Review: 8675 Racers - Outdoor Challenger

[KimT]

Earlier this morning I went to Bilka [big discount chain] and they had a 40% off on all LEGO.

I bought the 7709 Sentai Fortress and 8675 Outdoor Challenger RC.

The new RC has the following:

a top speed at 22 km/h

outdoor durability

and a flashy neon green look :-X

For now I've taken some pictures to start the review off.

First the box and packing of the set:

and it even has a promising feature. It can be closed again:

But unfortunately TLC decided that noone would ever store their LEGO RC and therefore they used the sorry cardboard boxes to pack the set in. After unpacking there's no chance in H*** that You'll ever pack it back. |-/

This is it so far. A teaser on what to come.

When I've charged the batteries and build the models I'll return with a full review.

KimT

[xwingyoda]

Tks Kim ;-)

Don't brake anything Indoors though :-D :-P

Are you going to MOC this baby to get rid of that CRAP colour pattern by any chance ?

Drive On !!

*yoda*

[KimT]

I'll try to get rid of the neon green by using parts from the Red Beast RC.

And yeah I tested this baby in Legoland and it goes really fast and it hurts like nothing else to be hit by it :-/

KimT

BTW brake or break? If I don't brake indoors I'm surely going to break something :-P ;-)

[Jipay]

Can't wait for the review ! This is the kind of babies we should use if we ever make a show at legoland next year. Like a customed rally version of it

[xwingyoda]

Loool yeay, an obstacle course race between empty boxes of Lego sets and bottles of beer :-D

Race On !!

*yoda*

[KimT]

After testing here's the review:

The Racer:

The neon green colour pushed me off at first, but after seeing the finished racer I find it kinda cool. It adds a aggresive look to a seriously dangerous racer *wub* One could buy the colour scheme kits for the dirt crusher RC that would fit neatly and allow a change to either red, blue or regular green. :-)

Here's a few pics of the racer that the instructions suggest:

and a top view pic:

After being persuaded to take the racer out of the appartment :-| (I did hit my girlfriend, her friend, the table, a chair and a portable pc that flipped over) I took it downstairs and tested it outside and *wub* *wub* *wub* *wub* it ROCKED. It has 3 different gears. I have nothing much to say about the first two gears - they were shortly tested and then I rammed it into 3rd gear and let it RIP.

And it was awesome, it ran so fast I had trouble controlling it X-D .

The backyard allowed me to test this baby on pavement and on grass and it worked pretty well on both. The wheels went into a spin when shifting from reverse to forward and vice versa :-D

Unfortunately after pushing the racer hard for 15 minutes or so, it started showing wear *n*

The control range vastly decreased ending up with the car not being able to move after some 20 minutes |-/

I hope this is only because it was the first run on a newly charged rechargeable battery :-/

But battery packs can be bought via S@H or on Bricklink for 16USD. I am recharging the battery and will post if the durability changes.

[to be continued]

VERDICT:

The new racers has a rechargeable battery *y*

It runs around 22 km/h *y*

It can be modified by either kits or other RC *y*

It seems to only run for 15-20 minutes *n*

The retail price is insanely high *n*

The box does not allow storing when not used *n*

The racer is hilarious and allows hours of fun *y*

It works in rain, dirt and sunny weather *y*

The RC control has 3 channels - fight your friends *y*

All in all I'll give it an 8/10 score due to the simple fact that the batteries might have a short durability and this requires extra batteries >:-(

If You find it cheaper than retail BUY IT!

KimT

RACE ON!

PS: I'm so gonna bring this to the next event. Then we could buy some Belville or Scala at LET IT RIP X-D

[Lord Thrawn]

I think I speak for us all when I say

"We demand videos!"

I saw the blue one in action in a LEGO Store, but it was very confined in space. Outside, I can imagine how much fun I could have with this baby!

[Asuka]

Thank you for this review, i am very interested in this set. And well.... maybe this color is useful

for scaring away the ants from my lawn.... *skull* By now i don

[Kahgarak]

Hey,i like that color scheme!Black with neon green,with red stripes *wub* .

