Random set of the day: Tuner X
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 8666 Tuner X, released during 2006. It's one of 23 Racers sets produced that year. It contains 61 pieces, and its retail price was US$4/£2.99.
It's owned by 1,778 Brickset members. If you want to add it to your collection you should find it for sale at BrickLink, where new ones sell for around $11.70, or eBay.
42 likes
18 comments on this article
The magenta flame stickers make it go faster. Proven scientific fact.
Lore time!
(Copied from Fandom.com)
Racer X (initially The Masked Racer) is a frequent recurring character in Speed Racer's adventures. Racer X drives the number 9 car, the Shooting Star.
Racer X is a heroic, mysterious, flamboyant, selfless, sympathetic and often brooding soldier of fortune. His true identity is Rex Racer (?? ??, Mifune Ken'ichi), the eldest son of Mom and Pops Racer and the older brother of Speed and Spritle. His 'Racer X' moniker is actually a play on his own first name Rex. Years before the start of the series, when Rex was 18 years old (Speed's current age), he had a falling out with Pops after wrecking the Mach 1 (the first car Pops ever built) at the end of his first race as a professional driver (seen in flashbacks throughout the series).
Pops had told Rex prior to the race that Rex was not yet prepared to compete at the professional racing level. With less than one lap to go in his first major race, Rex was leading and cruising toward victory, but lost control of the car and wrecked it. Pops exploded with anger and berated Rex. In an even more enraged response, Rex fled the family and exiled himself while vowing to become the world's greatest race car driver. During his exile, Rex assumed the mysterious Racer X (a.k.a. Masked Racer) identity, to pursue his racing career.
Throughout the course of Speed Racer, Racer X's identity is periodically revealed to the audience as Rex, while Speed is unaware of it. Speed starts to suspect that Racer X might, in fact, be his estranged older brother in the "Challenge of the Masked Racer" saga (episodes 3 and 4). Speed finds out that Racer X is his long lost brother near the end of the series in "The Trick Race".
It was acknowledged by both Pops and Speed over the years that Racer X was the superior driver of the two, and the greatest driver that they had ever seen, but Speed always vowed to defeat Racer X as the two vigorously competed. Speed was often suspicious of Racer X's identity and motives because Racer X would repeatedly, and inexplicably, sacrifice winning races to protect Speed from drivers and others who tried to harm him. The assistance from Racer X nearly always led to Speed winning races, while Racer X came in second place. Racer X always left the scene unnoticed, receding into his secret life.
Lore time!
Wait, this is TUNER X?
[slinks off the stage in shame]
@MCLegoboy said:
"The magenta flame stickers make it go faster. Proven scientific fact."
I thought it was Red ones go faster. So says the Orkz. Could possibly be a Bad Moonz outfit with the paintjob.
@MCLegoboy said:
"The magenta flame stickers make it go faster. Proven scientific fact."
Forget about Nitrous Oxide, don't bother with weight reduction, cancel that engine turbocharger and get rid of that aerodynamic spoiler: magenta flames are where it's at if you got the need for speed!
I'm actually loving the pink and yellow colour scheme, here.
EIGHT SIX SIX SIX
THE NUMBER OF TUNER X
\m/
I just bought these for the yellow cheese wedges...
Sorry 'Racer X', this isn't your car...nor yours 'Samurai X'...Not either of 'Triple X' as well...we could be here a while...:)
Love these little sets but they are pretty hard to complete used for all the stickered parts, which in this case cover almost 100% of the yellow pieces.
These were fun. I wish I’d collected more. But like Purple Dave, I was mainly buying them as parts packs because I think I still wasn’t using Bricklink yet.
@peterlmorris:
I was using Bricklink at that time, but yellow cheese wedges were brand new in 2006, only coming in five sets that year. At $3.99 with 6 yellow cheese wedges, this was the only set with a PPCW below $1. I built my first 6-wide car in late 2006/early 2007, and to this date I don’t think I’ve designed a single minifig-scale car that doesn’t use at least one cheese wedge somewhere. I bought lots of Tiny Turbos sets because it was quicker than using BL, and the (usually) low cost of the TT sets combined with the abundant use of stickers (I think the rims were the only printed parts), and the small scale of the models necessitating heavy use of tiny parts, these were an invaluable resource for a time.
Amidst all the hypermacho titles given to cars in the Racer line, your Nitros and Demons and the like, Tuner feels a little half-hearted. Does the driver secretly wish to be a musician not a racer and this is them dropping hints?
@brick_r said:
"Sorry 'Racer X', this isn't your car...nor yours 'Samurai X'...Not either of 'Triple X' as well...we could be here a while...:)"
'Professor X', this isn't yours either...
Oh I have this one. The amount of stickers is abhorrent, including STAMPs, and they got damaged easily. Also one of the suspension pieces broke. But other than that it's a cool looking car.
This was a favourite of mine as a 12 year old kid! The pink-yellow design was so striking and memorable!
To be honest, after the EIGHT memorably distinct Tiny Turbos from 2005 the 2006 ones only partially stuck in my mind. They just all started to blend together.
The horrible CG imagery and weird angle didn't help, but I rarely looked at these in the catalog. I am also not a car person and only own one, 8644 Street Maniac.
I loved the first couple of TT-series. Later on it got a bit repetative, and I lost interest. But I think they've got a big role for me not falling seriously into a Dark Age.
A random set of the day that I own?! Along with it's counterpart 8661 that I picked up on a whim when I was in my early 20's and kept on my dresser. Currently built as the single unit together I've been debating separating them.