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- "Toy Dampner joins the pack in a black and white Turca Special. Whoo, he looks fast!"
- ―Fode Annodue, a Podrace commentator
The 910 Special was a Podracer model manufactured by Turca. Also known as the Turca Special, the Podracer had well balanced capabilities, including a good top speed, a modest accelerator, and well tuned repair unit. The Podracer also had decent handling, but suffered in terms of cooling, which caused the Podracer to quickly overheat during extended bursts of speed. The Podracer's best native feature were its air brakes. A heavily modified 910 Special was owned by the Podracer pilot Toy Dampner. In order to combat the vehicle poor heat prevention systems, Dampner installed the best coolant pump he could find, allowing the 910 to cool down faster after using the vessel's booster. Dampner used his black and white Turca Special to great effect on the race courses of the moon Oovo IV, which sped through a penal colony.
Description
Designed by the year 32 BBY,[3] the 910 Special Podracer,[1] which was also known as the Turca Special,[4] was built by the company Turca. The Podracer consisted of two large engines that were connected via energy binders. The engines were controlled by a solitary cockpit that was connected by two black cables. The engine turbines were cased in a kind of metal, and the general shape of the engines were large cylinders. Each cylindrical engine was protected by a square shield placed on the top of each engine. The shields had two large rectangular shapes jutting off of the back of the engines, which protected the left and right sides of the engine exhaust ports. The cockpit roughly bore the shape of an isosceles triangle, and seated one pilot with no room for passengers.[1]
Toy Dampner's Turca Special in a hangar
In terms of capabilities, the 910 Special had modest stats and parts. The Podracer's native cooling systems were poor, however. One Turca Special was acquired by the Podracer pilot Toy Dampner, who customized it to a great degree. Disappointed with the native cooling system, Dampner sought out the best coolant pump he could find and installed it on his 910. This addition allowed the Podracer to cool down quickly after thrusting. Dampner's additions turned his vessel into a very balanced racing craft. Its most outstanding qualities, however, were its air brakes and its repulsorgrip. The former allowed the vessel to slow down at a faster pace than other Podracers, which allowed Dampner to take tight turns with ease. The repulsorgrip allowed Dampner a greater amount of control over various kinda of terrains,[1] although Dampner had specially modified his Podracer for use on the race courses located on the moon Oovo IV,[5] which consisted mainly of cement and metal roadways, with occasional offerings of rock fields.[4] The Special's fuel injector offered the vehicle a decent amount of acceleration, although with a low top speed granted by the installed Thrust Coil, it did not take long for the Podracer to reach its top speed.[1] However, at some point the Turca Special's speed had improved, and was clocked at 985 kpm.[2] The 910 Special also had a strong repair unit, which allowed Dampner to make mid-flight repairs with ease, allowing him to stay active in damaging courses. Overall, Dampner's Podracer was rated as the third best Podracer in terms of acceleration and repair when compared to the other Podracers seen during the 32 BBY racing season. His Turca Special was also rated as the second best Podracer in terms of air brakes, only falling behind Devlikk pilot Wan Sandage's Elsinore-Cordova Engineering TurboDyne 99-U Podracer.[1]
History
Toy Dampner owned a Turca Special.
- "Nice cropduster!!!"
- ―Toy Dampner trades insults with another pilot about their respective Podracers
Developed by or during the year 32 BBY[3] by the manufacturer Turca, a 910 Special Podracer found its way into the hands of the blue-skinned Toy Dampner, a Podracer pilot who preferred the courses located on the fourth moon of the gas giant Oovo. The courses were fairly urban, as they sped through the prison Desolation Alley. Dissatisfied with the 910 Special's native features, Dampner put the vehicle through a number of modifications, including the addition of the best coolant pump that he could locate. The Podracer was painted white and given black stripes,[1] and matched the color scheme of the flag Dampner chose to represent himself with in the sport.[4] Dampner and his Podracer achieved fame on Oovo IV, and Dampner was considered to be the crowd favorite of the course named Executioner, which got its name from the ore filled anti-gravity tunnels that littered the track, which was the first course of the Semipro Podracing Circuit. Dampner achieved a record lap time of 01:31.540 minutes, and a record race time of 04:42.310 minutes.[1] A bit of a show off, Dampner enjoyed showing off the capabilities of his Turca Special to his friends in Desolation Alley.[5] Dampner also used the vessel on a race course located on the planet Baroonda.[6] The Troig race commentator Fode Annodue thought that Dampner's rig appeared to be fast.[4]
Behind the scenes
The 910 Special as seen during an animatic
Although the 910 Special Podracer first appeared in the 1999[7] video game Star Wars: Episode I Racer,[4] it was originally designed for use in the 1999 film the game was based on, Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace. The Podracer made it as far as the film's animatic stages, but was cut from the final release, and had its scenes exchanged for scenes involving pilot Clegg Holdfast and his Keizar-Volvec KV9T9-B Wasp Podracer. The animatics are view-able on the DVD special features of The Phantom Menace.[8] Background information about the Podracer was revealed in Episode I Racer's two strategy guides that were released as an accompaniment to the game.[1][5] The Turca Podracer later recieved a brief entry in 2008's The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia under an entry for Toy Dampner.[9]
Appearances
- Star Wars: Episode I Racer (First appearance)
- Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace (DVD bonus features)
Sources
- Star Wars: Episode I Racer: Official Nintendo Player's Guide
- Star Wars: Episode I Racer: Prima's Official Strategy Guide
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, Vol. I, p. 163 ("Dampner, Toy")
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 Star Wars: Episode I Racer: Official Nintendo Player's Guide
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Game Boy Color version of the video game Star Wars: Episode I Racer lists the Turca Special's speed as 612 miles per hour, which when converted to kilometers per hour reads as 984.919 kph. This article rounds the number to 985.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 The New Essential Chronology dates the events of Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace to the year 32 BBY. The racing season presented in the game Star Wars: Episode I Racer must have taken place during this year due to the appearances of Qui-Gon Jinn, Jar Jar Binks, and R2-D2 on Tatooine, which correspond to The Phantom Menace.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Star Wars: Episode I Racer
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Star Wars: Episode I Racer: Prima's Official Strategy Guide
- ↑ Star Wars: Episode I Racer Game Boy Color version
- ↑ Star Wars: Episode I: Racer - Nintendo 64 - IGN, published by IGN Entertainment, Inc. on IGN (backup link not verified!)
- ↑ Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace DVD special features
- ↑ The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, Vol. I ("Dampner, Toy")