Random set of the day: Battle Droid
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 8001 Battle Droid, released during 2000. It's one of 19 Star Wars sets produced that year. It contains 363 pieces, and its retail price was US$30.
It's owned by 4,236 Brickset members. If you want to add it to your collection you should find it for sale at BrickLink, where new ones sell for around $94.20, or eBay.
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35 comments on this article
If you are a true fan, you have three of this set to have it in Standard, Security, and Commander forms, but I guess that makes me not a true fan as I only have the one and I keep it in Commander form. I like the yellow markings.
The downside to that though is that you're technically supposed to remove the backpack, which removes the function of having the arm reach back and magnetically remove the blaster, but it's not like you could ever actually put it back anyway without intervention.
Be sure to keep your extra parts saved in a bag, too. It would be a shame to think you have a completed set only to discover that you're missing the parts to make the variants.
Oh, and it's a really cool set. Neat foldup feature and with the press of a button, it all comes undone. Not sure how long those rubber bands will hold together, but such a cool function.
I got this one, brand new, when it came out. My dad had to put it together, and then again, and several more times before he eventually gave up. But what do you expect? I was 6 that year and loved taking things apart to see how they worked. I then tried to make my own creations, but never quite got into Technic, even to this day.
You know, I actually liked it when Technic was more than just vehicles.
Yep, Star Wars Bionicles. This one is almost as cool as the Droideka. Noice.
Roger Roger!
I've got a couple of these, but the rubber bands have completely disintegrated.
Alright lore time. So this guy... hey wait a minute. That's not a BIONICLE!
Jokes aside I love how this guy can curl up into it's "sleeping" pose for transport, complete with sheathing the gun on his back. The Star Wars constraction Droids were something special. Even the CCBS ones were kind of cool, but you can't beat the good 'ol fashioned gear functions of LEGO's classic action figures.
The Star Wars technic characters generally looked awful but this one really works. Not just because it’s a droid, as R2-D2 and C-3PO both look rather odd, but the skeletal nature of the original design.
TLG: "Yeah, remember when we asked you to make a contruct-a-fig for the 'Battle Droid'?"
LSW Team: "Yes..."
TLG: "THIS isn't what we meant..."
Although/and then again; Lego Star Wars was a...mixed bag back then...still miss my "Jaundice Luke Skywalker", and still better than his replacement "Jake".:D
@MCLegoboy:
I don’t remember if I bought copies to build the other variants (does it not build the blue Pilot variant?), but I know I got at least two copies. The second copy was used to build the B-model, which was an AT-ST. The Pit Droid’s alt was an Ep6 speederbike, and the Droideka’s was an AAT.
Now, I did end up making all four Ep1 Battle Droids in 6” scale a few years later. They don’t fold up, and they’re a bit too large compared to all the other characters I made (the Droideka I made is undersized, so they tower over that guy).
@Wasthereonce: We have clearance, Clarence. What's the vector, Victor?
Haters will say it didn’t really fold up.
I got the Super Battle Droid recently and love it. Sure, these Technic sets often removed a substantial amount of detail, but they're really creative and unique; there's not really any sets like these today and a number of them are gold mine part packs for Technic pieces in particular colors.
Certanly an interesting set concept that I would love to see revisted one day with upgraded Technic parts and techniques.
Not sure the Technic approach really worked when they tried it on, say, Jango Fett, but it’s absolutely the right way to go for a B-1; they’re already very skeletal and angular, and kinda gappy, making one out of Technic looks great
@Wasthereonce said:
"Roger Roger!"
Uhh.. You're under arrest!
First wave was awesome, this, 8000 and 8002. Later sets, not so much.
I had this set! I remember it.
I also miss it :(
@ra226 said:
" @Wasthereonce said:
"Roger Roger!"
Uhh.. You're under arrest!"
Battle droid 1: Where are the prisoners?
Battle droid 2: Me? I thought you were watching them!
Battle droid 1: No, that was your job...
Battle droid 2 (through comlink): Uh Sir, we lost the prisoners...
(I don't think this is 100% correct, but I did my best. One of my favourite clone wars quotes!)
Ooooh! I have this one!
For years I had been looking for one and last year I managed to get one from a nearby seller where I could pick it up for a decent price too!
I had been wanting it since 2000 so it was surreal to finally be able to build it in the flesh. The function is fun (I use replacement latex rubber bands) and although it is a bit violent in unfolding (doing it from the floor takes some skill) it's marvelous. And you can even easily replicate the blaster grabbing although the blaster is a bit floppy in how the hand holds it.
The flexibility and gear-activated arm even facilitated play, which was sorely lacking on my Jango Fett with his static legs. You can't make it march, but you can move the lower legs back and the waist forward.
This is what's missing in today's technic. The 2000s had so much more variety (for good or ill). I love my 8001 a lot!
@PurpleDave it does not include parts for a blue pilot variant. Only red security and yellow commander markings.
I love that these sets have B-models! I believe the alternate build for this set is an AT-ST.
Apparently these droids were modelled on what a Neimoidian looked like when long dead and emaciated. Basically a vision of death on the battlefield - well, to Neimoidians, anyway.
Really wish Technic would give us stuff like this again. Getting bored of vehicle after vehicle.
@Kalhiki said:
"Really wish Technic would give us stuff like this again. Getting bored of vehicle after vehicle."
You mean car after car?
@TheOtherMike said:
" @Wasthereonce: We have clearance, Clarence. What's the vector, Victor?
"
Wait a minute. I know you. You're Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. You play basketball for the Los Angeles Lakers.
