The Challengers Vicious Vette (Blue) Commemorative Limited Edition - Series H Johnny Lightning The Challengers Item No.: Item: 100-180 Model: 107 Manufacturer: Playing Mantis Includes: Blue Plastic Limited Edition Coin, #4,138 Action Feature: Rolls Retail: $2.99 Availability: ca. 1993 Other: Available in many other colors
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I'm aware how weirdly good I have it as a toy fan. Thanks to generations of hoarding and speculation, a lot of toys are worthless. And that's good! It meant I could get this Johnny Lightning Vicious Vette (Blue) in an eBay lot for a couple of bucks. It would have been unthinkable 25 years ago. This is a remake of a 1970 toy from some point between 1993 and 1995. It's kind of a miracle that, even with inflation, it's just not remotely valuable.

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I never had the original, but I admire a design that now qualifies as some sort of retro futuristic nonsense with a silly engine more or less blocking the driver's view. The pipes on the original were slightly different, separated a bit and probably a lot more fragile. For the reissue, they clumped them together because apes together strong. It wobbles a bit, but that's not exactly atypical with a lot of toy cars. The quality is good, with good rolling wheels and a nice heft. Still, you can see there were some scuffs on it in the packaging. I took the pics right after opening it, and it has some imperfections. Mattel is #1 in toy cars for a reason. Presumably, that reason involves blackmail or human sacrifice. They do amazing work.

Playing Mantis id some nice work too, with a striking metalflake blue paint that reminds me of my parents' old suitcase. The green glass looks silly, but cool, and the red line wheels evokes an era of toys you probably can't afford. The orignal Vicious Vettes mostly came with a super shiny and reflective paint job evocative of the original Mattel Hot Wheels cars, but presumably that was expensive or unsafe or out of vogue.

This was a $3 car against $0.80 Matchbox and $1 Hot Wheels (plus or minus a few pennies) back in the 1990s. It was clearly made for collectors, and I don't know that they went for it as much. Hot Wheels was really a big deal as the decade went on, and I assume a lot of fans just wanted more to buy - and here it was. With 450 or more new Mattel cars every year it's not like people need to look for alternatives in 2025, but there are a lot of old toy cars - like this - in antique malls. They're waiting for you, being ignored, and are weirdly compelling. There's nothing quite this fanciful on the pegs at your local big box store, so be sure to take a look for the distinctive red and yellow cardbacks when you're passing through antique malls. Some are just normal looking cars, but a few look like something you may have drawn in art class. And now, you are middle-aged and disappointed that this isn't something you can drive off the lot when it's time to replace the family car. Detroit really let me down, man. Thank goodness for Johnny Lightning.

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)
Day 2,880: Playing Mantis Johnny Lightning The Challengers Custom XKE (Silver)
Day 2,898: Playing Mantis Johnny Lightning The Challengers Vicious Vette (Blue)

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)
Day 2,880: Playing Mantis Johnny Lightning The Challengers Custom XKE (Silver)
Day 2,898: Playing Mantis Johnny Lightning The Challengers Vicious Vette (Blue)

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