Random set of the day: Onyx
Posted by Huwbot,Today's random set is 8512 Onyx, released in 2000. It's one of 34 Technic sets produced that year. It contains 37 pieces, and its retail price was US$6.
It's owned by 1249 Brickset members. If you want to add it to your collection you might find it for sale at BrickLink or eBay.
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14 comments on this article
Well. It's not Bionicle, at least?
I quite liked these. Onyx is about the only one I never did pick up, because I liked how they were all themed on different terrains (one of the reasons I'd also really liked the Throwbots that came out the year before). I guess it was novelty value, they were just so interesting and different to me, that I had to collect them.
Is this a Bionicle precursor?
Fun fact: this was the first series in which I successfully collected all the mainline products (including 8516 The Boss). None of the smaller sets were sold where I live, or advertised in the catalogs — I had no idea they even existed until I started reading fansites a couple of years after the launch of Bionicle.
I explored the combiner models too; I enjoyed how they the canister lids were used as big wheels.
@Robot99: Yes.
@LegoSonicBoy said:
" @Robot99: Yes."
Thank you! I recalled hearing it elsewhere, but I wasn't sure.
To think these models eventually spun off into Bionicle...
The only Robo Rider I actually own. I honestly preferred the Throwbots. They were cool.
As is obvious by my username and most of the comments I make on this site I'm a huge BIONICLE nerd. I also really loved the Slizers/Throwbots that came before it. RoboRideres on the other hand I never had much interest in. Gotta say though, the lighting and framing of the model on that box art is gorgeous!
The product art makes it look much more squat than it is in person. Never bothered to complete the RRs, although it is probably the easiest constraction line to max out still, they don't go for that much.
I own this set, and it's really cool, It has glow in dark disks, which is something that makes him stand out compared to the other Robo Riders. Also, those sets used to retail for 6$ at the time of their release, which is insane looking back on it now. I really wish LEGO still made cheap yet amazing sets like this.
@zipper said:
"The only Robo Rider I actually own. I honestly preferred the Throwbots. They were cool. "
Same! Only one I had
Was never entirely sure what his little lightsabers were supposed to accomplish. If they're for cutting through rocks then why aren't they up front where they might be able to reach anything? Might be they're supposed to be laser cannons not laser swords, like a smaller and less mobile version of what Power was armed with
@Robot99 said:
"Is this a Bionicle precursor?"
I rather think of the earlier Throwbots/Slizers as the Bionicle precursor, with RoboRiders being the "motorcycle" Slizer evolution and Bionicle the "epic lore" evolution.
Still, both RoboRaiders and Bionicle had some underlying notion of a virus that had to be defeated...
The Roboriders were interesting; the "character is a motorcycle" thing was weird but we already had a Slizer/Throwbot who was a car, so it wasn't too ridiculous, as the "wheel launching" function was not the most terrible (although it did leave most of the characters without front wheels, thus killing their mobility.) In particular I remember finding Onyx at a grocery store (which itself was unusual) being sold for a mere $2, which was great because I couldn't afford the $6 price as a kid back then. Fun stuff.
I never quite got into the whole Robo Riders (sub)theme, this being the only set that I wound up getting. Still have the canister it came in. I was more into Throwbots at the time.
I always liked the look and name of this character.
Fun Fact: the glow-in-the-dark elements featured with an underground themed character almost carried over into the BIONICLE line. Onua, the Toa of Earth, was originally going to have trans-white-glow eyes/brain-stalk instead of the trans-green we got.