@Brickbuilder0937 said:
"You know, I actually liked it when Technic was more than just vehicles."
Every once in a while I think about how I should try to get into Technic, and then I remember that every Technic set is either a car, a truck, or a plane.
One of these days I'll have to Bricklink one of the old Star Wars Technic sets...
@PurpleDave said:
" @MCLegoboy:
I don’t remember if I bought copies to build the other variants (does it not build the blue Pilot variant?), but I know I got at least two copies. The second copy was used to build the B-model, which was an AT-ST. The Pit Droid’s alt was an Ep6 speederbike, and the Droideka’s was an AAT.
Now, I did end up making all four Ep1 Battle Droids in 6” scale a few years later. They don’t fold up, and they’re a bit too large compared to all the other characters I made (the Droideka I made is undersized, so they tower over that guy)."
There wasn't a Blue Pilot Variant, which I feel is an opportunity missed, however they are much more seldom seen, so it made sense.
I think for the most part it's the same as the Security Droid but blue with nothing on the head, maybe a bit on the chest, which the Security droid should have, too, but that requires much more dismantling. I'm fairly confident that the parts necessary to do so exist, just needs some BrickLinking.
And I completely forgot about the alternate models. Still not sure what the Stormtrooper and C-3PO models were supposed to be. If they're just generic ships, that's cool, but at least the alternate models for the Battle Droid, Destroyer Droid, and Pit Droid are recognizable things from Star Wars. I never bothered to build them however.
@EtudeTheBadger said:
"I love that these sets have B-models! I believe the alternate build for this set is an AT-ST.
Apparently these droids were modelled on what a Neimoidian looked like when long dead and emaciated. Basically a vision of death on the battlefield - well, to Neimoidians, anyway."
Perhaps that's what was initially thought of for The Phantom Menace, early concept art does show the Neimoidians having some more elongated faces separated from the neck, but by Attack of the Clones it was definitely retconned to have been something designed for the Trade Federation by the Geonosians, and then it spread to the other members of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, the Separatists. The Geonosians are much more skeletal looking being bugs, and their heads are much more similarly shaped, so it makes sense their droids look a bit more like them.
@NotProfessorWhymzi:
It's actually quite large, I believe standing over 12" tall at the head. All three from this wave also have complicated transforming features. At 363pcs, it was only $0.083/pc, while Star Wars in general at the time was running around $0.09 on average.
@Binnekamp:
Yeah, I did end up scanning through the inventory later on. I asked the question, and it was easy enough to find out the answer, so I wasn't going to sit around waiting for someone else to look it up for me.
@MCLegoboy:
When I made my Bionicle versions, I gave the blue pilot variant red shoulders, like the red security variant, and the patch of color on the chest matches that of the yellow command variant.
I had to actually pull up the digitial instructions for 8007 and 8008, because I couldn't really find any images or information about the B models. C-3PO has an alt that reminds me of one of the Ep1 podracers. Neva Kee flew a single-piece design that put the cockpit out front. It doesn't actually look like it's based on that, but they look similar enough that I wonder if that was the inspiration. The Stormtrooper alt, I have no clue about. It's kinda triangular, and looks like nothing I'm familiar with from the SW saga.
@Robot99 said:"Every once in a while I think about how I should try to get into Technic, and then I remember that every Technic set is either a car, a truck, or a plane."
That's unnecessarily reductive. Sometimes they do helicopter, too! (In all seriousness, construction equipment and things like forklifts and telehandlers are also common, although it does feel like a long time since I've seen a Technic watercraft of any stripe.)
@TheOtherMike said:
" @Robot99 said:"Every once in a while I think about how I should try to get into Technic, and then I remember that every Technic set is either a car, a truck, or a plane."
That's unnecessarily reductive. Sometimes they do helicopter, too! (In all seriousness, construction equipment and things like forklifts and telehandlers are also common, although it does feel like a long time since I've seen a Technic watercraft of any stripe.)
"
Or a boat. 42105 released in 2020, so not too long ago.
Seeing this and thinking of all the new rounded parts makes me want a truly buildable B1. I think a Technic skeleton with system parts could make an amazing set.
@kdu2814 said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
" @Wasthereonce: We have clearance, Clarence. What's the vector, Victor?
"
Wait a minute. I know you. You're Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. You play basketball for the Los Angeles Lakers."
Sorry son, you must have me confused with someone else. My name is Roger Murdock. I'm the co-pilot.
@Robot99 said:
" @Brickbuilder0937 said:
"You know, I actually liked it when Technic was more than just vehicles."
Every once in a while I think about how I should try to get into Technic, and then I remember that every Technic set is either a car, a truck, or a plane."
You're forgetting bulldozer, loader, telehandler, forklift, excavator, crane, concept autonomous vehicle, snowmobile, backhoe, and dumper.
Although more often than not recently it's just cars.
@darkstonegrey: Admittedly, I'd forgotten about 42105, but I did say it *feels* like a long time since I'd seen a watercraft, not that it necessarily *had* been.
@DefaultOption said:
" @kdu2814 said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
" @Wasthereonce: We have clearance, Clarence. What's the vector, Victor?
"
Wait a minute. I know you. You're Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. You play basketball for the Los Angeles Lakers."
Sorry son, you must have me confused with someone else. My name is Roger Murdock. I'm the co-pilot."
You are Kareem! I've seen you play. My dad's got season tickets.
I think you're the greatest, but my dad says you don't work hard enough on defense. And he says that lots of times, you don't even run down court. And that you don't really try... except during the playoffs.