johnny lightning
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since my first johnny lightning purchase, i have been hooked... y
johnny lightning pontiac gto yellow with red line tires comm. ser. e b35
johnny lightning topper custom 32 ford purple w / white interior redline nr. mint
1960s - 70s johnny lightning / topper die cast purple sand stormer - ex .
5. 0 out of 5 stars - johnny lightning. com racers playing mantis
two vintage johnny lightning redline custom dragster, - not perfect but nice... .
1960s - 70s johnny lightning / topper die cast anti freeze green sand stormer - ex .
the johnny lightning club says that the anouncement of the brand' s demise is premature ...
lightning strike models were ultra limited (less than 1 %) variations made by the previous manufacturer of johnny lightning cars. they are no longer produced .
8 johnny lightning
playing mantis
cars & 1 hot wheel. lot of 9 loaded! loose .
tomy international owns the trademark name and tooling for johnny lightning cars. round 2 licenses the rights to make johnny lightning cars from tomy. all car and packaging design as well as production is handled by round 2 .
the “golden age” of johnny lightning is far behind, i suspect, though i hope the brand continues to survive .
we listen to our collectors and they often post recommendations on the official johnny lightning facebook page which we read daily .
i grew up in the 90s, 28 now, johnny lightning was always my favorite. i have a bunch of older johnny lightning cars, growing up i never got rid of any of my diecast. some are better than others but i
playing mantis was the company that bought the trademark name johnny lightning and reintroduced johnny lightning cars to the market in 1994. the owner, thomas lowe, sold the brand to rc2 corp. in 2004. today the playing mantis name is once again owned by lowe and it’s used on the packaging for johnny lightning cars. it’s no longer the parent company. rather, it is now a brand logo and used to make the connection between the original playing mantis johnny lightning cars and the new ones .
when last produced, most johnny lightning cars were part of the “forever 64” line. those cars featured a plastic chassis and less detail. today, johnny lightning cars have been restored to include a die - cast metal chassis and high - detail painting .
eventually most cars were fitted with plastic baseplates to save money. the last assortment of johnny lightning cars from tomy appeared in 2013 .
relaunched in january 2016, johnny lightning die - cast cars include metal chassis, authentic wheels with real rubber tyres and usually opening hoods .
johnny lightning was formed in 1994 as a subsidiary of playing mantis and is currently a brand primarily used for collectible die - cast toy cars .
this is a vintage redline johnny lightning topper, custom turbine. the car has a few paint chips but otherwise it is in pretty decent condition .
the white lightning variation is johnny lightning’s chase car, a concept introduced to the die - cast market by playing mantis owner tom lowe in 1994. most johnny lightning cars will have a version featuring some special traits that distinguish it from the regular release. these cars are randomly packed into the shipping cartons at the factory. usually the special traits are white and usually the car will have a combination of two. here’s a list of common white lightning features .
here you' ll find vehicle' s from takara tomy. johnny lighting series
1969, topper toys launched johnny lightning “high speed” toy cars. in 1970 and 1971 topper toys sponsored al unser sr. in his johnny lightning special race car. unser went on to win the indianapolis 500 back - to - back helping to further cement the johnny lightning name as a “winner” in the publics mind. as a reference to the indy cars’ performance, topper printed the slogan “beats them all! ” on every package. topper produced 47 di­erent castings before closing in 1971 .
its almost a johnny lightning. i mean... its totally made by johnny lightning however, none of the doors or trunk or hood move. not that i' m going to take it out of the box. i' m just saying... other than that everything came quickly and was as advertised .
well scottrick, looks like you were wrong, johnny lightning didn’t even make it past 4 months from your post…. unfortunately. one of my all - time favorite models .
johnny lightning cars are sold to mass market stores nationwide and most of their stores will carry them. but “most” is not all. specific stores are determined by our mass market partners .
playing mantis closed over ten years ago but i’ve heard that the owner assembled some of the original team to make the new johnny lightning cars. how is that possible after so long ?
orenstein was determined to win the toy - car race, and spared little expense for publicity. his most high - profile venture was sponsoring the parnelli jones race team in 1970 and 1971. in both years al unser drove the “johnny lightning special” to victory at the indianapolis 500. and just as johnny lightning toy cars were making inroads into the thriving die - cast toy business, topper toys closed during a failed attempt to take the company public in 1971. in three years topper produced 47 different models. the johnny lightning name then disappeared for 23 years .
s outh bend, indiana – round 2 proudly announces that they have licensed the rights from tomy international, inc. to produce the iconic johnny lightning® brand of die - cast collectible vehicles .
