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Typ3nut Samba Member
Joined: October 08, 2002 Posts: 1188 Location: MI, MotorCity ManCave
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Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2009 1:41 pm Post subject: Johnny Lightning Volkswagen Die-cast Cars |
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Has anyone in the Johnny Lightning world, heard this rumor ?
Is it true about Johnny Lightning has been sold to another company ?
No More JL Cars ?...I haven't seen any at the stores...No More VW's ?
Also, I've heard that the company that has bought them will no longer be using metal base's and all be plastic, except for those more exclusively "specialty priced" models.
Give me some feedback on any truth to the matter.
I love my Volkwagen JOHNNY LIGHTNING Collection ! |
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Glenn Mr. 010
Joined: December 25, 2001 Posts: 76762 Location: Sneaking up behind you
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Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2009 1:43 pm Post subject: |
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They just became more valuable. _________________ Glenn
74 Beetle Specs | 74 Beetle Restoration | 2180cc Engine
"You may not get what you pay for, but you always pay for what you get"
Member #1009
#BlueSquare |
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Fish Samba Member
Joined: December 05, 2000 Posts: 5538 Location: OB. It's beside the point.
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Posted: Mon Feb 12, 2018 5:38 pm Post subject: Re: Johnny Lightning Volkswagen Die-cast Cars |
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Instead of starting a new thread, I thought I use this existing thread. Personaly I don't know the answer to the question, but would like to know.
Anyway, I going to start posting my Johnny Lightning's here.
Here is my latest purchase. Thanks, jtauxe.
_________________ Prosit!
.·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·..><((((º>
.·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·..><((((º>
# 303 and #156
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery! |
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Fish Samba Member
Joined: December 05, 2000 Posts: 5538 Location: OB. It's beside the point.
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Posted: Mon Feb 12, 2018 6:18 pm Post subject: Re: Johnny Lightning Volkswagen Die-cast Cars |
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Ive had these for a while.
M.A.C.E. Buses. Midwest Air-Cooled Enthusiasts. http://www.maceclub.org Although this is no longer the correct web site.
1964 VW Samba Bus. 21 window with sun roof.
_________________ Prosit!
.·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·..><((((º>
.·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·..><((((º>
# 303 and #156
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!
Last edited by Fish on Mon Feb 12, 2018 6:22 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Fish Samba Member
Joined: December 05, 2000 Posts: 5538 Location: OB. It's beside the point.
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Blue Baron VW Aficionado
Joined: June 16, 2006 Posts: 23760 Location: Southeast USA
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Posted: Mon Feb 12, 2018 10:44 pm Post subject: Re: Johnny Lightning Volkswagen Die-cast Cars |
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How about a little history lesson?
The original Johnny Lightning cars were introduced by the Topper toy company in 1969, and the VW "Bug Bomb" was one of the 11 original models. These were the closest competitor to Mattel Hot Wheels, and at their peak, Topper was selling one Johnny Lightning car for every three Hot Wheels. Here are the Toppers from my collection. (I just need gold and I'll have all the colors.) Clockwise from the center: green, orange, lime, magenta, blue, red and purple.
Topper closed down in 1971, and it wasn't for another 23 years that Johnny Lightning reappeared in 2003, owned by Playing Mantis. Today, Johnny Lightning is owned by Round 2 Models, which also owns the Auto World and Racing Champions brands of diecast cars.
Website: http://round2corp.com/product-category/johnny-lightning/ _________________ We are striving for perfection, to make our cars run forever, if possible.
Heinz Nordhoff |
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Fish Samba Member
Joined: December 05, 2000 Posts: 5538 Location: OB. It's beside the point.
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Posted: Tue Feb 13, 2018 12:51 pm Post subject: Re: Johnny Lightning Volkswagen Die-cast Cars |
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Blue Baron, Thank you for the history and most of all the link. _________________ Prosit!
.·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·..><((((º>
.·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·..><((((º>
# 303 and #156
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery! |
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Typ3nut Samba Member
Joined: October 08, 2002 Posts: 1188 Location: MI, MotorCity ManCave
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Posted: Tue Feb 13, 2018 2:44 pm Post subject: Re: Johnny Lightning Volkswagen Die-cast Cars |
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Here's my Johnny Lightning Air-cooled Volkswagen Collection
But the Hard Ones to Find are the WHITE LIGHTNING Series which has the White Wheels and some have White Chassis Base and Interior.
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Typ3nut Samba Member
Joined: October 08, 2002 Posts: 1188 Location: MI, MotorCity ManCave
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Posted: Tue Feb 13, 2018 3:19 pm Post subject: Re: Johnny Lightning Volkswagen Die-cast Cars |
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Here's some Air-cooled Volkswagen's from the Christmas Series
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Blue Baron VW Aficionado
Joined: June 16, 2006 Posts: 23760 Location: Southeast USA
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Posted: Tue Feb 13, 2018 11:53 pm Post subject: Re: Johnny Lightning Volkswagen Die-cast Cars |
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Awesome photos from the man who started this thread.
I have a decent smattering of these cars, but my collecting mainly focuses on older, "pre-barcode" toys.
Here's my "newer stuff" showcase.
_________________ We are striving for perfection, to make our cars run forever, if possible.
Heinz Nordhoff |
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scottyrocks Samba Member
Joined: August 19, 2016 Posts: 2645 Location: Long Island, NY
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Posted: Wed Feb 14, 2018 11:27 am Post subject: Re: Johnny Lightning Volkswagen Die-cast Cars |
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Blue Baron wrote: |
How about a little history lesson?
