Random set of the day: Torch
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 8500 Torch, released during 1999. It's one of 33 Technic sets produced that year. It contains 33 pieces, and its retail price was US$6.
It's owned by 2,203 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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34 comments on this article
This guy can withstand the hottest temperatures, yet will still feel the burn from being roasted about having a face for his crotch.
Torch say you listen to small head! Fire burn!
More Slizer!
Torch was a strange design, to me ... because the body is upside-down, and his head is down near his groin. I definitely remember rebuilding mine to give him a body-shape more in line with the others.
I saw the title before I saw the set--and I was sure for a moment that this was a Hero Factory set (and they ARE somehow old enough to feature here, some of them), but no, relief flooded in.
Or is it relief? I know about as much about Throwbots as I do about Hero Factory, and they bookend Bionicle in similar ways, build-wise: Throwbots were proto-Bionicles and the earliest Hero Factory reused the Bionicle frame before Constraction truly arrived.
Of course, the colours of Throwbots speak so much more to the end of the 1990s and Hero Factory to the early 2010s.
All of which is to say very little about Torch, but, then, I only know about much about Throwbots as I do about Hero Factory... i.e. not much. I assume he likes fire.
@MCLegoboy said:
"This guy can withstand the hottest temperatures, yet will still feel the burn from being roasted about having a face for his crotch."
"My eyes are down here"
Say what you will about Slizers/Throwbots, but in 1999, getting Technic gears in new colors was spectacular.
How embarrassing, Lego gave him a crotch but wasn`t kind enough to give him a head.
They did a much better job at giving Pohatu an upside down torso. Although Torch's head location can make sense if you think about the fact that heat and smoke rise.
when mom says we have bionicle at home
Not sure which looks worse to my eyes, the design of the figure or the background art, but those gears would be cool to have in bright red
I'm not going to make any jokes about crotches and being on fire.
One of my first! I really liked the Throwbots, despite never quite understanding the collectible nature of their discs.
I ended up playing with Ski and Jet much more, but he still had a special place in my heart.
@PicnicBasketSam:
They would have, if they actually were. Instead, they were slightly darker.
Another Slizer so quickly? Cool!
The head crotch is super weird. But, credit where credit's due... it certainly makes him feel alien!
I am pretty sure it was called "Fire" not torch.
I loved Slizers, I have 3: Energy, Sub and City (assembled!). I remember always wanting Judge but it was never available in my local store. Fun, simpler times.
I love this theme so much. Other than Bionicle, I'd say it's my favorite Technic-based theme. I only had a few Throwbots as a kid (namely Jet, Amazon, and Flare) but I have a ton of fond memories playing with just those 3. Back in 2018 or so, I managed to buy the entire rest of the theme via a few good deals. Of course I have my favorites, but I think they all look awesome together on display. All of them have incredibly striking color schemes and command quite a presence, despite being relatively small figures.
Personally, I'd love to see TLG return to making stuff like this - small, affordable action figures with tons of personality. Last time we saw anything like that was Mixels, and that's already getting to be quite awhile ago. I don't know how realistic it is to wish for it, but I hope we get to see one more attempt at some sort of constraction theme, technic or otherwise. I feel like a lot could be accomplished by going back to the aesthetic roots of Slizers, Roboriders, and early Bionicle, even if the building system isn't exactly the same. Maybe one day!
Roboriders were cool too, you are right! I also got 3 of those :). The quest of trying to build those combined from 3 or more where instructions were only available online and back then in eastern europe very few people had access to the internet.
It's Tahu's predecessor!
Torch was the last of the original four Throwbots that I got in 1999. Although I was aware of the other four by that point, I felt like I have tapped as much interest out of Scuba, Ski, Turbo, and Torch to not justify buying four more in different colors. That would change in 2000 with the release of bigger Throwbots, but for 1999, Torch was the last one.
Unlike Turbo, Torch was able to be posed quite interestingly, and his fire hand was all-too-often imagined as a massive flamethrower that give him superiority in fights over the other Throwbots. Yes, back then, I was still making up my own stories with my LEGO sets as I played with them. LEGO didn't give much in the way of a story for them here in the USA, other than some enigmatic vignettes on their various throwing discs. But they looked so cool!
Torch is still sort of folded up in his carrying case. I recall at one point swapping out his flame hand for the one on Tahu when it cracked and broke, so Torch is down for the count. Perhaps one day I'll fine another red hand socket in good shape and I can refurbish Torch to his former blazing glory.
@rvnlord said:
"I am pretty sure it was called "Fire" not torch.
I loved Slizers, I have 3: Energy, Sub and City (assembled!). I remember always wanting Judge but it was never available in my local store. Fun, simpler times."