unique to johnny lightning cars was the “accelerator loop, ” part of the chassis which worked with johnny lightning track sets to get the cars moving faster than mere gravity. as the car passed over the launcher in the track (or “actuator” as orenstein called it) the “driver” would catch the accelerator loop and hurl the car around the circuit for another lap. this invention made it so that johnny lightning cars didn’t need gravity at all. they could run around closed oval speedways and keep going as long as the kids kept using the launcher. it became a game of skill .
the only hope now is that some good company buys johnny lightning, so the production can be back to life again. but as you can imagine, this will be very difficult to happen .
the johnny lightning brand is near and dear to tom lowe. having resurrected the brand once back in 1994 with playing mantis, he is doing it again with his current company, round 2 .
round 2, llc, a collectibles and toy company in south bend, indiana, licenses the rights from tomy to produce johnny lightning cars today. in a curious twist of fate, the owner of round 2 is the former owner of playing mantis, tom lowe. he also assembled the core marketing and design team from the playing mantis days to develop the new johnny lightning cars. look for old favorites like muscle cars u. s. a. and classic gold as well as new themes to emerge in the coming years. says lowe, “the johnny lightning team and i have done our research and picked the best of the best to offer our fellow enthusiasts. ” so strap in and hold on tight as we stomp on the gas with the new johnny lightning…your collection. our passion. 
round 2, llc, a collectibles and toy company in south bend, indiana, licenses the rights from tomy to produce johnny lightning cars today. in a curious twist of fate, the owner of round 2 is the former owner of playing mantis, tom lowe. he also assembled the core marketing and design team from the playing mantis days to develop the new johnny lightning cars. look for old favorites like muscle cars u. s. a. and classic gold as well as new themes to emerge in the coming years. says lowe, “the johnny lightning team and i have done our research and picked the best of the best to offer our fellow enthusiasts. ” so strap in and hold on tight as we stomp on the gas with the new johnny lightning… your collection. our passion .
collectors from all over the world will miss one of the most realistic brands in this scale, with such charismatic and beautifully made cars. johnny lightning introduced some great hollywood cars replicas, and some cars that never appeared on other brands. now we can only count on auto world (from former johnny lightning owners), greenlight and m2, with the same or close level of details in this scale .
johnny lightning 2000 topper series: incredibly, it' s been more than 40 years since topper toy company dove head first into the die - cast car arena, making some of the fastest, coolest die - cast ever. back in 1994, and again in 1995, playing mantis brought replicas of some topper classics back to you... to great popularity! now johnny lightning is offering 6 more replicas of topper' s greatest models. included is a bonus photo card picturing the original topper model and some of the original nostalgic art. for over ten years, johnny lightning has defined the die cast collector' s market by offering vehicles for the discriminating collector. quality construction, realistic details, and popular subject matter make johnny lightning the collector' s choice. ages 8 and up. from rc2
johnny lightning' s legends of star trek starship miniatures were released in both standard decos (as listed above) and as rare
white lightning
variants with alternate paint schemes. these variants were randomly packed into cases shipped to retailers and made up
less than two percent
of the production run .
in the black menu bar of this website, click the “where to buy” button. you’ll see the different chain stores that sell johnny lightning cars. they’re also available from online retailers and hobby shops nationwide .
i was surprised to find johnny lightning cars still on the pegs... they were at my local publix supermarket no less. i wish the brand wasn' t dead they sure make some cool cars
except for series five, all white lightning releases were sold in the same packaging as the regular releases .
according to johnny lightning' s parent company (and owner of amt, the creators of the original studio model), this d7' s paintwork closely resembles the appearance of the production - used tos studio model .
topper johnny lightning custom turbine blue missing the canopy, shiny blue paint has a few tiny paint nicks on front and wear on left rear above wheel and behind seats roll bar turbine part, shiny chr ...
white lightning editions were among the rarest and most collectible jls. look for those to return, as well .
fans and collectors of 1: 64 will be very familiar with johnny lightning. the classic brand has ridden a rollercoaster of fortunes, having disappeared from the market in the early ‘70s only to be resurrected by tom lowe’s playing mantis group in the 1990s, during which time it established itself as a source for scale accuracy in 1: 64 while remaining affordable and accessible in the retail space. rc2 bought up playing mantis in 2005 and johnny lightning underwent a series of changes as it sought to redefine the brand and find a new market niche. the parent company’s struggles eventually resulted in rc2 being sold to tomy, and the johnny lightning brand was discontinued for a second time in 2013. enter tom lowe once again, who has just announced that his current venture—round 2—will be riding in on its white (lightning) horse to save the johnny lightning brand once again—collectors rejoice! round 2’s press release announcing the move appears below, and be sure to check out our next issue (out in december) for the full story !