The original Johnny Lightning cars were introduced by the Topper toy company in 1969, and the VW "Bug Bomb" was one of the 11 original models. These were the closest competitor to Mattel Hot Wheels, and at their peak, Topper was selling one Johnny Lightning car for every three Hot Wheels. Here are the Toppers from my collection. (I just need gold and I'll have all the colors.) Clockwise from the center: green, orange, lime, magenta, blue, red and purple.
Topper closed down in 1971, and it wasn't for another 23 years that Johnny Lightning reappeared in 2003, owned by Playing Mantis. Today, Johnny Lightning is owned by Round 2 Models, which also owns the Auto World and Racing Champions brands of diecast cars.
Website: http://round2corp.com/product-category/johnny-lightning/ |
I still have a couple of these (purple and magenta). The problem with these particular cars is that they couldn't be used on the Johnny Lightning oval track - the one where you had to shoot them up the hill with a lever attached to a hook in the track that caught a hole in the bottom of the car.
The engines and pipes would get caught on the clear plastic guard at the top, and not go around the track. So we removed them.
My brotherr and I played with is thing for hours upon hours. The sound of it drove my Mom nuts. _________________ “If you care for a thing long enough, it takes on a life of its own, doesn't it? Mending old things, preserving them, looking after them – on some level there's no rational grounds for it.”
– D. Tartt, 'The Goldfinch' |
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Blue Baron VW Aficionado
Joined: June 16, 2006 Posts: 23760 Location: Southeast USA
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Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2018 12:02 am Post subject: Re: Johnny Lightning Volkswagen Die-cast Cars |
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Good for you and your brother, and great to see you still have the track.
Another thing that drove parents crazy was "snow" on the TV screen when we ran our slot cars. _________________ We are striving for perfection, to make our cars run forever, if possible.
Heinz Nordhoff |
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williams63 Samba Member
Joined: March 05, 2006 Posts: 216 Location: NH
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Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2018 6:49 pm Post subject: Re: Johnny Lightning Volkswagen Die-cast Cars |
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I have more Hot Wheels than Johnny Lightning. just started buying a lot of custom made bugs and some are made from 2 or more brands of cars. blue baron love the bug bombs! |
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Fish Samba Member
Joined: December 05, 2000 Posts: 5538 Location: OB. It's beside the point.
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Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2018 5:31 pm Post subject: Re: Johnny Lightning Volkswagen Die-cast Cars |
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Picked this up at the Big Three Parts Exchange last weekend.
_________________ Prosit!
.·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·..><((((º>
.·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·..><((((º>
# 303 and #156
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery! |
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Blue Baron VW Aficionado
Joined: June 16, 2006 Posts: 23760 Location: Southeast USA
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Posted: Mon Feb 26, 2018 12:58 am Post subject: Re: Johnny Lightning Volkswagen Die-cast Cars |
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Nice single cab!
I see they're still playing that "limited edition" programmed collectibles game. It's a gimmick to make you think you're getting something special, then they just change the color for the next production run. _________________ We are striving for perfection, to make our cars run forever, if possible.
Heinz Nordhoff |
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KaeferModelle Samba Member
Joined: April 18, 2013 Posts: 86
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Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2018 12:07 am Post subject: Re: Johnny Lightning Volkswagen Die-cast Cars |
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I have 8 1:18 Johnny Lightnings
1. normal Herbie
2. normal Herbie White Lightning (with white tires)
3. Junkyard Herbie
4. Junkyard Herbie White Lightning (with white tires)
5. Herbie goes Bananas
6. normal red Beetle
7. Hells Angels
8. Grateful Dead
Then I have the "Seabreeze Point"-Diorama with the Herbie without Herbie-Decals.
And I have several Christmas Ornaments and other Beetles in 1:64 scale.
Does anyone know if there are more than these 8 beetles in 1:18 scale?
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Blue Baron VW Aficionado
Joined: June 16, 2006 Posts: 23760 Location: Southeast USA
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Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2018 3:29 pm Post subject: Re: Johnny Lightning Volkswagen Die-cast Cars |
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Nice Seabreeze Point diorama. Most have Herbie with his numbers and stripes. When Playing Mantis learned of the mistake, they corrected it for the final run. _________________ We are striving for perfection, to make our cars run forever, if possible.
Heinz Nordhoff |
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KaeferModelle Samba Member
Joined: April 18, 2013 Posts: 86
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Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2018 4:01 pm Post subject: Re: Johnny Lightning Volkswagen Die-cast Cars |
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A user of my Beetle Models forum told me that Herbie actually did not have the typical Herbie decals in the movie scene. But I could not remember the scene. |
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Hacksaw-BoB Samba Member
Joined: March 12, 2009 Posts: 778 Location: Arizona
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Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2018 7:29 pm Post subject: Re: Johnny Lightning Volkswagen Die-cast Cars |
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Hi KaeferModelle,
Just curious about why all the photos that you post have the Copyright C emblem and the www.KaeferModelle.de . . .
. . . most of the time that distracts from looking at a really nice photo that you post
. . and besides, have all those photos really gone through the Copyright Preparation, Copyright Registration,
and received an official Registration Certificate _________________ Hacksaw BoB
http://www.VintageVolkswagenModels.com
Collector of Vintage VW Toys
BoB's Restor-Version Shop |
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Blue Baron VW Aficionado
Joined: June 16, 2006 Posts: 23760 Location: Southeast USA
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Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2018 8:22 pm Post subject: Re: Johnny Lightning Volkswagen Die-cast Cars |
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KaeferModelle wrote: |
A user of my Beetle Models forum told me that Herbie actually did not have the typical Herbie decals in the movie scene. |
That is correct.
_________________ We are striving for perfection, to make our cars run forever, if possible.
Heinz Nordhoff |
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