New Sizzlers Race Report

"That's a NEW track???"

That comment coming from a confused James Dennis upon seeing the new Mattel Sizzlers Giant "O" Race Set. James is an old friend and Sizzlers racer from when I lived at Travis AFB. Mike Otte and Sergio Jiminez met him when we had the annual races at my house in 2001. He and his son, Thomas (age 9 - has been racing Sizzlers since age 4) helped me test these new cars. They both have extensive experience in Mattel and PM cars and tracks.


The candidates


Initial impressions:

Packaging (in general)

* Retro packaging a plus for collectors.

* Set packed well, no forseeable issues with breakage etc.

* Cubed cars have proprietary pedestals. Clear bands hold cars securely.

* Juice Machine has extra clear band around body for more protection during shipping.

* Cars could be easy to steal, but you would have to cut the bands quickly. Target has had premier theft prevention measures in place for years, so I really don't see that big of problem with it.

* Mad Scatter Set cars packed with backing plastic so they won't slide around in blister.

* Vacu-form insert in Race Case installed upside-down. Easy enough to reverse.

Race Case

* My FAVORITE case graphic comes alive again! SWEET!

* Slight latch difference from the original, otherwise, looks and works fine.



Goose Pump

*OH YES! THE CHARGER TO HAVE. Newly redesiged to hold modern batteries correctly.

* Smooth button action. Only issue is, not as easy to mod into "auto charge" like the vintage ones. BUT, at least these are on the market and will be easier to get. I can see folks buying tha Mad Scatter set just for this!

* Integrated metal pin hinge to prevent the top from eventually breaking off. Oh yeah, I LOVE this redesign!!!



Mad Scatter Set

* A LOT of fun. Moustache snaps right in place. Works like it should. Bounced the freaking thing all over the kitchen. It took less than a minute to go under the stove (just like the old days, right Mom?) Had no issues with fit, finish or operation.

Construction (Cars)

* Molded bodies

* "Sparkle glitter" mixed in with the plastic in the body colors. I thought that was a nice touch. Not overbearing, but a cool addition to alleviate the boredom seen in the '72 models.

* Switches tight, didn't loosen during initial tests

* Contacts have very tight grip on charging tip. NICE! Good solid connections. Didn't loosen during initial testing.

* Live Wire green is on par with the Short Fuse of 1978.

* Angelino blue is a nice color as well, blends in with the track so it is kinda hard to see. CONFUSE YOUR OPPONENTS!

* Chassis changed (stamp on bottom) - This is common for Mattel to do when reissuing, and is GREAT, because it preserves the originality without being able to be sold as a vintage Sizzlers car.

Construction (Giant "O" Race Set)

* Fat Track Strips kind of thin compared to vintage track sold in th U.S. HOWEVER, they are extremely similar to the vintage German "Rennpiste" strip-paks that you could purchase separately for the sets in Europe.

* Joiners are CONSIDERABLY thin compared to vintage joiners of all makes, comparing again slightly to the German version in that they are black. BUT, I must state that the plastic on the new joiner end tips is WAY too thin, and I think after heavy use will either break or bend awkwardly. Mattel needs to beef these up.

* Juice Machine - I was wondering if Mattel would redesign this one. And they have. Starting with a new tab on the back for the door latch.



And moving inside to a newly designed battery compartment and button system. MUCH better than the old version. I figured this would HAVE to be done, because "D" size battery dimensions have increased since the 70s. Those who try and cram new batteries into the old Juice Machines know what I am talking about. There are added battery divider posts as well that keep the batteries firmly in place.



Nice upgrades for that vintage pump!!!

* Curves - Mattel reinvented these too. A nice design, but no provision for the 90-degree tracks that we like to make. D'OH! Not good.



Curve plastic is also a lot more thin than the vintage track sets, but it doesn't seem to be as brittle.

Setup (Giant "O" Race Set)

* Fairly smooth. Curves assembled very quickly. Some new racers have complained about the tracks being cut poorly. Not in the case of my set. Everything fit fairly well together, and was on par with the vintage sets. Thomas was able to assemble the straights and curves without too much trouble. Were able to assemble in about 10-minutes after opening the box. New-style curves were a bit confusing initially, but I learn quick.

Racing (Giant "O" Race Set)



Cars

* Cars held the track REAL well, just like the vintage Sizzlers. Not as skittery as some of the Playing Mantis cars, or the open-wheel Long Chassis Vintage Sizzlers. new Sizzlers running like vintage Sizzlers.

* Once the battery memory was established, we had all cars except one running in close to the 10-minute mark on a 2-minute charge.

* Cars ran pretty darn fast. Faster than I remember the original Sizzlers being, and on par with new PM Sizzlers out of the box. I was surprised, because those PM Sizzlers were pretty fast when new.

* Wheel chrome "tits" rubbed off very quickly. Well, that is to be expected I suppose.

Track

* Curves held the onslaught of six cars at one with NO problems.

* Track was tested on carpet. We had to "push" the straights back together only once in the two-hours of racing. Nice that it held together so well.

Breakdown (Giant "O" Race Set)

* Disassembly took about five-minutes wth no issues.

Further testing:

*Want to try the set on a linoleum floor to see how it compares to the vintage sets.

* Want to run these against PM and vintage Sizzlers and see how they do.

* Need to tear apart bodies (I know some have already done this) and see what is up.

Final Thoughts:

Realistically, I think the set should have come with two cars. I also think more colors should be produced. I haven't heard what is going on with that yet. I think mymo knows, or maybe Mike Grove. That is where PM excelled, in that they had SO MANY cool colors to choose from. It was almost overwhelming. I could see kids getting a bit bored with the few color offerings out there. The cars ran GREAT, and I really had a blast buying the new stuff for sure.

I think this is a wonderful thing that these are being re-released. We will be able to cultivate in our children, nephews, nieces, grandchildren the memories that we had when we were kids. Just think, opening a new set on Christmas. How cool will that be???

This can be nothing but a positive move to further the Sizzlers hobby by creating those memories and having those opportunities to play with these cars like we did. It 20-years, they can say, "I remember when I got all of these Sizzlers on Christmas in 2006 . . . " It will carry the hobby into another generation.

- SK

P.S. IT IS NICE TO BE ABLE TO BUY THESE AND RACE THEM WITHOUT HAVING TO WORK ON THEM


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