2015, round 2 is taking the die - cast automotive world by storm with the relaunch of johnny lightning® collector die - cast vehicles! said kerry cunnion, senior vice president of marketing and sales at tomy international, inc. - “it’s great to partner with tom and his round 2 team by licensing them the rights to market johnny lightning® die - cast collectibles. tom and his team are very impassioned about the die - cast collector market… i know that round 2 will do an excellent job relaunching the collector brand. ” thomas lowe responded, “i grew up playing with and collecting johnny lightning® vehicles and having the opportunity to reintroduce this classic brand not just once, but twice is simply amazing. i feel extremely passionate and con‑dent that by both bringing back classic johnny lightning® programs, in their original - styled packaging and introducing newly tooled vehicles… die - cast collectors young and old will once again join with me in “beating them all” .
johnny lightning cars have thrilled collectors with their speed, detail, and quality since 1969. the original emphasis was to make our cars the fastest in downhill racing and on oval track sets. the direction later turned to realism, with production of popular muscle cars leading the way. we’re proud to be known as the creator a new genre of toy car: the collectible die - cast car for the adult collector. while our toys are tough enough for kids, their realism and subject matter appeal to adults. for many of those collectors, johnny lightning cars transport them back to a time when they remember the real muscle cars prowling the streets. these models remain the core of the johnny lightning brand .
johnny lightning produced a line of painted star trek starship miniatures called legends of star trek from 2004 until 2008. the ships measured from ten to twelve centimeters long and were made of pvc. their display stands were cast in zamac metal .
generally, 2% of the production run will be white lightning cars. for example, if we make 10, 000 1971 pontiac gto models in a muscle cars u. s. a. release there would be 200 white lightning versions .
thomas lowe [ pictured ], president and founder of round 2 llc, “electricity is in the air, and i feel extremely fortunate to partner with tomy international, inc. to reintroduce the johnny lightning® brand back into the realm of the collector” .
no movie die - cast vehicle collector can say there collection is anywhere near complete without the delorean from back to the future! there' s a few manufacturers that brought out this vehicle but johnny lightning' s is the best in my opinion. johnny brought out this on a few different blister packs. i think this is the best one if you' re just wanting the delorean time machine. it has nice blue lightning and the clock face in a sort of watermark behind the lightning along with the back to the future logo nicely on top. other versions of the johnny lightning single vehicle blister you can get are from the hollywood on wheels release and come with a bonus showcard with a scene from the movie (there' s a heap of different cards to choose from). even though you get a showcard they still don' t look as nice as... full review
going into the late 1990s the die - cast toy car business grew rapidly in the united states, and johnny lightning rode the crest of that wave into the 21st century. playing mantis remained in the south bend, indiana area for its entire ten - year existence .
round 2 llc is the exclusive manufacturer of johnny lightning® toys and racing champions® replicas. its family of brands also includes auto world® die - cast and electric slot cars, amt®, mpc®, lindberg®, and polar lights® model kits, american muscle® and ertl custom & premium collectibles® .
car buff, toy collector, and entrepreneur tom lowe of cassopolis, michigan discovered that the johnny lightning trademark was abandoned and by 1994 he put it back to work selling toy cars to a new market. he was sure that adults who’d played with johnny lightning cars as children would be attracted to replicas of them. his new company, cleverly named playing mantis, introduced eight models, each in a variety of colors. cars and packaging mimicked the originals and they were an instant hit. made like the topper models with heavy die - cast metal bodies and baseplates, the new johnny lightning cars were hefty, durable, and fast on the track. kids could play with them and adults admired them. and collectors were introduced to somethingnew: the chase car. playing mantis released a limited number of each model painted in pearl white. they were called “a bonus” on the package. these quickly evolved into the popular white lightning chase car, an industry first. other companies quickly followed suit to create their own chase models. white lightning versions, whether early or current, continue to maintain their mystique with collectors .
car buff, toy collector, and entrepreneur tom lowe of cassopolis, michigan discovered that the johnny lightning trademark was abandoned and by 1994 he put it back to work selling toy cars to a new market. he was sure that adults who’d played with johnny lightning cars as children would be attracted to replicas of them. his new company, cleverly named playing mantis, introduced eight models, each in a variety of colors. cars and packaging mimicked the originals and they were an instant hit. made like the topper models with heavy die - cast metal bodies and baseplates, the new johnny lightning cars were hefty, durable, and fast on the track. kids could play with them and adults admired them. and collectors were introduced to something new: the chase car. playing mantis released a limited number of each model painted in pearl white. they were called “a bonus” on the package. these quickly evolved into the popular white lightning chase car, an industry first. other companies quickly followed suit to create their own chase models. white lightning versions, whether early or current, continue to maintain their mystique with collectors .
