Random set of the day: Road Racer
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 6605 Road Racer, released during 1984. It's one of 17 Town sets produced that year. It contains 20 pieces and 1 minifig.
It's owned by 2,407 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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38 comments on this article
Printed parts, Lego.
You just know that if this set was released today, that "3" would be a sticker.
I’ve never raced a road. What are the rules? Does it have to be in a go-kart?
I think there's something off with that engine. Even in idle, those pipes are red hot. That can't possibly be good.
Get out of there man! It's gonna blow!
The best thing about the old sets is the builds are so simple that as a kid you could make something that looks as good as the instructions by yourself.
Is he related to Speed Racer?
2x megaphones for super loud exhaust :P
Beats walkin'
Apparently I started a massive debate about lore on yesterday's article and didn't realize till I tuned back in today. As far as I know, Brickset and Bricklink do have databases of most LEGO comics and books, though they don't catalogue many of the video games or commercials. For most of this media they don't give any sort of plot summary, though Brickipedia *sometimes* will.
Franchises like BIONICLE have the benefit of dedicated wikis like Biosector01, or fan-sites with every piece of media like Wall of History or Biomedia Project. However, not all LEGO themes are as lucky, and a lot of things fall by the wayside. As far as I know the German Time Cruisers Comic was unknown to the LEGO fanbase until Nick on Planet Ripple did his rewind on it a few years ago.
In addition, LEGO lore can be inconsistent. Especially between regions like UK and USA character names and plot lines can vary drastically. In addition there appears to be some sort of LEGO multiverse. Things like LEGO Universe, Legacy Heroes, or the LEGO Movie often depict the same characters but with entirely different personalities and in worlds with entirely different physics.
Even some of the heavy hitters like BIONICLE and Ninjago aren't immune to inconsistencies. The online bio for Gen 2's Skull Slicer stated he was reanimated from the dead when a Skull Spider climbed on his face, but his mask lacks Skull Spider legs and he is capable of taking it off freely in the online animations.
Whenever I give lore in these comments, I'm often taking as many stories of the franchise that I'm aware of and trying to mesh them together into as cohesive of a narrative as possible. For stuff like Exo Force or Hero Factory that's easy, 'cause they're consistent, but for stuff like Adventures or Insectoids I'm picking and choosing my favorite takes from different regions to craft an interesting story.
@Zordboy said:
"Printed parts, Lego.
You just know that if this set was released today, that "3" would be a sticker."
60322 would like a word! Released this year, with a printed 8, PLUS printed parts on the sides! It's not all doom and gloom.
@Norikins : Yes; second cousin, twice-removed...Here he comes, here comes Road Racer...:)
I’m pretty sure that’s not street legal. You might even need a signed waiver to get that on a go-kart track.
@sirventricle said:
" @Zordboy said:
"Printed parts, Lego.
You just know that if this set was released today, that "3" would be a sticker."
60322 would like a word! Released this year, with a printed 8, PLUS printed parts on the sides! It's not all doom and gloom."
They didn't apply sickers on slopes back then as they thought they wouldn't stick well onto the texture. However, today LEGO uses prints only on parts that have the potential to be used in multiple sets and therefore are worth the very valuable storage place.
Ultimately, the choice is between print or unique design.
Yeah I know. 4+ still gets prints. You are supposed to allign stickers correctly by 5, but then you still have one piece per instruction page.
@PurpleDave Legoland has different rules. Most races take place on the open road, sometimes during rush hour.
@jkb:
Rush hour was a real shock, today. Mask mandate was lifted at work, and I’m thinking all the work-from-home crowd got called back into the office, because I’m having a hard time remembering when we had traffic that heavy. On the plus side, it pretty much shuts down the occasional mid-afternoon drag-racing, and I probably won’t be seeing anyone like that guy a few years back who was doing well over the limit on a Friday, in a convertible with the top down, and his hands raised as high as he could reach.
Anyone who races go-karts in traffic around here will be ruled a suicide.
@jkb said: "Yeah I know. 4+ still gets prints."
That would explain why the 4+ sets always feel so much pricier than the rest.
I have this one on a shelf next to 6624 and 6650. (Those three also occasionally end up doing cookies on my desk when I need to fidget with something.)
From 6605 to 60322, wow... It's amazing to see how much Lego has changed over the years. Although I love simple smiley faces, expressive faces gives that animated feeling which makes them more lively. I don't know, I just feel like that.
"Road Racer?" What's next, an airplane named "Air Flier?" (I actually checked the database to make sure there wasn't actually a set named that.)
@stepwise: "Doing cookies?" Is that anything like "doing doughnuts?"
Reminds me of the sets I used to get with my Happy Meal as a kid, which I guess isn't the worst thing in the world
In the context of all the wonderful Space parts being produced by 1984, 6605 somehow didn't feel all that special, as if it had been something Lego forgot to release three or four years earlier. Also, it is very very blue.
Always nice to see that yellow Legoland stripe again, though!
@Norikins said:
"Is he related to Speed Racer?"
What? Noooo, Road Racer, his car the Mach 3 and his acclaimed rival Racer Y are completely separate, totally original characters, no idea what you’re talking about…
The set you got three of as a gift on your birthday party
@MeisterDad said:
"I’ve never raced a road. What are the rules? Does it have to be in a go-kart?"
Do not try and race the road, that's impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth.
There is no road.
Curious what the megaphones at the back are for? Wouldn't look out of place as a moon buggy! 6436 was number 1, so does anyone know what happened to number 2?
@Aramor said:
" @MeisterDad said:
"I’ve never raced a road. What are the rules? Does it have to be in a go-kart?"
Do not try and race the road, that's impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth"
Agree, because the road is always there before you, no matter how fast you are. Winning is impossible.
