Lego Speed Racer
Encyclopedia
Lego Speed Racer is a 2008 Lego
Lego
Lego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...

 theme based on the 2008 film Speed Racer
Speed Racer (film)
Speed Racer is a 2008 American live action film adaptation of Tatsuo Yoshida's 1960s Japanese anime series of the same name, produced by Tatsunoko Productions. The film is written and directed by the Wachowskis...

(which is based on the cartoon of the same name
Speed Racer
Speed Racer is an English adaptation name of the Japanese manga and anime, which centered on automobile racing. Mach GoGoGo was originally serialized in print form in Shueisha's 1958 Shōnen Book, and was released in tankōbon book form by Sun Wide Comics, re-released in Japan by Fusosha...

). It consists of four sets which were first released in April 2008.

Overview

In January 2008 it was announced that The Lego Group had acquired the rights from Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...

 to produce four sets based on the upcoming Speed Racer
Speed Racer (film)
Speed Racer is a 2008 American live action film adaptation of Tatsuo Yoshida's 1960s Japanese anime series of the same name, produced by Tatsunoko Productions. The film is written and directed by the Wachowskis...

film. Lego has previously partnered with Warner Bros., creating Batman
Lego Batman
Lego Batman is a theme and product range of the Lego construction toy, introduced in 2006, based on the superhero character Batman, under license from DC Comics. The sets feature vehicles, characters and scenes from the comics and films. The inspirations for the design of these varies widely...

 and Harry Potter
Lego Harry Potter
iLego Harry Potter is a Lego theme based on the films of the Harry Potter series. Lego models of important scenes, vehicles and characters were made for the first six films and all the books released...

 themes. The Speed Racer theme was released under the Lego Racers
LEGO Racers
Lego Racers is a racing video game developed by High Voltage Software and published by Lego Media, released for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color, and PlayStation. The player races various characters made of Lego in custom-built go-karts based on the Lego Racers product line in an...

 brand.

The four sets were first released in the United States on April 3, 2008. In the United Kingdom the sets Speed Racer & Snake Oiler, Racer X & Taejo Togokhan, and Grand Prix Race were released on April 6, 2008, while Cruncher Block & Racer X was released later at the start of May.

Sets

Speed Racer & Snake Oiler is a 242-piece set. It features the Mach 5 supercar and Oiler's orange race car, both around 17 cm (6.5") long, and two minifigures: Speed Racer, wearing a blue pullover, and Snake Oiler. 'Racer X & Taejo Togokhan' is a 237-piece set. It features a red and black racecar, a yellow and black race car, both around 16 cm (6") long, and two minifigures: Racer X
Racer X (Speed Racer character)
is a recurring fictional character in the manga and anime series Speed Racer.-Role in the series:Racer X is a heroic, mysterious, flamboyant, selfless, sympathetic and often brooding soldier of fortune. His true identity is , the eldest son of Mom and Pops Racer and the older brother of Speed and...

 and Taejo Togokahn, wearing a white suit. Cruncher Block & Racer X is a 367-piece set. It features the same yellow and black race car from the 'Racer X & Taejo Togokhan' set, a 33 cm (13") semi truck and four minifigures – Racer X, Cruncher Block, Cruncher's driver, and Taejo Togokahn. Grand Prix Race is a 595-piece set. It features the Mach 6 racecar, a black and yellow racecar, a black and grey race car, a commentators box, a car workshop, and seven minifigures: Speed Racer wearing white racing coveralls, Gray Ghost, Cannonball Taylor, Pops Racer, Spritle, Trixie, and a commentator.
8158 Speed Racer & Snake Oiler April 3, 2008 242 2
8159 Racer X & Taejo Togokhan April 3, 2008 237 2
8160 Cruncher Block & Racer X April 3, 2008 367 4
8161 Grand Prix Race April 3, 2008 595 7

Reception

Animetion.co.uk rated the set 'Speed Racer & Snake Oiler' (8158) four out of five, stating the set is "great fun to build and are good enough to display or play". They however criticized the use of stickers due to the large margin of error when applying them to the bricks and that one sticker covers three bricks, which could lead to problems when deconstructing the set.
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