 The Challengers El Camino (Purple)
Commemorative Limited Edition
Johnny Lightning The Challengers
Item No.: Item: 100-180 Model: 101
Manufacturer: Playing Mantis
Includes: Silver Plastic Limited Edition Coin, #6,295
Action Feature: Rolls, opening hood
Retail: $2.99
Availability: ca. 1993
Other: Available in many other colors
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When The orignial mold for the Johnny Lightning El Camino (Purple) came out in 1969. New toys based on that design were sold to fans in the 1990s in a variety of colors, but the original ones looked a lot cooler with reflective paint that looked more like what Mattel was doing with Hot Wheels "Spectraflame" at the time. They're expensive - but customizers out there can certainly paint a new mold the old way, if you want, for a lot cheaper. Why? Because the 1990s reissues are cheaper than modern releases of Johnny Lighnting cars at the store today.
It's basically a Hot Wheels-sized car. 1:64-scale-ish, it's hefty and designed to work with your orange track. There are red lines on the wheels, a metal base and a metal chassis, plus yellow and blue painted surfboards. Unlike Hot Wheels' original Deora, they are not removable.
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The original versions of this car come in multuple colors, and they look sharp. I'd love to see the molds run in these colors again, but we've passed the 50th anniversary and they opted to go with other colorways. I like this metalflake purple - it's distinctive, and the two boards really pop nicely. The hood needs support to stay up. I bought it sealed so it's not a result of play wear, presumably it's just too heavy for friction to keep it upright.
It's got a good heft to it, especially compared to most modern toy cars. The wheels roll fairly well, and there's no real problem getting it moving. (Rubber tires, on the other hand, seem to be the worst for such things.) The purple paint looks good and, for a toy that was made a whopping 30 years ago, it has held up well to age. It makes sense why people collect these toy cars - they don't turn yellow or crumble to dust easily.
Each car comes with a coin with a sticker on it, and you can probably find these at better (and worse) antique malls across the country. I doubt we'll see remakes of brightly-colored first-generation Johnny Lightning cars easily in stores across America again, so when you stop in a shop during a road trip to use a bathroom? Look for these. (Or just give eBay a whirl.)
--Adam Pawlus
Additional Images
See more Playing Mantis figures in Figure of the Day:
Day 2,722: Playing Mantis Johnny Lightning The Challengers Nucleon (Yellow)
Day 2,730: Playing Mantis Johnny Lightning The Challengers Bug Bomb (Pink)
Day 2,832: Playing Mantis Johnny Lightning The Challengers Movin' Van (Green)
Day 2,841: Playing Mantis Johnny Lightning The Challengers Custom Turbine (Aqua)
Day 2,853: Playing Mantis Johnny Lightning The Challengers El Camino (Purple)
See more Johnny Lightning figures in Figure of the Day:
Day 2,722: Playing Mantis Johnny Lightning The Challengers Nucleon (Yellow)
Day 2,730: Playing Mantis Johnny Lightning The Challengers Bug Bomb (Pink)
Day 2,832: Playing Mantis Johnny Lightning The Challengers Movin' Van (Green)
Day 2,841: Playing Mantis Johnny Lightning The Challengers Custom Turbine (Aqua)
Day 2,853: Playing Mantis Johnny Lightning The Challengers El Camino (Purple)
