Speed Racer
I remember first seeing Speed Racer as a kid, I saw it
one morning on my aunt's television and I just couldn't believe my eyes.
Here is a guy driving a supercar, and a pretty nifty one at that. I
admit that I lack detailed knowledge about the show, but these little die-cast
cars by Playing Mantis are pretty neat.
As you can see, Playing Mantis produced a limited variety of cars and
the price point is between $3.00 to $2.50(U.S.) -- notably more than your
average Hot Wheels or Matchbox car. A shame really, since I was anxious
to see more of the unique vehicles from the show. Each vehicle has
an all metal body -- with the exception of windshields, interiors and wheels.
My personal favorite is the long and sweeping Shooting Star, followed
closely by the needle-nosed GRX. To make collectors insane, someone
thought it would be a great idea to produce 40 unique 'cells' from the original
cartoon. For your entertainment, I have included images of the four
cells that I have. Hopefully, I will eventually be able to get a few
more online, but let's talk about the cars first.
Speed Racer's Mach 5
| Overall Rating: |
Recommended. A must for any
Speed Racer fan. |
| Known Car Variants: |
Three.
Original version: (orange interior,
plastic wheels, and card background is red); |
|
Version2: (red interior, rubber wheels,
snap-on saw blades, and card background is gold) |
|
Version3: (red interior, rubber wheels,
snap-on hydraulic jacks, and card background is gold) |
Interestingly, the first release of this vehicle came with the
holes used by either the saw blades or the hydraulic jacks already in place.
While it was wise of them to plan ahead, I would have liked it better
if those pieces were included with the first release.
Racer X's Shooting Star
| Overall Rating: |
Recommended. Racer X and his
car just looked cool. I like him more than Speed. |
| Known Car Variants: |
Two.
Original version: (orange interior,
plastic wheels, and card background is red) |
|
Version2: (red interior, rubber wheels,
and card background is gold) |
GRX: The Fastest Car on Earth
| Overall Rating: |
Highly Recommended. This car
weighs the most and has an overall slick profile |
| Known Car Variants: |
Two.
Original version: (orange interior,
plastic wheels, and card background is red) |
|
Version2: (red interior, rubber wheels,
and card background is gold) |
The Assassin
| Overall Rating: |
Mildly Recommended. The most
disappointing car of the bunch. |
| Known Car Variants: |
Two.
Original version: (orange interior
and card background is red) |
|
Version2: (red interior and card background
is gold) |
The Assassin is a three-wheeled vehicle and with it's rather
wide front end, it's rather difficult to use this on most die-cast car tracks.
It is also sadly, the most lightweight of the bunch and you are almost
wishing there was something else in the package to make up for the rather
small car. Although the picture does not illustrate it well, The Assassin
is wide, but is not very long. While this car is not as neat as the
previous three, acknowledgements should be made to Playing Mantis for even
bothering with a 'non-standard' vehicle shape.
Picture Cells
As I mentioned, I don't have many of these, but here are the
ones I do have. Each image is about 12kBytes is size.
Cell #4
Cell #8
Cell #18
Cell #27
Topic Related Links...
Playing Mantis -- Producers of various die-cast cars:
http://www.playingmantis.com/
The Official Speed Racer Home Page:
http://www.speedracer.com/
Trans-Lux -- Great overviews of the show:
http://www.eecis.udel.edu/~markowsk/...
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