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The Robo Riders was a very short-lived theme. But does this mean that this theme was really that unpopular? Well you'll soon find out by reading this review of... Introduction The Robo Riders theme came out in 1999 to replace the Slizers theme. When it was discontinued in 2001 with only seven official sets ever released, it was replaced by the present Bionicles theme. So was the theme discontinued due to a lack of popularity or were the sets actually quite good? Well... first impressions are always wrong, right? Set Information Name: Power Set Number: 8514 Theme: Technic; Robo Riders Year: 2000 Minifigures: 0 Pieces: 32 Price: $USD6 Links: Brickset, Bricklink, Flickr Canister This set comes in a canister similar to the Bionicle sets, but this canister is round whereas the Bionicle ones are more ovoid/ lemon-shaped. The Robo Rider of this set is in a nice position, showing off its weapons. In the background you can see the wrecking ball of a crane and some kind of dark grey city. I think this canister looks great as it's simple and not too cluttered. On the back of the canister, on the left there is a list of the other Robo Riders and a demonstration of one of the play features in the middle. On the top right there is also a small blue oval which reveals a code when exposed to cold temperatures. This code is supposed to be for a Robo Riders game. Here's a close-up of the different sets in this sub-theme. As you can see, all of these sets are named after some element: lava, swamp, frost, etc. That's why this set is just called "Power". The lid of the canister might look quite simple, but it's actually quite interesting. I'll show you something about the lids later. Parts This set only has a small amount of parts: 32. However, there are two rare parts. The Technic block with Robo Rider power pattern only appeared in three sets. The 7x2 pin connector block has only appeared in this set in yellow. Instructions The instructions have the exact same background as on the canister, but without the set information. Unfortunately, my instructions came in a rather crumpled state. The instructions are the perfect size for a small set. Most of the steps in the instructions don't have piece call-outs, but for some steps there are 1:1 pictures with the pieces need for that paticualr step. The steps are easy-going and not at all complicated. Inside the instructions, there's another list of the different Robo Rider sets. This page looks really colourful because each of the sets are displayed with a background of their element. I like how there are jagged lines to separate them, instead of straight lines. There's one alternate build in the instructions, which can be built using sets 8514 (this set) and 8512. If you look closer at the black circle, you'll see that it's actually the canister lid. It's definitely interesting to see that the lid has a different function, other than for closing the canister. And on the back there's more alternative builds, but you have to combine more sets for these. Once again, this builds also make excellent use of the canister lids. The middle model looks wacky with so many colours and a combination of two lids to make one giant wheel at the front. Posters Inside the canister, we also find a poster. The first side has the alternate model made with 8514 and 1812 on it. It looks terrific with half of one Robo Rider's element and half of the other's, forming an amazing background. The other side has ads for other LEGO Technic sets. Yes, that's right, there used to be LEGO Technic Star Wars. You might have already known, but it came as a total surprise to me. This is a close-up of one of the Star Wars ads, the Destroyer Droid. It looks quite a lot like the actual droid. The Set From an angle, this set looks superb. I really like the piece with the Robo Rider's face on it as adds character to the vehicle. The piece is printed, not a sticker which is another plus. This is the right side of the set. It looks okay really, but is a bit plain. The colour scheme blends in well though and I like the plasma cannon on the side, because of how simple it is. The cannon is just an orange cone on a Technic connector block, but still ends up looking like a deadly weapon. Now the left-hand side. It looks almost identical to the other side, except there isn't a cog on the front wheel and both wheels have printing here. The front wheel is covered by the cannon, but you can see that the hind wheel has some sort of red and orange printing on it. I would have liked it if there could have been printing on the right side as well to make it less bland, but the designers would have to have removed the cog and found some other way to hold the wheel in place. Now that we can see the back wheel closer, it is revealed that there is some sort of black and red asterix and two lines of three eyeballs, and other things printed on. I'm not quite sure what the printing is supposed to be but it looks brilliant. From the front, the Robo Rider face looks really striking and the predominant colour here is black, making the yellow piece for the face looking out of place, floating on all the black pieces. Play Features There are two play features in this set. The first feature utilises the yellow handle near the back. You just have to turn it and the body of the Robo Rider is lifted up and the cannons start to point upwards like this: You can keep turning the handle until it reaches this point. Then the handle can still be turned until the vehicle goes back to the original position. The second feature is the disk launcher. This feature has four simple steps (Pictures of these steps are underneath) : 1. Slide out the wheel holder. 2. Pull down the sides of the wheel holder. The wheel should no longer be held in place. 3. Pull the wheel holder upwards. 4. Let go and let the wheel fly. I think this feature great to have but it doesn't always work. But when it does work, the wheel does fly quite a distance. Ratings Parts: 6/10 - There are only two rare parts in this set and the rest are normal Technic parts. Design: 6/10 - For me the design is only just okay. The colour scheme is excellent, but this set still looks a bit bland. Minifigures: N/A Playability: 7/10 - For a set of this price, two play features is great. The handle for lifting the RoboRider is useful for aiming the cannons, but it would be better if the disk launcher worked a bit better. Value: 7/10 - This set is good value for the pieces included and the number of features. Overall Rating: 6.5 This is a great set with a solid colour scheme, but I think there could have been a better design. If you really like Robo Riders then I would recommend this set to you, but apart from that there isn't too much incentive for buying this set.