i' ve been a johnny ligthning collector since 2003. they were my first 1: 64 diecast cars, even before hot wheels. i discovered
homer' s pink car is of one of four johnny lightning simpson' s die - cast vehicles released back in 2003. the other three were marge' s station wagon, the springfield elementary school bus and chief wiggum' s police cruiser. that police cruiser was all white but later johnny lightning as part of the 5th release of hollywood on wheels released an la looking black and white version. in that release homer' s car was also rereleased with tickets over the windshield, the station wagon had dirt spots on the sides and the school bus had a banner painted on it saying school charter. all of the simpson' s vehicles look sensational! they are all brilliant recreations of the drawn vehicles from the popular simpsons tv show. of all the cartoon vehicles released by johnny lightning and other manufacturers, these 4 easily most closely represented the actual ones that... full review
sales were strong in 2004 and it didn’t take long for a buyer to appear. rc2, a company formed a few years earlier from the the purchase of the venerable ertl corporation by racing champions, bought playing mantis in june 2004. tom lowe stayed on in an advisory capacity but rc2 moved the johnny lightning brand and a small number of designers to its headquarters in oak brook, illinois. there, johnny lightning continued to release high - quality replicas of mostly american cars in roughly 1: 64th - scale. as the market for adult collectible toy cars began to taper off after 2007 the production runs became smaller and less frequent. tomy, a japanese toy company, purchased rc2 in 2011 and their u. s. headquarters remained in oak brook. eventually most cars were fitted with plastic baseplates to save money. the last assortment of johnny lightning cars from tomy appeared in 2013 .
m kind of a closet collector these days at least until i get a house. but anyway my son has my very first johnny lightning 70 super bee red with a blue interior. hes 7, saw the new releases in the store and had to buy 2 of them for me for christmas .
1994, thomas lowe established a new kind of collectible toy company… playing mantis. tom premised his new venture on the idea that the collector was king. “keeping a close and on going relationship with the collector / consumer not only made good business sense, but also made all of the hard work involved with designing and producing die - cast cars a whole lot of fun. ” playing mantis also pioneered the white lightning® chase cars. white lightning® vehicles were randomly inserted into sealed cases at the factory and made up 1 - 3% of the production run, making them not only extremely rare, but extremely desirable to the collectors. the johnny lightning® name was once again “beating them all” with the introduction of numerous new high quality muscle car replicas. johnny lightning® brand continued as a cornerstone in the collectible die - cast automotive world. in 2004, rc2 (now tomy international, inc .) purchased playing mantis .
lowe reasoned that if there was a market for replicas of these old toy cars then adults would also be interested in die - cast models of some of their favorite real cars from the period. muscle cars u. s. a. debuted in late 1994 and soon became the bedrock of the new johnny lightning .
the new product will hit store shelves in january of 2016! “the johnny lightning tool bank is absolutely incredible, with over 900 di­erent tools to choose from! our ‑rst 4 releases, consisting of 6 cars each, will be the following themes: muscle cars u. s. a. , classic gold, street freaks and monster trucks. you’ll ‑nd everything the die - cast collector craves from american iron, classic imports and car culture customs. some of these cars were produced only once and most have not been seen on store shelves in over 10 years. the johnny lightning design team and myself have done our research and picked the best of the best to o­er to our fellow enthusiasts. ” says lowe. coming soon, round 2 also plans all - new tooling with the dodge challenger and charger, hellcat versions. so, strap - in and hold on tight as we stomp on the gas with the new johnny lightning… your collection. our passion. ™
after a beautiful 44 years history and several owners, johnny lightning life' s comes to an end. it' s last owner, tomy toys (owner of many brands including tomica) said there are no plans to produce more cars on this brand, and they will only sell the remaining cars produced on the last months .
[ mb ] with this announcement, you are in the unique position of having twice brought the johnny lightning brand back from the brink of extinction. have you been watching jl’s fortunes over the last 12 years? at what point did you feel the calling to play that role again? did you approach it the same way the second time ?
in 1994, thomas e. lowe, an entrepreneur with a love of cars both big and small, founded a company named playing mantis. he then proceeded to resurrect the long lost johnny lightning brand of small scaled diecast cars, originally made by topper toys. eventually, interest in slot car racing and plastic model kits began to resurface and playing mantis responded with polar lights automotive, figural and sci - fi plastic model kits. tom also decided to recreate two slot car racing chassis to market under the johnny lightning brand. one was marketed under the thunder jet 500 name and the other was the very popular x - traction. in 2004, playing mantis was purchased by rc2 corporation .
i’d also suggest that in respect to johnny lightning, there has been an huge fall - off in the number of participants on the main discussion boards, and an exodus of many, many great posters who made those boards so interesting and entertaining. threads and page hits are way down, symptomatic of the hobby at large, or these boards in particular… maybe both .
