 The Challengers Custom XKE (Silver)
Commemorative Limited Edition - Series I
Johnny Lightning The Challengers
Item No.: Item: 100-190 Model: 103
Manufacturer: Playing Mantis
Includes: Silver Plastic Limited Edition Coin, #1,620
Action Feature: Rolls, opening hood
Retail: $2.99
Availability: ca. 1993
Other: Available in many other colors
|
| PREVIOUS |
 RSS |
NEXT |
There's a silver chrome one, but this isn't it. The Johnny Lightning Custom XKE (Silver) almost looks unpainted. You can see the bare metal on the base and under the hood, with a slightly barely bluer silver paint coating the chassis. I like it! It's heavy, it rolls, it feels good in your hands.
Click here to check availability at Amazon.
Click here to check availability at eBay.
Another remake/reissue from the 1990s, this one takes the old mold and more or less brings it back. Some of the 1969-1971 Topper releases had opening doors - this one doesn't. They were also a lot shinier. This one is a duller silver, but it retains the red line wheels with silver wheel covers. The metal base is unpainted and looks a little tarnished - I don't know if this is how it looked in the 1990s, or if this is just aging. My sample was sealed, and this is how it looked before I opened it.
The opening hood is a nice plus, and was something you might see on a lot of older cars from toymakers. As the war against inflation continues, you see a lot less in the way of opening parts or any sort of accessories.
I see these waves of cars at a few antique malls and second-hand shops, but not this on in particular - I got it off a lot on eBay. It's pretty good for the $5-or-less price, particularly because it looks a lot like an old toy. It's kind of amazing when you think about it. This toy is over 30 years old. When it was made, it was a reissue of a toy that was over 25 years old. Johnny Lightning cars are still in some stores, but for whatever reason they've steered more toward licensed, real cars and away from their old original toy designs. They ran from fanciful weirdness to realistic vehicles, and the good news for you is that many of them are still cheap. If you're ever in a shop filled with old packaged toy cars, keep an eye out for them. They can be fun.
--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)
Day 2,865: Playing Mantis Johnny Lightning The Challengers Wasp (Maroon)
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)
Day 2,865: Playing Mantis Johnny Lightning The Challengers Wasp (Maroon)
