Anybody remove the springs from the Hailfire Droid?

[JediTricks]

I have been considering this ever since I got the thing. The 16 launchers are kinda fun, but cleaning up and reloading those missiles is a pain in the butt, and they go off by themselves and get lost very easily. I went to unscrew one pod today, and found that the bottom cap is glued over the end, so that would need to be removed, and then it gets into the integrity of the joint. So I was wondering if anybody else had tried this, and what were the results they got.

[El Chuxter]

The difference is, you can unscrew a lightbulb.

What? Uh, never mind.

[Ando]

I have been considering this ever since I got the thing. The 16 launchers are kinda fun, but cleaning up and reloading those missiles is a pain in the butt, and they go off by themselves and get lost very easily.

[FONT=Courier New]I thought about it. I actually lost one of those d*** missiles when I packed everything up and moved out of my old apartment when I got married in 2007. [/FONT][FONT=Courier New]Every time I loaded one pod, the missiles would fly off on their own from the other pod. Sometimes just accidentally bumping the vehicle, they would fly off on their own![/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New][/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New]Now they're in a plastic sandwich bag in the Rubbermaid bin where I keep my droid army/CIS vehicles. No doubt biding its time, waiting for me to get it out so it can launch more missiles that I will not be able to find.[/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New][/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New]I will say this though, they fly pretty far for having a "flick" type release mechanism![/FONT]

[JediTricks]

Thanks for that, Chux.

Anyway, as I was sitting here doing other forums stuff, I heard a telltale "clak, bounce" and sure enough, one of the stupid missiles launched itself into the absolute furthest corner of my room where it is irretrievable behind some furniture. Fantastic. I am beginning to hate these spring-loaded missiles, not just the Hailfire's, but all of them. Any vehicle like the AT-TE where a cannon is represented by a missile means it can and likely will get lost at some point.


Ando, I believe the reasons these missiles are so potent compared to most notch-back ones is that A) these missiles are unusually light, thin and long; and B) the launcher mechanism isn't ONLY a spring, it's got a plastic collar inside ahead of the spring for maximum contact.

And after 6 years, I too have now lost one of those missiles. The funny thing is, in most iterations, the highest missile is actually not included in either rack.

[Ando]

Anyway, as I was sitting here doing other forums stuff, I heard a telltale "clak, bounce" and sure enough, one of the stupid missiles launched itself into the absolute furthest corner of my room where it is irretrievable behind some furniture. Fantastic. I am beginning to hate these spring-loaded missiles, not just the Hailfire's, but all of them. Any vehicle like the AT-TE where a cannon is represented by a missile means it can and likely will get lost at some point.


Ando, I believe the reasons these missiles are so potent compared to most notch-back ones is that A) these missiles are unusually light, thin and long; and B) the launcher mechanism isn't ONLY a spring, it's got a plastic collar inside ahead of the spring for maximum contact.

And after 6 years, I too have now lost one of those missiles. The funny thing is, in most iterations, the highest missile is actually not included in either rack.

Same here. My nephew (the one in the red shirt), God bless him, loves the missiles, but most of the time when he's over playing I will hear

- "Uncle Andy? Where did it go?"
- "Where did what go?"
- "The missile."
- "Well, where did you shoot it?"
- "I dunno."
- "Okay, I will help you find it."

And then as I am digging behind the books on the book shelf where he normally launches them, he loads them up as I hand them back and procedes to fire them back behind the books.

Good thing they're just toys I buy for him and I to play with when he comes over.

I've only had the Hailfire Droid since the re-release in the 30th AC packaging in 2006, and it only took me a year to lose a missile.

I am sure as the younger nephew gets older, he will love the missiles, too. On Thanksgiving I taught him how to shoot the little Nerf single shot keychain blaster I bought earlier in the day.

[JediTricks]

Same here. My nephew (the one in the red shirt)

Wait, so your nephew isn't the Turbo Tank? Those are some cool pics, I didn't expect it to be big enough for him to ride tho', that's crazy.

God bless him, loves the missiles, but most of the time when he's over playing I will hear

- "Uncle Andy? Where did it go?"
- "Where did what go?"
- "The missile."
- "Well, where did you shoot it?"
- "I dunno."
- "Okay, I will help you find it."

And then as I am digging behind the books on the book shelf where he normally launches them, he loads them up as I hand them back and procedes to fire them back behind the books.

Ugh, this is one thing I'm glad my niece never got around to doing, that would drive me CRAAAAAZY. You are a very patient.

I've only had the Hailfire Droid since the re-release in the 30th AC packaging in 2006, and it only took me a year to lose a missile.

Those gray missiles have to be the worst, at least the original are red and easy to find. I was just looking at the TAC paintjob, and wondering where I could buy one as it's clearly superior. Same with the AAT.

I am sure as the younger nephew gets older, he will love the missiles, too. On Thanksgiving I taught him how to shoot the little Nerf single shot keychain blaster I bought earlier in the day.

