9/9/08

Car Toons Week Day 2: A Gay Old Time

In 1994 Mattel, in conjunction with Pebbles cereal, produced one of the most unique Hot Wheels to date. Not unique because we've never seen a vehicle like it before, on the contrary, we'd been seeing it for decades. Unique because it was such a departure from regular Hot Wheels fare. Which may explain why it was a mail away cereal promo and never released as a mass market casting.

I speak of course of the famous free-wheeling Flintmobile!

The gaudy colors are due to this toy's "changes color in warm and cold water" feature, which is such a lame idea that I will speak of it no further.

The design, however, is excellent and very cartoon accurate. There's great attention to detail all over it, from the ties holding the canopy together to the shell steering wheel to the stone wheels.

"Ugh...traffic. I better take the expressway..."

Not to be outdone, Fred's neighbor Barney finally got a toon accurate ride in 1998. This car is from Johnny Lightning, and although it is officially christened the "Flintstones' Sports car" we all know that it was Barney that drove the log.

The details are limited, but then it IS a log. The steering wheel looks like a stone, and the license plate says "75 BC."

The interior also has a hole in the bottom for the driver's feet to go through. Unfortunately the wheels are standard Johnny Lightning wheels and the chrome is not cartoon accurate, but at least the tires are a rock-like grey color.

"I hate tailgaters!"

"Ahh, much better. I'll be home for dinner in no time."
" Wiiiiiilllllllllllmmaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
Although these vehicles come from dueling die-cast companies (and dueling neighbors,) The Flintmobile and Rubble-log are perfect companion pieces. They're a page right out of history.

They're both pretty much the same 1:64 scale, although the log may be scaled up a bit (or maybe the Flintmobile is a little small in comparison.)

A modern stone-age mini van, next to Rubble's swinging chick magnet.

"Hey Fred...wanna race?"

Car Toons Week Day 2; I bid you adieu with a Pterodactyl's eye view.

Yabba Dabba Doooooooooooo!

2 comments:

  1. i'm such a fan of the flintstones so this was a fun post for me. What a phallic log that Barney had to drive around! Damn, do you think he might've been a little short changed and he was trying to make up for it by driving some huge WOOD......car around? lol BTW Kate Pierson from the b-52s was always pretty freakin hot!

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  2. lol - so what you're saying is that the log-mobile is a prehistoric answer to the Corvette?

    Hahahahah!

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