Yeah, it's even in the set image. The Slizers' full names included "Slizer" in the name, so this one was the Fire Slizer. "Torch" was the Throwbots name. I don't know how Brickset decides which regional name to use for a particular set or theme.
Oh, yeah. These characters are pretty sick. I had the yellow one, and my bro – the brown one.
This box art just screams: FAMILY FRIENDLY ALL INCLUSIVE INTERLOCKING BRICKS TOY right?
Hey...I had some of this one. By which I mean: I had 'parts', but not a complete version...really like/ed the big red gear, but the design never really 'won me over' from 'brick builds'...In fact: the only Lego 'non-brick' that did/has won a spot on my shelf is 'constructafig' Green Lantern/Hal Jordan:)
Ah yes, the hunchback of not-a-bionicle-yet.
AKA Torch AKA Fire Slizer.
Like most others here I at first was always bothered by his build. But now I love him for it. The Slizers/Throwbots theme has a roster of varying characters, and especially the original 8 were all unique from each other (Glares at Spark from 2000). I appreciate how Torch has a unique character silhouette, which is something he wouldn't have had if he had been constructed the regular way. Jungle/Amazon and Sub/Hydro would have looked too similar.
There's a lot of charm to the little guy.
That said, Pohatu from 2001 did it better. But remember that this is just the first iteration of a constraction theme!
@LegoSonicBoy said:
" @rvnlord said:
"I am pretty sure it was called "Fire" not torch.
I loved Slizers, I have 3: Energy, Sub and City (assembled!). I remember always wanting Judge but it was never available in my local store. Fun, simpler times."
Yeah, it's even in the set image. The Slizers' full names included "Slizer" in the name, so this one was the Fire Slizer. "Torch" was the Throwbots name. I don't know how Brickset decides which regional name to use for a particular set or theme."
Generally things just get listed under the US name. Which is a real shame as I’m always nostalgic for those quirky Eurozone names I grew up with.
I always wondered what the idea was behind Torch’s unique design; is he actually supposed to be upside down because that’s all they could think of to make his build different, or is he just supposed to have one hell of a hunch
@Zordboy said:
"More Slizer!
Torch was a strange design, to me ... because the body is upside-down, and his head is down near his groin. I definitely remember rebuilding mine to give him a body-shape more in line with the others."
We used to take our Slizers to school, and I had to do this as well, because everyone was laughing at him for having "his head on his balls". Pretty sure I nearly cried from all the empathy I've felt for him!
My first and also my favorite Slizer / Throwbot. Always liked the hunched look they gave him, added character. Flamethrower hand was pretty good too.
My second Slizer! 8506 Rock was my first; then, for my birthday party in 2000, this guy was a present from one of my friends. It was one of only two years for which I chose to have an actual party; the party itself was Toy Story 2 themed, since I was a huge fan of that movie, but by that point most of my friends knew I liked Lego, so a few of them bought sets for me.
I came out of that party with this guy, 8513 Dust Roborider, and 5920 Island Racer, which was pretty neat! My memory's weird though; I can recall exactly which of my friends gave me this guy, but I could not say who gave me either of the other two, other than that they definitely came from the same party. Hm.
One of the other things I liked a lot about the Slizers, other than their really cool head designs and robotic aesthetic, was the way they often used minifigure-scale accessories as their weapons. Fire's flames, Rock's pickaxes, Jungle's ninja sword, Sub's harpoon. I'd never imagined using them on larger figures before, so as a kid I thought it was a really cool touch.
It's interesting that we get this one now as RSOTD, after that Spider-man action figure review of yesterday. Which as I see it is a pretty poor use of Lego pieces to create something that's lacking both in play and display value.
I am not that familiar with this Slizers theme, but to me this looks like a much better approach for a Lego action figure. Sure, it looks pretty weird, especially this one with his crotch-head. And it does use a lot of special pieces, though most of the connections are still standard Lego. But for something a lot cheaper I see a lot more play value compared to that Spidey. To me, this looks like a great use of the Lego system to create something very much unlike regular Lego.
Is that a torch in his pocket or is he just pleased to see me?
I only vaguely remember seeing the Throwbots in the mini-catalogs of 1999, and didn't pay them any attention at the time. But after discovering BrickLink in 2014 and seeing how cheap they were, even with the containers, I ended up collecting them all (and RoboRiders) to tie in with the early Bionicle sets. Lots of great pieces in colors that never came in any other sets.
@bookmum:
Do you date a lot of arsonists?
I did a double take on opening this thread, and what has been seen cannot be unseen.
I know what my nightmares are going to be about tonight.
As a kid, I always saw him as having a hunchback. Only recently (relatively speaking) have I heard how many people refer to him as crotch face. Not sure what this says. Maybe I was just too innocent lol.