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A few days ago we looked at The Equation Races Car. As reader Capt Straw pointed out, the set was probably a bad mistranslation of "Formula One Racing". To me it sounded like an outtake from Speed Racer - where our plucky hero was up against an opponent called "The Equation."
Today, we have another episode in "Speed Racer versus the Bootleg Bandits" as Speed takes on...Super Sonic. Yes, in today's Fail, Super Sonic Races Car.
Today, we have another episode in "Speed Racer versus the Bootleg Bandits" as Speed takes on...Super Sonic. Yes, in today's Fail, Super Sonic Races Car.
This bootleg is #2002 in the "Over sized Impulse Set" knock offs from Zephyr Knight. The packaging is nearly identical to #2001: The Equation Races Car.
The toy being bootlegged here is LEGO's set 4591 - Star Strike. Here's a shot of the actual set:
As you can see, Zephyr Knight prefers to have their sets colored Green rather than blue. Or maybe they thought changing the colors slightly would throw LEGO legal off their trail. Bootleggers can be silly like that.
The back of the packaging is again quite similar to The Equation Races Car. There are the usual three alternate-model photos, the "Series Transformation" label and the inexplicable 3 T's - Amusement, Interesting, and Intelligence.
The instruction sheet shows the set in it's original LEGO coloration - note the two versions of the driver shown. The first (upper left) shows a legless minifgure - the building instructions show the use of the 1-piece "mini-racer driver" body from the LEGO racer sets.
The parts in the set include a working pull-back motor and two bricks with printing on them. LEGO addicts may notice that the blue "engine block" on the left is not the same part as shown on the box. (The box (and source set) uses a more angular detail brick.)
You might also notice the attention to detail Zephyr Knight put into their copy - the engine block is labeled for car #30...the fins on the back are for car #45.
You might also notice the attention to detail Zephyr Knight put into their copy - the engine block is labeled for car #30...the fins on the back are for car #45.
Super Sonic's face is a LEGO duplication- strangely, this is the face that should have come with the Flash Turbo set - duplicated by Zephyr as The Equation Races Car. His torso decorations are non-LEGO, but a pattern we've seen in Zephyr Knight sets in the past.
His helmet, cast in a goofy looking robin's egg blue, came out of the mold misaligned - as a result the visor won't clip on to it. You can sort of balance things if you're willing to go that route.
His helmet, cast in a goofy looking robin's egg blue, came out of the mold misaligned - as a result the visor won't clip on to it. You can sort of balance things if you're willing to go that route.
Here's Super Sonic's car. Of course the colors don't match the instructions or the packaging. Were you really expecting them to?
At least the lack of any sort of steering gives Super Sonic the chance to hold his visor in place.
It's hard to be overly critical of these bootlegs - they're too close of a copy of the real LEGO sets. The pull back features work, the designs aren't bad at all, there's some nice detail printing on the bricks.
But never forget that these are bootlegs. That pull-back motor may work now, but it's sure to explode after a few dozen uses. And the plastic is sharp and brittle, and those swanky details are probably done up in lead paint.
If there's any Racing to be done, it should be done by you - racing away from these and to a shop that sells real LEGO product.
It's hard to be overly critical of these bootlegs - they're too close of a copy of the real LEGO sets. The pull back features work, the designs aren't bad at all, there's some nice detail printing on the bricks.
But never forget that these are bootlegs. That pull-back motor may work now, but it's sure to explode after a few dozen uses. And the plastic is sharp and brittle, and those swanky details are probably done up in lead paint.
If there's any Racing to be done, it should be done by you - racing away from these and to a shop that sells real LEGO product.
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As always, many thanks to Joe from The Undiscovered Playthings for sending me this set to review.
As always, many thanks to Joe from The Undiscovered Playthings for sending me this set to review.
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3 comments:
Of course you could actually test them for lead: http://www.leadinspector.com/
Might be interesting.
OMFG! DUDE! THAT HEAD USED MORE THAN ONE COLOUR! THE BOOTLEGGERS ARE GETTING SKILLED! IT'S THE END OF TIME!
"Super sonic" do they mean Sonic the hedgehog Sonic, and his associcated "Super" form when he has the power of the Chaos Emeralds? Thats rather odd if so.
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