@TheOtherMike These guys do their own thing, namely cookies. If you can, you can.
@Zordboy this. And rarer large parts, though it seems thy use less of tose recently.
@Zordboy:
Besides prints, 4+ sets have a higher percentage of minifig parts, due to having low piece counts. Many have the not-quite-plate/not-quite-brick bases, connecting ramps, and prefab car bodies (which are pre-assembled from three pieces). Parts tend to be quite a bit larger than normal. And having just built 76830, the instructions run close to one page per piece (2-page spreads showing outlines of hands with two pieces on the left, and where to attach them on the right).
@TheOtherMike:
Keebler Fudge Stripes Minis.
@Aramor:
Where we’re going, we don’t need roads? I mean, this looks like the sort of thing parents don’t let their kids take out of the driveway.
@ambr said:
"Curious what the megaphones at the back are for? Wouldn't look out of place as a moon buggy! 6436 was number 1, so does anyone know what happened to number 2?"
It's a sad, sad story... He was racing on Legoland's streets and, predictably, had a fatal accident. Legoland's coroner, Dave Purple, ruled that 2's driving was so reckless his death amounted to suicide. Unsurprisingly, LEGO doesn't like to talk about what happened to number 2.
@Zander said:
" @ambr said:
"Curious what the megaphones at the back are for? Wouldn't look out of place as a moon buggy! 6436 was number 1, so does anyone know what happened to number 2?"
It's a sad, sad story... He was racing on Legoland's streets and, predictably, had a fatal accident. Legoland's coroner, Dave Purple, ruled that 2's driving was so reckless his death amounted to suicide. Unsurprisingly, LEGO doesn't like to talk about what happened to number 2."
No.2 needed larger wheels 6502. Then he went for a swim 6508.
@Zander said: "It's a sad, sad story... He was racing on Legoland's streets and, predictably, had a fatal accident. Legoland's coroner, Dave Purple, ruled that 2's driving was so reckless his death amounted to suicide. Unsurprisingly, LEGO doesn't like to talk about what happened to number 2."
Wow.
That got dark in a hurry.
One of my very first Lego sets! And while even back then this didn't make much sense to me, I still loved it!
And for what it's worth: that printed 3 still looks way better than any of the stickers I applied back then. Just for that fact I'll never understand why some people so frantically defend the massive use of stickers over prints.
@jkb:
I wouldn’t want to swim with No. 2.
@WizardOfOss:
It’s not, “Oh my gosh, I prefer stickers,” defending, but, “getting tired of grown adults whinging about 4-year-olds getting two prints per set and wanting to know why the company that posted two huge annual losses two decades ago won’t give them dozens of single-use prints in dozens of high-end sets that blew their parts budgets on minifigs and recolored and elements.” All those fancy $200+ sets that we all drool over? Stickers are the price we pay for getting that adult-targeted range of sets that never existed when we were kids. Absolutely don’t want to deal with stickers? Nobody is forcing you to buy the sets. Creator 3-in-1 probably doesn’t use many, I’d guess.
@WizardOfOss said:
"One of my very first Lego sets! And while even back then this didn't make much sense to me, I still loved it!
And for what it's worth: that printed 3 still looks way better than any of the stickers I applied back then. Just for that fact I'll never understand why some people so frantically defend the massive use of stickers over prints."
I myself, being an 80s/90s kid, DO prefer prints over stickers. On the other hand, what I did post above is a reasonable explanation, isn't it? That's how I understand it: Both solutions have pros and cons.
Btw. the storage problem was LEGO's explanation long time ago. It has been repeated again and again. Yet people come back again and again. Apparently, uncomfortable info doesn't stick.
@jkb:
It also doesn’t accomplish anything helpful to keep complaining about it to other AFOLs who aren’t on LEGO payroll. I can’t change the policy, you can’t change the policy, @Huw can’t change the policy, so I’m not sure why endless complaints, especially from the same people, end up here.
@PurpleDave, While I’m no fan of stickers, I don’t count myself among those who constantly decry them online either. I just don’t use them much, that’s all.
However, it does make sense for their detractors to say so often and vociferously. Like all large brands, LEGO undoubtedly engages in ‘social [media] listening’, monitoring opinions expressed online on fan sites such as this one as well as general purpose platforms like Reddit and Twitter. The more frequent and vocal the objections, the more likely they are to influence decisions in Billund. By itself, the whinging isn’t going to make a difference, but combined with other market research LEGO does, it can tip the balance in favour of printing some parts.
I still have this set. It was one of my first in childhood. Love it and so fun to see it up on brickset. Still have the minifigure too!
@PurpleDave , for everything is a time and a place. And in itself I can understand the use of stickers for some part, especially in play set a generic part with a sticker can even be preferable over a printed part which would limit the use of it. I mean, just look at 42112 . And besides, kids love stickers, it even surprises me that Lego doesn't include a few extra stickers in every set, like they did with the 10279 (which, ironically, isn't a kids set...).
It's just that if I pay a premium price for one of those very expensive, adult-oriented display models, why shouldn't I ask for premium quality to match? I mean, I really like the BttF DeLorean, but even on the official pictures the sticker on the Mr. Fusion looks pretty terrible. Same thing with the Space Shuttle.
Considering much smaller brands with often (much) lower prices can do it (and apparently still make a profit!), why can't Lego?
Obviously, this particular set wasn't exactly a display model aimed at collectors, so a sticker would probably have been fine here. But I'm just glad it's not, since now after about four decades later I can still build it as it was supposed to be.
This was one of my first Lego sets, maybe even the very first. I still have the parts in my Lego bin somewhere. The "3" is a bit faded not, though.
"Hey that guy stole my building's street number for his car!!! (See 9356)"