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Hollywood on Wheels 3 | ||||||||||
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laying Mantis, well known and respected in recent years for its accurate and interesting die-cast toy cars, has released a third Hollywood On Wheels series of models for collectors.
Hollywood on Wheels Series 3 includes six famous vehicles from TV and movies: the Woody from The Mod Squad, the Partridge Family bus (second edition, with revised interior), Felicity Shagwell's Corvette from Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, the Green Hornet's Black Beauty limousine, Scooby Doo's Mystery Machine and Supercar from Gerry Anderson's 1961 TV show of the same name. All are die-cast metal with plastic parts and rubber wheels, which make for better accuracy and play value.
The Partridge Family bus is adorned with its trademark Mondrian-like tile pattern, with gray interior and alternating blue and red hubcaps. A hefty model which is quite enjoyable to hold and play with.
The Mod Squad's Woody is black with wood-toned side panels, with spare tire on the back. The wood panels have no indication of wood grain, however.
Felicity Shagwell's Corvette convertible is a 1960s model with an American flag emblazoned on the length of the car. This car has an opening hood revealing a detailed engine.
The Black Beauty is a sleek, black limousine painted glossy black on the body, with matte black on the roof to indicate a cloth top. Its headlights are painted green.
Scooby Doo's Mystery Machine is a stubby, bulky model which is accurate down to the roof rack, the flower-pattern spare tire cover in front and the famous flowered logo painted on both sides.
Supercar, the only model with plastic wheels, is the car that science boldly promised the world in the decades leading up to the year 2000. It is painted in bright red, white and yellow, has a large, clear canopy, a bullet nose, rear fins and wings, which in the show extended and retracted. These do not.
Hollywood's cool wheels got mojo
The gems of this set are the Black Beauty, the Mystery Machine and Supercar.
The Black Beauty is a simple model of a great car, and is surely a must-have for fans of Britt Reid, aka the Green Hornet. This car would also make a great companion piece for owners of a similarly sized Batmobile from the same era, as there was a cross-over episode of the Green Hornet and Batman.
The Mystery Machine is a much-awaited toy. Scooby Doo is a TV show that has survived, and remains today as popular as it ever was, being re-aired constantly, most recently on Cartoon Network. Some toy versions of the famous van have been made, but few have captured the mystery and feel of the cartoon van like this one. It's a solid toy that's just fun to drive around on the floor looking for ghosts.
The most fun toy in this line is Supercar. Gerry Anderson's first science-fiction Supermarionation TV series is not well known in the United States, predating his better-known Fireball XL-5, Stingray, Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet, but Anderson's works are widely known and well loved worldwide outside the United States. Supercar is an experimental vehicle capable of travel under the sea, on land and in the air, and is the vehicle used by the show's star, Mike Mercury, on his many adventures.
One warning, though. While most of the car is made of metal, the wings are plastic, and if dropped can break quite easily. Although the packaging specifically states these models are for adult collectors, many children will want these, and as has already been proven, the plastic parts are quite brittle.
Playing Mantis, with these new Johnny Lightning cars, have once again provided collectors and toy lovers with an unusual and eclectic set of vehicles that show and play beautifully, and none of which, thankfully, is marked with logos that do not belong on the actual vehicles, as so many other toy companies have done.
It's about time someone made available affordable toys of the Mystery Machine, Black Beauty and Supercar. I would love to see a version of Supercar painted in grays to reflect the fact that the TV show aired in black and white. I applaud Playing Mantis for producing a toy of such an obscure but lovable vehicle! -- Sean
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