Great design also,looks like a fun RC Racer to...well...race with. :-| :-P

[KimT]

Thank you for this review, i am very interested in this set. And well.... maybe this color is useful

for scaring away the ants from my lawn.... *skull* By now i don

[xwingyoda]

Kim,

I remember seeing in Billund some parts to "pimp" this ride :-D

Seriously I just remember seeing new rims and colored tires, so maybe there are new "body" elements as well.

Hope this helps for future mods hehe !!

And yes, I would love like a crazy Kim driving vids :-D Kim's most funniest video crash or something like that :-D ;-)

Drive On !!

*yoda*

[KimT]

You're probably thinking of the Spare Kits for the Dirt Crusher that holds the same parts as the Outdoor Challenger. Yeah I've thought of those - they can be bought on BL for around 12 USD for either 4 new tires or a makeover of all the bricks on the RC.

KimT

[xenologer]

Can you tell us about compatibility with Technic and System legos?

Could you attach the motors to a technic chassis and make something completely different? like motorize a dump truck or something?

how about the chance of using a Mindstorms controller to control those powerful motors?

[JINZONINGEN73]

I'm a sucker for black and lime Lego creations, so I've been waiting for a review of this.

Oh, the things I want to make with those panels.

Is the battery specifically a Lego-ONLY configuration or is there a common equivalent sold by other manufacturers?

[KimT]

I'm a sucker for black and lime Lego creations, so I've been waiting for a review of this.

Oh, the things I want to make with those panels.

Is the battery specifically a Lego-ONLY configuration or is there a common equivalent sold by other manufacturers?

The batteriy is manufactured in China for the Lego Cooperation. But it looks like a regular rechargeable battery with a quite ordinary connector piece. Check legoshop.com for a better pic of the battery pack.

""Can you tell us about compatibility with Technic and System legos?

Could you attach the motors to a technic chassis and make something completely different? like motorize a dump truck or something?

how about the chance of using a Mindstorms controller to control those powerful motors?""

No the racers are NOT compatible with technics. It's kinda like trying to mate duplo and system bricks, I guess it can be done but the result = :-X . Check the above pictures of the racer to discover how it's built and the design of the bricks.

The RCs are a breed of their own, brickwise that is!

KimT

[JINZONINGEN73]

No the racers are NOT compatible with technics. It's kinda like trying to mate duplo and system bricks, I guess it can be done but the result = :-X . Check the above pictures of the racer to discover how it's built and the design of the bricks.

The RCs are a breed of their own, brickwise that is!

Oh.

OH.

OH, I see! Wow. A whole different Lego format. X-O

Missed that completely!

Bah, I'd still make'em work for the things I want'em for.

If it's got holes, improvisation is possible. X-D

[Jipay]

If it's got holes, improvisation is possible. X-D

Exactly ! :-D

[dunamis]

Just FYI, my local LEGO store has had the interchangeable pieces on clearance for some time now:

Tires

Side panels

Battery Packs

You might wnat to check your local store to see if they have any accessories or pieces.

[flanker]

I agree with kimt, this rc-racer is great.

Not only the design but also the color and speed are great. When I was trying out it scared me al little bit. It ran that fast that I thought: Wow, what a speed, let's hope I don't get a speedbill.

For the rest, like expanding him, you can't use normal Technic Lego. You need the real expansionpacks.

Let's hope I can find them.

I give it an 8/10. This because of the short playtime, it's hard to expand and there's only one batterypack. For that price they could have given you at least 2 battery's.

Overall a great car. If you can find him for a nice price, buy him.

[legomilk]

50 euro or 159,99 euro ?

:-)

[flanker]

If you can buy him for only 50,- euro, then you've got to buy 2 or 3. If you can buy him only for 159,99, than don't buy. Always wait until there's a lower price. Which there always is.

[Zaktan of the Shadows]

Nice review. I might get it.

-ZotS

[Kerimatay]

Dear Friends,

I have 8675 also. I replaced the original batery which was 1200 mah with 2400 mah. Although this replacement batery can last only 15 minutes at 3rd gear(speed) .

1)Is it normal for batery life 15 minutes?

2)May i update it with 2cell lipo batery which has 7.4 volt when it's empty and 8.4 volt when its fully charged?

3)I am afraid to burn the motors.

Your support will be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.