some reason I had it in mind that the new post went up at midnight, UK time. I guess that wouldn't work, in terms of the math. +3 hours would only work if Huw was based out of South Georgia Island (South Sandwich Islands have no permanent population).

@BulbaNerd4000:
The DK LEGO Visual Dictionary of LEGO Visual Dictionary Errors?

@CapnRex101:
Well, that much is written right on the box. It's hard to get wrong. Not impossible, but you almost have to it intentionally.

My only memory of seeing this set in the wild was in a toy shop in the Czech Republic in 2006. It had loads of older sets long gone in the Netherlands, so that was neat.

Seeing the Hailfire Droid I nowadays can't help but think of the Tzar Tank from WWI. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsar_Tank The Tzar Tank was a huge tank with massive spoked front wheels meant to drive over any terrain, and a smaller back wheel. It was never deployed, as the prototype was deemed a failure after the huge thing became stuck in a ditch.

The Hailfire Droid only appearing during the battle of Geonosis (AFAIK), which gives it that 'weird and ungainly prototype' feeling. It's huge wheels recall those of the Tzar Tank, but it's design actually works, using a correct center of balance and way to improve power over the huge wheels (near-uselessness after emptying the missles nonewhitstanding).

@xboxtravis7992:
The wings look cool, but the dragonfly's body is too short and stocky (plus, the legs have too much range of motion). And I see Mixel-style joints, but the parts don't have LEGO counterparts. On the bee, you can see a Mixel socket with an axle hole on the end. Every part with that new Mixel socket has been System-based, not Technic.

This was one of three sets I had from before my dark ages that I still have fully assembled and intact somewhere. The other two are:

7181 Tie interceptor
6973 Deep Freeze Defender