I’ve been feeling pretty nostalgic for Hot Wheels lately, so I feel like running down some of my favorite Hot Wheels toys in this edition of Retro Ramblings. Indulge me if you will.
There have been plenty of cool Hot Wheels toys that have come along in recent years, but my list is looking at Hot Wheels toys from the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s. I’m not including any individual cars this time out, because I hope to do a deep dive on those in the near future.
Sto & Go Playsets
Hot Wheels made their own play sets for a while called Sto and Go. You can’t see it in this picture, but these things folded up and made their own carrying case, hence the name Sto and Go. They made several versions of this play set, but the city one was probably my favorite. There was one at my grandmother’s house, and it became the main street area from The Dukes of Hazzard as we played with the Ertl cars based on the show.. I had a lot of various construction-themed vehicles and the construction zone Sto and Go was a great addition to those cars.
Master Caster Car Maker
The Master Caster was such a cool idea. It was a Hot Wheels car factory, that allowed you to make your own Hot Wheels cars out of wax! You could get colored wax bars to use in it, or you could just take the paper off some crayons and dump them in. That gave you the ability to create some cars with really custom colors. There were several molds you could use, and it came with wheel and axle sets to use. It would heat the wax, and with a turn of the handle, you could pour the melted wax into the mold to make the car. It was quite the next-level toy for Hot Wheels-loving kids. I never actually owned it, but my brother did, so I got to make a few cars of my own.
Snake Mountain Challenge
As a lover of all things He-Man, this Hot Wheels playset was awesome! I got it for Christmas in 1986 and spent a while that Christmas day with my dad and brother trying to “escape” Snake Mountain. The playset itself was really cool, but the exclusive Masters of the Universe car that came with it took the cake.
Color Racers
Cars that change color will always be cooler than cars that don’t. These color racers were like getting two cars instead of one. All you had to do was dip them in some water, and they would completely change colors! It was such an awesome gimmick. The pack of cars on the left in the photo is one of the sets I had. They all changed really well, and the last time I pulled out the jeep last year, it still changed colors.
Crack-Ups
Before these Crack-Ups came along, I would create “crashed” cars by taking a hammer to them. The problem with that method was that there was no way to undo the damage when you were done playing. Then Crack-Ups came along and you could wreck the cars, and they would show damage. Then when you were done, you could easily undo the damage and have pristine-looking cars once again.
So there are five of my favorite Hot Wheels toys from when I was a kid. As I said at the top, I hope to get to talking about my favorite individual cars in the near future.
You know how sometimes you find yourself sitting around doing whatever, and a random thought just pops into your head about some fast food item, or one of your favorite home-cooked dishes? And then right behind it comes the hunger pain, and then you walk around with this craving laying heavy on you until you make the run to that fast food place, or whip up that dish that’s been on your mind, and quench that craving.
Well, that’s what every waking moment of my life is like. But I get no relief from those cravings, ’cause the food that I crave doesn’t exist anymore in most cases. I continually carry the burden of a thirst that can’t be quenched. I’m like those cursed pirates in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.
I can’t satisfy those cravings because what I crave just can’t be found. I’m talking about all those awesome fast food items, chips, candies, snacks, and drinks from years gone by, and they’re always on my mind and driving me crazy! And I don’t know if it helps, or just makes the cravings worse to talk about them, but I’m going to do it anyway. And today, I’m talking about one of my most missed foods…Del Monte pudding…in a can!
Kids who came along in the early ’90s and later can have their Hunt’s Snack Packs, or their Swiss Miss from the dairy aisle. For me, the king of the hill when it came to pre-packaged pudding was Del Monte’s Chocolate Pudding in the can. Not a plastic cup, but in the little metal can! Scientists can conduct all the experiments they want to determine what effects tin and plastic packaging have on the taste of packaged food, but I can save them a little time and sum it for them in one sentence. It just tasted better out of the can! Period. End of story.
Of course, fond memories, nostalgia, and many, many years of time can mislead the brain when it comes to reality. Maybe it wasn’t the metal can that made it taste better. It could have been the fact that I would get this fantastic little treat when visiting my grandmother. She always kept a large supply on hand, because she had 16 grandchildren, and every one of us were fans of these little cans of chocolate heaven. More times than I can even start to remember, my cousins and I would sit on her front porch indulging in the magic of those little cans of pudding while talking about important subjects of the day like He-Man, Transformers, and the latest issue of Batman.
