Subject:
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Much to my surprise, Racers are kind of cool!!!!!!!! (4567 Surfer)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.reviews, lugnet.year.2001
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Date:
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Mon, 26 Feb 2001 04:30:19 GMT
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Viewed:
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37 times
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RACERS have LEGO studs on 'em! They have two cool decorated Spaceish elements.
The driver is a 2x2 brick and can be used as a little gargoyle. I used the
car brick on a Castle tower MOC today, so it is not useless! You just gotta
be creative with SPUDs, and they can be fun to use. The launcher is fast and
fun! I want another one! (especially Scratch, it looks awesome!)
set number 4567
???Town / Racers
Surfer
Ages 4-9 (older kids may have fun customizing it, though), 8 Pcs. (C)2001. 1
page manual/poster: 1 models, 1 steps.
Price Range: $3.49 - $3.99 CDN
RATINGS (Scale: Must-Have Excellent Very-Good Good Fair Poor)
Set: Good / Models: Fair / Playability: Very-Good to Excellent
DECALS? There are two decals. One is circular and has Surfer's symbol. The
other is rectangular and has information about Surfer's abilities. Both decals
go on the launcher.
SPECIAL FEATURES/COMPATIBILITY
Nothing special.
SET DESCRIPTION
The main model is a tiny blue and yellow car consisting of three pieces. It is
slightly over six studs long. There is a small (2x2) driver piece and a large
launcher/ramp that is powered by two elastic bands.
SPECIAL ELEMENTS
All of the elements in this set are unique to the RACERS theme (except for the
elastics, of course). There is a blue 2x6 brick with yellow wheels. The
wheels are permanently attached to the brick and have metal axles. There is a
grey bumper on one end of the brick, which can be pushed in. Pushing the
bumper tips the ‘seat', an irregular bump in the middle of the brick, to one
side. The other end has a blue bumper that doesn't move.
There are also two blue 2x2 motor slope bricks. One is taller and wider than
the other. They are quite attractive bricks, featuring Surfer's logo and cool
silver paint in UFO-like designs. Surfer himself is a 2x2 brick, smaller than
a standard LEGO figure. He has moulded legs and ears, with a painted on face.
He is dark grey and is hollow to allow him to fit on the seat.
The launcher is a large, flat piece of plastic that folds into a triangular
shape. It can also lock into a ramp when not being used as a launcher.
IMPRESSION
Set (Parts) Rating
Surprisingly, Surfer contains some Good parts. The car brick isn't that
useful, but it isn't completely useless either. It could be incorporated into
larger vehicles, or used on its own. The decorated 2x2 motor slopes are great
bricks. They are perfect for Space/LOM creations, especially for alien things.
As well as being useful vehicle elements, the larger piece could be used as a
mini-fig desk at your high-tech space school. The printing is very detailed
and clear. The driver piece is also a functional brick. It is owl or
bat-like, and may be used as a gargoye on a Castle or Adventurer structure. It
can also be used as an animal. The launcher folds into a ramp for stunts, and
since it is hard to make a smooth ramp with bricks it is also a welcome
addition to my collection.
Model Rating
The model is Fair, but not exraordinary. I felt that the elements were used
effectively, although the car could have included more pieces. It does not fit
in with other sets I have, but would work well with other RACERS. There aren't
any innovative ideas in the instructions, because there just isn't much
building. The concept of the theme in general is creative, though, and I like
the design of the launcher. This is definately a toy, and not a display piece.
Playability Rating
RACERS were designed with high playability in mind. I'll explain how it works.
The launcher is set up with the elastic bands pulled between two sides of the
triangle. When you push on one side, the other side collapses. The car is set
behind the launcher. You push down on the launcher with your hand (or your
foot, as I prefer), and the launcher collapses on the car. The car is forced
out from under the launcher and zooms across the floor. It is pretty fast.
Some RACERS games are shown on the poster, or you could invent your own. And
since the launching isn't dependent on the car design, other small LEGO cars
you build should be able to use it too. As for building play, there
unfortunately isn't much to do with the pieces in the box. But since the car
brick does have two 2x2 squares with studs (front and back), the car is
customizable with pieces from other sets. You could add axes, radar dishes,
chrome exhaust pipes.... For a small set, 4567 Surfer is quite amusing.
Very-Good to Excellent.
Likes/Dislikes
I like the decorated bricks and the launching action of this set. I dislike
the colour scheme on this set. Blue and yellow? With a dark grey driver?
Blue and yellow just don't look best together, and I would have prefered white
or grey wheels on Surfer. It is also unfortunate that mini-figs can't use the
new car brick.
Scale
RACERS invents a new scale that uses 2x2 brick monsters, which limits how they
can be used with other sets. My biggest gripe with this set is that it cannot
be used with mini-figures. The seat of the car is a large irregular stud that
can only be inserted into _hollow_ 2x2 bricks. Mini-figs could sit on the back,
but then they wouldn't fly out in crashes. It just wasn't designed with them
in mind. The new mini-monster figure is kind of cool, though.
Errors
This set was purchased in perfect condition.
Extra Elements
There was probably a third elastic, but I must have lost it already.
CONCLUSION
This set impressed me enough that I will be collecting some of the other
Racers. I would like to play competitive racing, and I would like to have the
interesting parts in other colours. I would not buy another copy of Surfer,
though. I do reccommend it, although probably not over any others in the
theme.
REVIEWER INFORMATION
Review Written: February 23, 2001
By: Brad
Age 14 Favorite Lines/Themes: Almost anything- Star Wars, Throwbots,
Town, Life on Mars, Castle.....
I buy sets for parts, but I usually end up liking the main models and leaving
them assembled :) I will probably customize this set and use the parts in
other creations.
COPYRIGHT
This review is Copyright 2001, by the author as named above. The
author grants publication rights for all uses, public and private,
with the following exceptions: all information in the document must
be published in full; any for-profit use requires express written
permission by the author for publication in full or in part.
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