Random set of the day: Road Rally V
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 8225 Road Rally V, released during 1995. It's one of 9 Technic sets produced that year. It contains 96 pieces and 1 minifig.
It's owned by 2,235 Brickset members. If you want to add it to your collection you might find it for sale at BrickLink or eBay.
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30 comments on this article
So that's what that piece is! https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=2791T=C
I've found a number of them in a LEGO collection I inherited when I was 8 from a family whose boys had all gone off to college and more, and I found plenty of random stuff in there including some clone brands, but there was always something about this piece that just had to be LEGO about it. I couldn't find a part number, and I'm not even sure it has the LEGO logo on it, but now the great mystery has finally been solved! I always figured it was some kind of space greebly thing, but I had nothing to go off of to search for it. I would have never thought of Technic when looking at it.
I've literally never seen that steering mechanism before. Was it made exclusively for this theme?
That steering system looks cool
@goldenguy880 said:
"I've literally never seen that steering mechanism before. Was it made exclusively for this theme?"
There a a few around. 8832 comes to mind. You could even adjust the pitch of the steering column within the system. It was quite efficient.
It is one of those cheap sets that seem to have a lot going for it. Like a two cycle motor, technic figure, steering function and a go cart. For me this might be one of my favorite technic sets that I own.
Wow, some of you are young if that steering system looks novel to you. In the 80s and 90s, the cheap Technic sets (relatively speaking, sets of this size were cheap since Technic sets on average were larger than standard System sets) came with this standard build for steering.
Anyway, this set symbolizes something that kept my interest in Technic at that age, and that was the presence of a Technic big-fig. I actually thought those guys were really cool and I was excited to see in the second half of the decade more small Technic sets come with them. I never got this set, but VTOL from 1997 (set 8222) was one such type of set. There were others, particularly once the sci-fi Cyber Slam started in 1998. Technic figures are now distant relics of the past, sadly.
Hmm, rack & pinion steering where the entire rack moves.... does away with the need to fill it with oil I suppose!
@Lego_Lord_Mayorca said:
"Wow, some of you are young if that steering system looks novel to you."
1994. The steering rack popped up in a Life on Mars set that I never got, and it was recolored in black on the original AT-TE, again, another set I never got. Looking at the stickers, I'd say I definitely have the parts to make this set, but I don't think I have the instructions, which is why I never marked it as something I own, and thus prolonging the mystery. The collection was just a bunch of loose parts and one binder of instructions that was very lacking considering the number of parts in the massive bins.
Road Rally V is certainly an improvement over the previous models. It's crazy seeing how far LEGO has come since the original Road Rally and Road Rally II sets.
Low sides, single seat, and wheels that are as small as the minifig’s head... it’s a Town car!
I would like to see LEGO make a UCS Technic fig. We already have HP figs, an old sculpture and a wooden block. How hard could it be? Hmm…
This is one of the few Technic sets I own. I probably would have bought more if they kept the Technic figs.
We all need more Technic figures in our lives...
@goldenguy880 said:
"I've literally never seen that steering mechanism before. Was it made exclusively for this theme?"
Yes it was made for technic and used a dozen times.
4482 was 1 one of the few none technic sets that used it
For the older sets/parts http://peeron.com/inv/parts/2791 sometimes works better to find them
Wait, did I have this set? The body of that vehicle looks familiar, I think I had the bare bones of it in my collection and later built another vehicle on top of it. Never had the technic figure though, maybe I just got the parts from a relative
i have 2 set with that steering mechanism , 8820 from 1991 and 8280 from 1995.
@PurpleDave said:
"Low sides, single seat, and wheels that are as small as the minifig’s head... it’s a Town car!"
And everybody knows Town cars are what yo go rallying with!
@Lego_Lord_Mayorca said:
"Wow, some of you are young if that steering system looks novel to you."
Maybe we're just old...
That image looks so crisp! It looks like such a modern photo to me.
Earlier technic sets like these tended to blend together. But by this era they became more distinctive to me. Stuff like the figs made them stand out. It also helped when they moved away from that boring blueprint background and gave the sets action shots!
Count me amongst the number who recognise that steering system; it was a key feature of 8216, the first Technic set I ever got, which was a present from my Aunt and Uncle when they visited us one time. Never really got overly attached to the set, since at the time I was really mostly in Lego for the minifigures and story-based themes, neither of which Technic had.
Still, it was a very neat mechanism, and the first time I'd encountered anything of the kind in a Lego set, so that was fun ^^
Funny that the key feature of this set, the moving piston, is hidden on the box art.
The steering mechanism is fairly strong and far better than the bits of plastic wire used in 8440 which broke far too easily. It also turns far more smoothly than using just a connector pin as in 42122 which seems a step backwards.
By coincidence, the last time the Atlanta Braves won the World Series was 1995.
This set looks like so much fun. I had a couple of Technic figs from the Arctic series, and I thought they were fantastic. They had more articulation than a GI Joe of the same time period, plus all those Technic holes for easy cyborgification.
Wow, a lot of comments making me feel really old all of a sudden! I remember this set, mainly because it was my first ever Technic set, which I got for my 7th birthday. I still remember it very well - first a little bemused at how it would fit into my city that was set up on the dining room table, but then amazement at the gears, axles and steering that I'd simply never seen before. A real eye-opener to a 7 year old!
@Lego_Lord_Mayorca: I echo your disappointment that the Technic figs are a thing of the past. I had so much fun with those guys...
@Huw: how about an article in technic minifigs?
I feel like I’m reading comments on RPotD, rather than RSotD. Anyways, I know I got the AT-TE that had these in black, but I was thinking maybe I got the actual steering rig in a go-kart set. I know I got a white hovercraft that’s just a bit larger than a Speed Champions car, and I kinda remember buying a go-kart set just to get a Technic fig to seat in the hovercraft, but I don’t see anything that resembles it on the list of parts that include that steering linkage.
@Aramor:
My hair’s still brown, and I play with toys. Clearly, I’m not.
love those technic guys. wish they still made sets with them
My first Technic set was 8022 which had the same steering components, along with several others. I always thought it was great. The main limitation was that the width + range of motion was pretty locked. But for smaller vehicles it always helpful to have an enclosed system.
Does anyone know what the gearing in the rear was for?
The steering mechanism unfortunately relied on the classic teethed Technic 1-width plates, that were prone to breaking. Since Lego abandoned the whole system in 1998 (some parts like the half-bush or the three-winged propeller plate were changed to non teethed versions) it was doomed that year.
4261, 4442, 2790, 2791, 2792 and 3647 were parts neccesary to form a full mechanism. 2790-2792 were the parts created specifically for that purpose for 8832 in 1988, where 2790 even came in black. I found a few 2792s in bulk lots where the holder for part 2790 was broken, since it's under a bit of stress during assembly. Maybe this was also a reason to discontinue the system alltogether.
Awkwardly there also exists a Bluish Gray version of the parts, since the re-release of 5541 Blue Fury in 2004 wasn't possible without re-introducing the old elements.