sales were strong in 2004 and it didn’t take long for a buyer to appear. rc2, a company formed a few years earlier from the the purchase of the venerable ertl corporation by racing champions, bought playing mantis in june 2004. tom lowe stayed on in an advisory capacity but rc2 moved the johnny lightning brand and a small number of designers to its headquarters in oak brook, illinois. there, johnny lightning continued to release high - quality replicas of mostly american cars in roughly 1: 64th - scale. as the market for adult collectible toy cars began to taper off after 2007 the production runs became smaller and less frequent. tomy, a japanese toy company, purchased rc2 in 2011 and their u. s. headquarters remained in oak brook .
unlike all other waves, series five white lightning packaging had a white strip covering part of the purple stripe on the right side of the package' s front, to make them more easily identifiable .
tomy, makers of tomica - brand diecast cars and playsets, announced last week that they will buy rc2 corp. , maker of johnny lightning - brand die - cast cars, outright, in a deal valued at $ 640 million. tomy is increasing its foreign penetration, in part because toys are no longer a growth area in its home market of japan, and in part because of favorable exchange rates .
jeff, i’d say that it speaks first of a general decline in the diecast hobby; perhaps because some brands have had spotty distribution (johnny lightning, greenlight), perhaps because as costs and prices have been driven up, the economy has cooled collector’s spending budgets, or perhaps because in some cases the manufacturer has put out uninspired castings and finishes that just don’t capture collector’s attention (or wallet !) .
i' m so glad to see the johnny lighting brand back! !! you guy' s always made the best and the nicest details on your 1 / 64 scale diecast. i' m so happy
lowe reasoned that if there was a market for replicas of these old toy cars then adults would also be interested in die - cast models of some of their favorite real cars from the period. muscle cars u. s. a. debuted in late 1994 and soon became the bedrock of the new johnny lightning. adult collectors were thrilled to find miniatures of cars such as the gto, mustang boss 302, and superbird .
[ tl ] sure, i’ve been following johnny lightning since i sold the business in 2004 to rc2. i have a good relationship with a couple of executives at rc2 (now tomy), and i have been talking to them about the possibility of me taking over jl for a few years now. the approach had to be different because it is not an abandoned brand without any tool bank, like it was in 1994 .
attention jl fans! our good friends over at the lincoln johnny lightning race club will be holding their 4th annual diecast jam event on saturday july 28 and sunday july 29th at the maccoll ymca located at 26 breakneck hill rd lincoln ri. the doors open at 9am both days and it' s free to get in. there will be tons of vendor tables with die - cast to buy, sell, and trade as well as downhill grav
the johnny lightning website will be the go - to place for the latest information on current and upcoming releases as well as feature stories and information on where to find specific cars. plus, we’re developing an interactive garage designed to make cataloging your collection not only useful but fun. and we’ll live - feed our news to social - media outlets, like facebook, where collectors can talk with us about the latest news, comment, repost it, and so on .
with each passing year, playing mantis tested new themes: dragsters, pickup trucks, pace cars, corvettes, james bond, police, mustangs, military, hollywood, and coca - cola, to name a few. going into the late 1990s the die - cast toy car business grew rapidly in the united states, and johnny lightning rode the crest of that wave into the 21st century. playing mantis remained in the south bend, indiana area for its entire ten - year existence .
woah, didn' t realize jl was on the ropes. sucko. i was never a big johnny collector but respected their models and detail... and we all know at least one of their cars is super fast, nearly unbeaten .
round 2, llc is an innovative collectibles and toy company located in south bend, in. the creative team at round 2 is dedicated to producing detailed, high quality collectible and playable items appealing to the young and young at heart. round 2 brands include polar lights®, amt® and mpc® model kits. auto world® slot cars, forever fun™ seasonal products and the licensed brands johnny lightning, racing champions, legends of the quarter mile, american muscle®, ertl collectibles® and vintage fuel™ die cast .
among the first new johnny lightnings will be muscle cars usa release 1, which includes (clockwise from top left) the ’70 mustang mach 1, ’71 buick gsx, ’69 coronet r / t conv, ’70 rebel machine, ’67 chevelle malibu, and ’71 gto .
reaction to the big news also says something about the die - cast market. in 2004, when it was announced that johnny lightning was going to be sold to racing champions, there was a lot of collector chatter on message boards, pro and con – everything from “hurrah” to “the end is nigh. ” reaction on the handful of message boards we scan for information revealed little passionate reaction. is this the state of the hobby, where if it’s not a hot wheels it doesn’t matter, or are we just looking at the wrong message boards ?
enter, once again, tom lowe and his current venture: round 2. the producer of the auto world brand of 1: 18 and 1: 64 diecast, round 2 was uniquely positioned to understand the current market conditions and also the value of the jl brand. this past september, round 2 made the big announcement that it had acquired the rights to jl and would be resuming production of the beloved brand. so we went straight to the source and asked tom how it all came about and what collectors can expect from the new generation of johnny lightning .
