8511 - Frost

Rating:
Pros: Color scheme; working gimmicks; sleek design; spears; cool storage; able to be combined with other Roboriders
Cons: Doesn't always roll perfectly
Contents: 43 pieces and a storage canister
Price: $5.99
Reviewed: 6-Dec-2000
Reviewed by: Dustin Verburg

Frost roared down the narrow highway, its supports cracking from laser fire underneath him. His Throwbot partner, Ski, was down for the count. It was up to him to win this arena battle. Ski seemed rather useless, anyway.
The Throwbot member of the opposing team, Torch, let loose a huge disc at him. He skidded to a stop, counting on his suspension to spin him to the side. It worked and the disc missed, exploding harmlessly into a nearby lamp-post. He let loose with his ice-spear... it pieced Torch's armor and froze him in his tracks.
The revving of engines behind him revealed the true challenge... his Roborider opponent, Lava. Axes chopping, Lava streaked toward him. His maneuvering was superior, but Lava boasted the better top speed. Frost knew he had to take a chance. He darted off of the overpass and onto the parallel highway. He raised his suspension to convert into blaster mode. He let loose with a spinning icy wheel... this one had to count or he was out of luck.
Lava recoiled and was blasted off the overpass as he was frozen. The match was over. Frost and Ski had won. Converting back into transport mode and awaiting repairs, Frost sighed in relief. He couldn't wait to tell Dust and Swamp about this one...

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I usually don't buy technic sets, but I couldn't resist the purchase of Frost. I own one Throwbot, and was marginally impressed. This one blows Scuba out of the water, though. Its sleek look and awesome color-scheme were all the convincing I needed.
A Roborider is essentially a technic motorcycle, with a robotic face, weaponry, and a special gimmick. Roboriders are able to convert into an upside down 'L' and fire their front wheel by use of a special piece. This actually isn't too lame, and works well. The wheels, like Throwbot disks, each feature different pictures on them.
Frost is a low-riding arctic cycle. He is colored white, translucent light blue (this makes the color scheme good), dark grey, and a little bit of black thrown in for good measure. The face makes him look rather wise. Most Roboriders have medieval weapons mounted on their sides and Frost is no exception. Perhaps the highlight of this set are two translucent blue spears, perfect for magical weapons in a castle system. When a dial on top is twisted, he folds into the said firing position. With a few pulls and folds, his front wheel can be fired a moderate distance. Even though I'm technically inept, the Throwbots and Roboriders are not too difficult to build and look good and function when finished. I'm very impressed. Adding to the fun, there is a black kickstand which can be deployed, allowing Frost to stand up when not balanced by a human hand. Upon second glance, most Roboriders closely resemble Thrust's (from Beast Machines) cycle mode.
Frost has a nice color-scheme, a slick look, and cool weapons and gimmicks. He comes packaged in a white canister, the lid of which forms a wheel on the super Roborider he and Dust combine to make. If the dial is twisted slightly, he fits inside of it perfectly for storage. It also makes a good target for the shooting wheel. The only thing preventing Frost from earning five stars is his tendency not to roll well, being as low to the ground as he is.