OK, yes... I still have to hunt down all the variations of the six Speed Racer Funkeys that have been released so far, but I do at least have one of each. And the amazing thing is that I got them all at the store (Toys R Us specifically). But the point is that I found them without having to resort to eBay! That's much better than it's been in the Midwest since the first wave of the first series. What I got was the starter set with the common versions of Speed Racer and Chim-Chim and the following singles... Trixie (common), Racer X (rare), Cannonball Taylor (very rare), and Snake Oiler (very rare). This was actually last week that I got them but I finally took a few pictures with my cellphone.

I'll be hitting Toys R Us again tonight to see if they have any more. I'll also take some better pictures soon.

Click them for larger images...

Labels: Cannonball Taylor, Chim-Chim, Images, Racer X, Snake Oiler, Speed Racer, Trixie

Just a quick update to let you all know that the Speed Racer Funkeys' Character Bios have been added to the characters page. There are also small image galleries for each character on those pages. There will be more added, but I wanted to let you know they were up...

Also a big thanks to webgopher for typing out the bios for me! Those new pages would have taken me forever to get up without the help...

Labels: Cannonball Taylor, Chim-Chim, Images, Racer X, Site Updates, Snake Oiler, Speed Racer, Taejo, Trixie

Single Speed Racer UBFunkeys figures are starting to show up now on eBay. Up until now, it's just been the starter set.

The one up right now were put up as 1 day auctions, so they end in less than 24 hours.

Check it out! :)

Labels: Cannonball Taylor, Chim-Chim, ebay, Purchasing Funkeys, Racer X, Snake Oiler, Speed Racer, Speedracer, Taejo, Trixie

I've been in contact with someone inside Mattel who has clarified that the release date on the Speed Racer UBFunkeys series that is on Amazon.com is incorrect. The actual release date is not set exactly yet, but is figured for the month of March 2008. I'm sure that this will be a bit of a disappointment to some, but with as many of the already release figures still missing from my collection, I'm a bit relieved. If they saturate the market too fast, it could backfire on them with people getting frustrated.

I was also given the official list of characters for Series 1...

Wave 1: Speed Racer, Chim-Chim, Cannonball Taylor, Trixie, Snake Oiler, Racer X

Wave 2: Speed Racer v2, Taejo

Keep checking back. We will continue to get new Funkeys updates from our new contact! :)

Labels: Cannonball Taylor, Chim-Chim, Racer X, Site Updates, Snake Oiler, Speed Racer, Speedracer, Taejo Togokhan, Trixie

Of course the 13 days is based solely on the release date posted on Amazon.com, so it’s possibly still going to be longer. There’s been no word elsewhere that I can find.

What we do know is that there will be 8 characters as Funkeys and one new USB hub. Only one color or rarity has been seen of any given character so far, and most of those have only been illustrations, so multiple rarities of each character doesn’t seem to be supported by the evidence. Also unknown is if there will be a CD with any special new optional software to load or if it will be the same U.B.Funkeys install CD. If not, there will have to at least be a new update that the software will download once they are released since we also know there will be an optional “garage” crib.

My best guesses for the characters based on the number 8 and the fact that this release is likely meant to be a marketing tie to the 2008 Speed Racer movie is as follows:

Confirmed Characters: (see earlier post with images)
Racer X, Chim Chim, Speed, Snake Oiler, and Taejo Togokhan

Other likely contenders:
Trixie, Mr. Musha, and Minx

Other possible characters:
Mom Racer, Pops Racer, Rex Racer, Inspector Detector, Ben Burns, Spritle, and Sparky

Don’t forget, you can pre-order the starter pack with the exclusive hub and the Racer X and Speed Funkeys here! I've got mine pre-ordered, do you? :)

Labels: Chim-Chim, Purchasing Funkeys, Racer X, Snake Oiler, Speed, Speed Racer, Speedracer, Taejo Togokhan