Hailfire Droid & General Grievous - TCW [B] - Vehicles (Exclusive)

The Clone Wars pits two mighty armies against each other on countless inhabited worlds. Fighting for the Galactic Republic, clone pilots swoop into battle in their sleek V-wing fighters. Hailfire droids, part of General Grievous's enormous droid army, open fire on the V-wings from the ground below. Both sides are well matched in weapons and determination, as another devastating battle erupts in the galaxy-wide Clone Wars.

One of the great things about The Clone Wars line is that the television show takes place within the Prequel Trilogy timeline and this means that Hasbro has a large array of vehicle sculpts that they’ll utilize for the 2008 The Clone Wars line. The sculpt of the Hailfire Droid dates back as far as 2003 when we received the collector favorite original Clone Wars line which brought us new characters and new vehicle within a short period, albeit very briskly. One “vehicle” released in 2003 was the awesome Hailfire Droid. Obviously, it’s not a vehicle, but it fits into the mid-size vehicle assortment rather well; therefore, it was referred to as one despite the misnomer. It hasn’t appeared in The Clone Wars television show to date, but it fits in like a charm, and you probably wouldn’t know any differently otherwise. Although based on the 2003 Clone Wars sculpt, the Hailfire Droid has been completely repainted to fit in with the other Separatist vehicles in the line, most notably the Trade Federation Armored Assault Tank (AAT) and the Vulture Droid. That unmistakable octagonal insignia has been affixed beautifully to the vehicle as well as the deep blue color flashes throughout the Hailfire Droid’s shape.

Released as a Toys R Us exclusive, the Hailfire Droid & General Grievous boasts an “Exclusive Clone Wars Variant” shout out on the front of the box as some marketing tool to hopefully sell the fact that you don’t have this one previously. Painted in a completely different color scheme than anything else we have seen from the past, this Hailfire Droid & General Grievous set will undoubtedly be sought after by kids and collectors looking to add some neat diversity into their collections. The only oddity we can find here is the inclusion of the General Grievous pack-in figure. Sure, he’s the leader of the Separatist Droid Army, but we feel that an exclusively painted Battle Droid or Super Battle Droid may have fit into this theme much better. General Grievous hasn’t been a difficult figure to acquire at retail, and we think an exclusively repainted basic figure would have sold this set hook, line and sinker. Part of the problem why we harp on this is because of the MSRP. This set retails for $39.99, which for us is about 100% too expensive. The Hailfire Droid is a $19.99 “mid-size vehicle” and an unneeded $7.99 repacked figure. At best, this set should not have retailed for more than $29.99; and $24.99 would have been ideal. Most collectors are going to pass on this for the price alone.

The Hailfire Droid & General Grievous set does offer plenty of play features. You receive 32 missiles which are overwhelming initially but complete the Hailfire Droid nicely. The projectiles are copper colored and work nicely with the color palette chosen. As the wheels roll forward, some of the missiles fire. Some of the missile housings function as storage holders and don’t have a spring-loaded action, but the whole concept is cool, and it’s a fun item to play with as part of your collection. There is also an articulated chin gun which provides additional play value. The Hailfire Droid is an item that collectors of all age shall enjoy. You can interact many different figures with the Hailfire Droid, including the included General Grievous, but admittedly it looks so much cooler when you display other Separatist infantry droids around it. Looking quite different than both of its ancestors, the Hailfire Droid (& General Grievous) is a modern take at a classic Hasbro vehicle. We’ll be interested to see how well it performs overall. Visually it’s a stunning vehicle, but the MSRP may kill it at the retail level. We’d suggest getting this Toys R Us exclusive because it is the only way you’ll be able to get this repaint of the Hailfire Droid. And yes, sadly, you’ll have to pay a lot of money for it.