Random set of the day: Outback Racer
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 6550 Outback Racer, released in 1997. It's one of 47 Town sets produced that year. It contains 48 pieces and 1 minifig, and its retail price was US$4.
It's owned by 2818 Brickset members. If you want to add it to your collection you might find it for sale at BrickLink or eBay.
Help me come to life! If you like the set I've chosen for you today, please pledge your support for me on LEGO Ideas so I have a chance of becoming an official LEGO set!
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28 comments on this article
The often forgotten Outback sub theme - I might be biased because of my home country, but it was great!
An actual great looking car for the year 1997, with doors, an openable roof, fenders, and windows on both sides.
Especially nice next to some of the Junior sets of 1997-2000
This looks like a monster truck crossed with a minivan
Weird for such small set, and from the 90s, to have stickers rather than already decorated parts. Ahead of its time.
Makes me proud to be an Australian. This set is as Aussie as the Danish Royal Family.
@chrisaw said:
"The often forgotten Outback sub theme - I might be biased because of my home country, but it was great!"
Having no sets with more than 167 pieces doesn't help it get remembered.
Ah, the year of DIVERS. Probably the last series of sets I collected thoroughly before my dark ages.
Another dark age RSotD...
I always wanted these sets as a kid! I also wondered how they were received in Australia... it sounds like very well!
I've never liked the front fender . I think it has a very limited use that leads to unattractive vehicles.
Very many of these Outback-themed sets were never actually available in Australia. I kept my eye out for them, but never saw many of them.
Had this as a kid. Didn't understand that it was supposed to be a rally car, so it didn't make much sense.
I loved this one!
Lego System always gets a like from me.
Not a massive criticism, but I must admit this looks kind of juniorised like today’s City sets.
Oh well, great to see Aussie representation!
Yellow car! (1 point)
Oh hey. This is another of those sets that I didn't even realise I had until I was sorting out my spare parts to sell. Must have been part of a job-lot I had picked up somewhere, and hadn't recognised it at the time.
I don't really have much to say about it, otherwise. It was... a car. And I'm not a car kinda guy, so it didn't stand out to me as anything very special, I guess?
Still, it's always nice to discover you have a complete set when you didn't even realise it before! ^^
Passed this one by as there were 8 deep sea exploration sets to collect that year which were far more interesting. Any chance of retricting Huwbot to pick sets with more than 50 pieces?
@ambr said:
"Any chance of retricting Huwbot to pick sets with more than 50 pieces?"
Definitely not! Tree number2 is a RSOTD classic!
2 RSOTD in a row that I own/owned.
Still remember quite well this car. Easy build, solid, stickers gave him a natural rally feeling! Cool set! Good memories!
There is juniorized junk in 1997, and then there are gems like the underwater or outback themes, including this great set.
I loved this set and all of the Outback theme, but especially 6444. Probably my favorite set of all time.
Town's last great hurrah, before it all went a bit wrong.
@ambr said:
"Any chance of retricting Huwbot to pick sets with more than 50 pieces?"
I hope not! There are so many cool small sets, and I always love reading people's nostalgic reminiscences about the little sets that I might otherwise overlook.
Plus, almost half of my childhood collection consisted of sets under fifty pieces, and I wouldn't want them to be ruled out xD
IIRC Huwbot doesn't pick sets older than 1978. I wish he did as there are lots of good and interesting sets from the 60s and 70s that clearly many members show an interest in as there were some picked by users as featured sets and there was the more recent London Bus article which all garnered much attention and nostalgia.
that is a good set
I bought this set during a visit to Disney World, Florida, in 1999. It's one of the last classic Town sets I was able to buy. I didn't build it as per instructions, though. Inspired by the sleek modern American sedans, like our Dodge Intrepid hire car, I lowered it, extended it (at this scale, one stud makes a difference), replaced the wheels with small slick racing wheels (still in yellow), and added a gold grille. I didn't use any of the stickers, and I don't know where they are now! Twenty years later, the MOD is still intact. https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10220051643936335&id=1081280729&set=a.10205251070171241&source=48
I can't say why, but I absolutely wanted this set back then in (February I guess?) 1997 and eventually got it.
I wasn't even disappointed after finding out that all the decals were stickers; it was a solid set and I had my fun with it.
It does not have any really exciting or rare elements in it - the car front element is somewhat uncommon (and also found in my very first set ever, 6530) and the green 1x4 tile was still relatively new in that year, but that's all.
I really don't know why exactly, but I still like this set today :)