Well, people seemed to enjoy last week's Hot Wheels post, so I figured I would extend it a bit to this week. So, let's take a look at another great Hot Wheels accessory...the Super Charger!
By 1969 Mattel knew they had a huge hit with Hot Wheels. They also knew that when you have a huge hit, you should milk it with accessories. They were the company that made a universe of toys out of the Barbie line, after all!
Still, you can't exactly make new outfits for cars to wear, so they had to get creative. One of their most successful ideas was the Super Charger.
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| I love the racing shop graphics on this side. |
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| In case you forgot what it was called... |
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| Two real 1969 cars...the Splittin' Image and the Volkswagen Beach Bomb. I included the Beach Bomb because it was redesigned for the Super Charger. If you find one that is skinny and has the surf boards coming out the back window, you've found a chunk of change! |
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| I also included two 1970 cars; the Classic Nomad and the Boss Hoss Club Car. The chrome Boss Hoss could only be found in the Hot Wheels Club Kit. |
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| The "go lever!" My Super Charger still works, by the way... |
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| The spinning wheels launched the cars down the track. This was the reason the Beach Bomb had to be widened. (Also it was top heavy on the banked turns) |
I found my Super Charger at a toy show in Fort Worth a few years ago. It went so well with my Hot Wheels collection that I snapped it up! Now it's a fun part of my collection!
Until next time, keep searching for treasure!
Do you have the external power source or run it off batteries?
ReplyDeleteIt runs on D cells! How much more 60s can you get, lol!
DeleteI have one I "inherited" from neighbors when they moved, although it still had the same set of batteries that had been inserted in probably 1976...with all of the resultant damage you might expect.
ReplyDeleteI've read that there was an external power source available but have never seen one. I can't see a place to plug one in on mine; maybe there was a special "deluxe" edition that I'm confusing with the base model.
My kids have a "car flinger" racetrack along the same concept themed to Cars from the mid-2000s, but it uses specialized track and cars and isn't compatible with normal Hot Wheels. The only Hot Wheels car launcher set they have ever seen is the single-track "Criss Cross Crash" set, which is a lot of fun but doesn't do much for their cars' paint schemes.
I also introduced them to the Sizzlers concept via the Cars-themed "Charge-Ups" line. Same concept, same chargers, and uses the same, black "fat track," although the cars are too wide for the traditional orange track. Had a lot of fun with those.