johnny lightning (jl) is a brand name with which all fans of 1: 64 diecast will be instantly familiar. introduced originally by topper toys in 1969, quick on the heels of hot wheels’ launch, jl focused from the outset on speed above all. to raise brand awareness and further emphasize its association with speed, jl sponsored al unser’s race car in the 1970 and ’71 indy 500s, capturing victory both years. the victories raised the brand’s profile and greatly boosted sales, but even that was not enough to weather the financial difficulties of its parent company, which went under in 1971 .
i got this a long time ago, and i really like it. this is a 1 / 18 scale model of herbie, the car that starred in the love bug (1969), herbie rides again (1974), herbie goes to monte carlo (1977), herbie goes bananas (1980), and herbie fully loaded (2005). it comes from johnny lightning. this is a 1963 volkswagen beetle. inside and out, the authenticity is just great. for example, the seats are the right color - - white. the item is durable and easy to use. it makes an excellent display model .
a stylized 1 / 64 scale version of the famed 1970 plymouth roadrunner superbird. approx 1900 of the actual real car produced, it was made to give plymouth an edge in nascar auto racing. and it was worked! so well, that nascar outlawed it the following year. this toy has both the body and chassis made of metal making it sturdy. the bottom of the chassis has a special hook that allowed it to be launched by a johnny lightning only launcher. special
racer' s edge
hard wheels made its contact surface against the track minimal allowing it to travel at faster speeds. a pretty neat and durable toy car .
upc: 036881219576 21957 tomy johnny lightning - the dukes of hazzard cooter' s ford mustang hard top. 1: 18 scale diecast collectible model car. this 68 ford mustang is a 10
lx 3. 5
wx 2. 5
h die cast metal car with workable steering, and openable hood, doors & trunk. detailed engine & interior. sits on a display plaque. 21957 is in blue color with flames. this 1968 ford mustang is manufactured by tomy johnny lightning. individually packed in a window box. box size: 13. 75
lx 6. 25
wx 5. 75
h. the dukes of hazzardthe dukes of hazzard classic television series celebrates the good ol' usa, so get ready for action - hazzard county styles! the duke boys and their beautiful cousin daisy are battling the law and fighting for the good guys. despite a knack for getting into trouble, the dukes of hazzard always have a way of getting out... eventually. along the way, fans enjoy racing cars, flying cars, tumbling cars and plenty of good old - fashioned country fun... mostly in cars! to see other the dukes of hazzard cars (click here). to see other die - cast entertainment movie cars (click here). case pack: 6 pcs. price quoted is for 1 pcs .
, owner of round 2, llc, has been able to acquire key licenses to help expand and grow his company. when he started playing mantis, he helped relaunch many key properties from the 60s and 70s like johnny lightning, polar lights (echoing aroura model kits), and was looking for other properties he had when he was a kid. captain action was one of those toys he remembered. he launched the line and it ran for many years with playing mantis. during this time joe was brought on as a consultant due to his vast knowledge of all things captain action. when tom started up round 2, he recalled what was done during the playing mantis days and began investigating captain action once again. thats when he contacted joe ahearn, who at this point acquired the captain action mark .
jaws ranks as one of the greatest movies ever for a good reason. the only problem was that since most of it took place in the water, there wasn' t much for us four - wheel fans to latch on to. fortunately, there was one vehicle that can be forever tied with the movie: brody' s amity pd blazer. it may not have had the screen presence of christine or lightning mcqueen, but it still allowed me to build a tribute to spielberg' s classic .
returns to toy stores to entertain old and new fans alike. originally conceived way back in 1966 by the ideal toy company, captain action sparked the imagination of a generation with the ability to assume many different identities. the 12 - inch many - in - one hero was awesome on his own accord, decked out in his sleek blue and black uniform and armed with a futuristic lightning sword and ray gun. however, the real fun began when fans collected the other costumes and accessories (each sold separately, of course) to transform captain action into a true man of action: other amazing heroes. and not just any generic hero. these were
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and so, what does this mean for us, as collectors? in the short - term, our guess is that it doesn’t mean much. rc2 is a maker of a wide variety of children’s products, everything from baby bathtubs to huge quantities of thomas the tank engine to ertl - branded john deere farm toys and playsets. (in fact, between tomica’s city playsets and ertl’s country flavor, there’s opportunity for a greatly expanded play world there. )
die - cast is a very, very small part of rc2’s overall portfolio. it seems unlikely that the two die - cast tooling banks would merge, and, contrary to what some have speculated when the deal was announced, we’re not expecting an isuzu elf hi - roof hot - dog van painted black with flames anytime soon. (though it would be cool .) whether this would do anything to solve jl’s seemingly perpetual distribution issues, or bring tomy’s tomica line into the die - cast aisle, we can only hope .