That's awesome! I bought my niece that Nerf a few years ago too, my sister loved it but my niece had trouble figuring out the pump action, it is a little screwy.

[Ando]

Wait, so your nephew isn't the Turbo Tank? Those are some cool pics, I didn't expect it to be big enough for him to ride tho', that's crazy.

Ugh, this is one thing I'm glad my niece never got around to doing, that would drive me CRAAAAAZY. You are a very patient.

I was just looking at the TAC paintjob, and wondering where I could buy one as it's clearly superior.

That's awesome! I bought my niece that Nerf a few years ago too, my sister loved it but my niece had trouble figuring out the pump action, it is a little screwy.

[FONT=Courier New]Well the kid riding the TT is 1 1/2 yo nephew. His older brother Noah is the one in the red shirt. He's 4 1/2. My wife had to get my attention because Simon climbed onto the TT when I wasn't looking. [/FONT]
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[FONT=Courier New]Sometimes I am patient, sometimes I kinda lose it. Like when he kept asking for the bombs for the GH JSF's (which were in a Sterilite bin with the GH figures) and I kept repeating myself that I was getting them for him and he kept asking for them and I kept telling him that I was getting the bombs only to have him say:[/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New][/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New]- "What bombs?"[/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New]- "The bombs you keep asking for!" [/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New]- "Yeah, where are they bombs?"[/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New][/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New]I kinda raised my voice on that one simply because he's a lot like his granddad, my dad, who I also work with and does pretty much the same thing to me at the office and I forgot to keep my cool. I felt pretty bad about it actually, but normally I just answer his questions calmly until he moves on to something else.[/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New][/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New]Noah liked "the shooter", but had a hard time remembering not to push the button when he pumped it. Then when he saw the Maverick revolver/six shooter, he wanted to use that, but wasn't strong enough to **** it and I had to calm him down and show him that they both shoot just as far and only one at a time.[/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New][/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New]Simon on the other hand loved slapping his tiny little palm down on the button to launch the dart and that made Noah laugh really hard.[/FONT]

[Darth Jax]

i just never plug the missiles all the way in, so no misfires and no lost missiles

[JediTricks]

Well, I was fortunate, I went in there and decided to see if I could replicate it and trace the path. I fired the missile above it and it went a very short distance, I knew the other one went way further than that based on the "bounce" sound (off a Saga cinema scene box) but it confirmed the trajectory, and sure enough, right off the ricochet trajectory was the missile, hiding between Ephant Mon and that Rodian in the Max Rebo band. While I was digging it out, another missile launched off the hailfire but I was there to rescue it. Then I put back the AT-TE and 1 of the ball cannons on the front fired its cannon. I am getting really super sick of these, and I think I am gonna mutilate the Hailfire after all because this is getting downright stupid.

[FONT=Courier New]Well the kid riding the TT is 1 1/2 yo nephew. His older brother Noah is the one in the red shirt. He's 4 1/2. My wife had to get my attention because Simon climbed onto the TT when I wasn't looking. [/FONT]

Haw, I hadn't noticed that one of them is wearing a onsie over a red shirt, I saw both had red sleeves and left it at that.

[FONT=Courier New]Sometimes I am patient, sometimes I kinda lose it. Like when he kept asking for the bombs for the GH JSF's (which were in a Sterilite bin with the GH figures) and I kept repeating myself that I was getting them for him and he kept asking for them and I kept telling him that I was getting the bombs only to have him say:[/FONT]

[FONT=Courier New]- "What bombs?"[/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New]- "The bombs you keep asking for!" [/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New]- "Yeah, where are they bombs?"[/FONT]

[FONT=Courier New]I kinda raised my voice on that one simply because he's a lot like his granddad, my dad, who I also work with and does pretty much the same thing to me at the office and I forgot to keep my cool. I felt pretty bad about it actually, but normally I just answer his questions calmly until he moves on to something else.[/FONT]

The problem is that it seems like they're rational little people, but they're not.

[FONT=Courier New]Noah liked "the shooter", but had a hard time remembering not to push the button when he pumped it. Then when he saw the Maverick revolver/six shooter, he wanted to use that, but wasn't strong enough to **** it and I had to calm him down and show him that they both shoot just as far and only one at a time.[/FONT]

I have that Rev-6, love it. I got one for my niece a few years ago, she liked it but got bored quickly because of reloading. I know what you mean about cocking the Rev-6, my niece also had a problem with that.

[FONT=Courier New]Simon on the other hand loved slapping his tiny little palm down on the button to launch the dart and that made Noah laugh really hard.[/FONT]

Awesome! If only Hasbro could make that one with an easier to use pump, one that didn't require behavior-modification to use. I also love that button on the top, to be honest.

i just never plug the missiles all the way in, so no misfires and no lost missiles

I have a few bent ones from that, unfortunately. These missiles hate me.

[sonofsokol]

Awesome pics Ando... my 4 and 1/2 year old sounds very very similar to you nephew. I also have a 14 month old son. Hearing you talk about them is like deja vu... gotta love em though...(at least that is what my wife tells me).