pan american, the mysterious packard concept sports car. which way did they go ?
i collect small diecast cars, but i don’t follow the corporate news. i just like the little cars. i just hope that jl doesn’t get cheapened or made to produce less interesting car choices. their quality and diversity, at a low price, is what drew me to them in the first place .
you are right, they may have cheapen a little bit with the plastic bases but they are still detailed well, you can, t beat a johnnylightning for the price, just look on ebay, they go for 9. 00 or more for just a plain jane diecast car, then go over to greenlight and m2 machines it a train reck, there prices have droped so bad it ashame and those green machines are the worst, you cannot put them besides a whitelightning anyday, and i mean for cash value, you might get your money back from the wl but if you bought a greenmachine you just threw your money out the window, scottrick
i would disagree greenlight is great company to work with great products. green machines are alot more rare .
i think the key here is that tomy bought rc2 for the childrens toy angle not the diecast .
the jl line itself is less than 1% of total revenue and the net is not even a blip on tomy’s radar. it will be years before they even get to it. would not surprise if they even sold it of as it is so inconsequential to the operation. not meaning to insult just looking at the full picture .
the john deere / farm lines are much bigger but is the dominant player in the market, can’t imagine they would mess with something that is working .
the reality is that this is a business and they were pursuing market share worldwide and business channels in the us which they have sorely lacked. part of the overall world condensing…. .
hobby talk (and the other boards) i suspect have long since peaked. a look every few days at the main page tells you that. they now go days between new threads, sometimes .
first off, tomy would have to infuse some dollars and produce new models. rc2 did a great job of killing off j / l. second, i see no evidence of the promised tomica’s here, in the us. third, with our economy, tanking, i can understand hobbyists hesidence to spend needed money on collectables. as for me, i’m still searching !
just noticed this summer, july 2012, the tomy name appearing on the jl cards sold mostly at walmart. hadn’t heard about the 2011 sale as reported in jeff’s article. personally, i wish we’d see more tomica diecast in the us. i like those models, to be sure .
there is only one brand of diecast in the 1; 64 scale and that is johnnylightning, yes you heard me, that, s what i said. in this scale they are the best detailed cars i have ever seen, hot wheels are toys, matchbox used to be good diecast until mattel got there hands onto them, and i don, t even think m2 machines and greenlight are even going to last thru to 2015, i really think they will both be out of business by then, it will be the big three, hotwheels, matchbox, and johnnylightning have a good day and thanks for reading this little tidbit, scottrick
ok well i hope we don’t lose our american classics that would be a terrible lost and i hope to see them again strong in our canadian wal - marts again. to the reason i slowed down on collecting is because well here any way is the same old same old and i’m more a pickup truck type of guy and collector as for farm toys i hope jd still stays strong and case ih stieger as nh because not being racist um when foreign asian country take over american product i have notice they seem to vanish and will john - deere resign the licensing contract. now on a high sde hope them well and i would hope they get more agi farm equipment manufactures to come on board i. e. agco i like agco farm equipment more less the old school stuff canadian cockshutt oliver, white, mm ac massey - harris and mf 🙂 to i wish they will open the suggestion door again hence half the reason i slowed down from collecting if they would open up the suggestion box again that would increase collectors really
myself as a collector i noticed one thing about johnnylightning, and that is how they went through a change with each company that owned them. after topper sold them they got a litter better then with playing mantis and rc2 and learning curve the cast started becoming collectors items instead of toys like hotwheels and matchboxes. greenlight and m2 are on the same road but they over produce all there product. in the long run your greenlights and m2s will never be worth much because there is too many of them. for instant, the same thing that big business did to the sport card hobby .
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the brand was released in 1969 to compete on the hot market of 1: 64 scale cars, where hot wheels and matchbox were already playing. in 1994 the brand was sold to playing mantis, that refreshed their products and showed the world some great castings. in 2005 it was sold again to rc2 corporation (previous racing champions) and it was changed hands again recently when tomy bought it. this last period of its life changed their concept, and the cars become less interesting than before .
what' s happening behind the scene is that the costs to manufacture small cars had raised on the last years, and today it' s almost impossible to produce cars with great quality and small prices. labor costs raised on china and asia, and transport and logistics costs are very high today. sum the fact that children want other kind of toys today (tablets, cell phones, videogames), and adult collectors are pressed today with the global crisis that maybe it' s far away from an ending. that same scenario shut down great brands recently, like yat ming and gmp .
competition is good for business but also bad... too bad such good quality comes at a high price .
guess that means the jls with start becoming
rare
...? i know they sold millions but i assume a dead brand becomes desirable after too long .
@ iowa - do you have a link to the article you read about this? i' d like to reference it in some other posts. thanks .
i' d like the other way around! put some ftes on one of their sweet detailed castings... speed and spectacle all in one !
wow... that' s a pretty serious blow to our favorite pasttime. at least
the rivalry
( hw vs jl) will never die as long as the cars are still around, however finite they may be .
r. i. p .
jl
.... what you' ve already made will always be treasured and' what coulda been' will certainly be missed .
* * note, you will need to have it translated into english - - which my browser does. this site seems to be on the top of things by showing sneaks of cars well before the manufactures release them and have gotten quite the following .
if you look in the comments, the person that wrote the article claims that it came from the largest supplier of jls in the us (milezone toys and giflts) - - which i have never heard of .
i havent seen jls in our immediate area (north of dfw) for over a year and there are not any out right now ...
i' m hoping that the preson that wrote that article only heard an untrue rumor ...
i own 3 jl cars. nice items, but i own more than a 1000 hw. go figure... ...... . .
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fast - forward 22 years, when tom lowe, ceo of playing mantis, acquired the rights to the brand name and revived production of many of the original castings, soon to be joined by a host of all - new vehicles. fans of the original topper jls were drawn in by the nostalgia, while a new generation of fans was attracted by jl’s commitment to the accurate portrayal of real vehicles. the brand thrived and eventually caught the eye of rc2, who purchased playing mantis from tom in 2004. the jl brand soldiered on under rc2’s stewardship, but the company gradually shifted its focus toward its more lucrative preschool markets and jl, while still rolling, got less attention. rc2 itself was bought by japanese toy manufacturer tomy in 2011. it initially continued to rerelease versions of rc2’s jl castings, but in 2013, it suspended jl production.
johnny lightning is a brand of model cars originally produced by topper toys , similar to the hugely successful mattel hot wheels die cast racing cars . their claim to fame at that time was that they were extremely fast compared to other brands of die-cast cars . their most important technology was to mold in a small hook under the front axle so that they could be propelled by a lever-driven catapult , far faster than could be obtained by either gravity , or battery powered " supercharger " devices . topper closed in 1971 and production of johnny lightning cars ceased for 23 years . in 2003 thomas lowe secured the trademark rights to the johnny lightning name for his playing mantis company . playing mantis produced toy cars under the johnny lightning brand name from 1994 to june 2004 . at that time playing mantis ( including the johnny lightning brand ) was bought by rc2 corp. which in turn was bought by the japanese toy company tomy in 2011 . tomy discontinued the johnny lightning line of diecast cars in 2013 . the brand continued to maintain a following by a loyal group of collectors . in early 2016 round 2 llc , a toy company owned by thomas lowe ( who also owned playing mantis ) , revived and reintroduced johnny lightning vehicles to the toy market for a second time . 
johnny lightning is a brand of model cars originally produced by topper toys, similar to the hugely successful mattel hot wheels die cast racing cars. their claim to fame at that time was that they were extremely fast compared to other brands of die-cast cars. their most important technology was to mold in a small hook under the front axle so that they could be propelled by a lever-driven catapult, far faster than could be obtained by either gravity, or battery powered " supercharger " devices. topper closed in 1971 and production of johnny lightning cars ceased for 23 years. in 2003 thomas lowe secured the trademark rights to the johnny lightning name for his playing mantis company. playing mantis produced toy cars under the johnny lightning brand name from 1994 to june 2004. at that time playing mantis (including the johnny lightning brand) was bought by rc2 corp. which in turn was bought by the japanese toy company tomy in 2011. tomy discontinued the johnny lightning line of diecast cars in 2013. the brand continued to maintain a following by a loyal group of collectors. in early 2016 round 2 llc, a toy company owned by thomas lowe (who also owned playing mantis), revived and reintroduced johnny lightning vehicles to the toy market for a second time.
johnny lightning is a brand of model cars originally produced by topper toys, similar to the hugely successful mattel hot wheels die cast racing cars. their claim to fame at that time was that they were extremely fast compared to other brands of die-cast cars. their most important technology was to mold in a small hook under the front axle so that they could be propelled by a lever-driven catapult, far faster than could be obtained by either gravity, or battery powered " supercharger " devices. topper closed in 1971 and production of johnny lightning cars ceased for 23 years. in 2003 thomas lowe secured the trademark rights to the johnny lightning name for his playing mantis company. playing mantis produced toy cars under the johnny lightning brand name from 1994 to june 2004. at that time playing mantis (including the johnny lightning brand) was bought by rc2 corp. which in turn was bought by the japanese toy company tomy in 2011. tomy discontinued the johnny lightning line of diecast cars in 2013. the brand continued to maintain a following by a loyal group of collectors. in early 2016 round 2 llc, a toy company owned by thomas lowe (who also owned playing mantis), revived and reintroduced johnny lightning vehicles to the toy market for a second time.