When I was sick and out of school, that meant a day at Grandma’s to recuperate. And on those days, you were treated to not one, but TWO cans of Del Monte Chocolate pudding. One with lunch, and an extra one “just because” later in the afternoon. You pair those cans of pudding with some Tropicana orange juice out of its glass bottle, and a can of Chicken Noodle soup, you had a remedy for sickness better than anything a doctor could prescribe.
Nowadays, you can always run to the store to pick up a 4-pack of pudding in cheap plastic cups, but you’ll not find that incredible taste that you could enjoy when you popped a top on a can of Del Monte back in the day.
Here’s another rerun episode of the Wax Pack Flashback show I do for The Retro Network YouTube Channel. It’s where I open old packs of trading cards and let you watch along and relive the excitement of thumbing through the pack.
In this episode, I opened a pack of Dick Tracy cards from 1990. These cards were based on the blockbuster movie of that year and are made up of scenes from the movie. It was full of colorful, over-the-top characters, so it translated really well to a series of trading cards. You can watch the episode below, and if it tickles your fancy, you can check out the Wax Pack Flashback playlist on the TRN YouTube channel. There are over 50 episodes there currently, with more new episodes coming soon. Enjoy!
You know me and junk food. I just can’t seem to get it all out of my system. Such is the case today because I want to talk about an offering from McDonald’s that should still be on the menu. It was a special burger with a special tie-in, and when I’m through describing it, I think you’ll want it back as well.
McDonald’s has released more than its fair share of various hamburgers and sandwiches through the years. Some have been big hits, and others have been colossal flops. And while different ones like the McD.L.T. have been discussed at length through the years, the Superhero burger rarely gets mentioned. Let’s change that.
Historically, the Big Mac has always been the largest burger on McDonald’s menu. But for one glorious month in 1995, it played second fiddle to the Super Hero Burger. With its 3 (that’s right, 3!) burger patties on a hoagie-length bun, with two different slices of cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, and mayo….this sucker was a monster.
The Super Hero burger had two promotional tie-ins attached to it. First and foremost, it was available during the release of the movie Batman Forever, and Batman, Robin, Riddler, and Two-Face all figure prominently in the advertising spots for this burger. Secondly, 1995 was the year that McDonald’s released a different burger every month, known as their “Taste of the Month”, and this was the featured item for one month. Speaking of the “Taste of the Month” promotion, I’m going to have to dig deeper into that for some future write-up. That was a great year for new products from McDonald’s.
But back to the Superhero burger…I was driving by that point in life, so that meant I spent a fair amount of time “cruising” through town. Most nights, a stop by the local Mickey D’s was how we ended our night, and for that month that this super burger was on the menu, it was what we ordered. We probably could have kept this item on the menu all by ourselves based on how many of them we consumed, but as expected, when the month ended, so did the Super Hero Burger. And alas, another fast-food item was relegated to my list of fondly remembered food from back in the day.
In all the years since its initial release, it has yet to see the light of day again. It really surprises me too, since it would be so easy to roll it out for different promotions under different names. Hell, a tie-in with the MCU would make perfect sense for bringing it back. I doubt it, but maybe there was some kind of exclusivity with DC regarding this burger.
If you worked at McDonald’s back in ’95 and remember this thing, hit me up, as I want to know more about it. And that whole taste of the month thing. Any memories any of you out there have about that from 1995, get in touch as well via the comments so I can try and piece it all together.
Here are a few nostalgia-filled articles for you to enjoy this weekend. Find a comfy place, put your feed up, and go back in time with these fun posts.
The 1980s brought plenty of advancements in technology…things that amazed us at the time. Home video game systems, compact discs, big-screen TVs, handheld video cameras, home computers, and so much more. And a lot of those products have stood the test of time. But not this one.
No, the Talking Note Pad was certainly a product of its time and was quickly left behind by other modern marvels. But my family had one of these things handing on the fridge in our kitchen. That was made possible by the handy magnet on the back of it.
But at the time, what wasn’t to love about this do-it-all piece of convenience? I mean it featured a notepad and a pencil to jot down notes and leave them for other family members. Like, if you wanted to remind Mom to pick up another box of Morning Funnies Cereal or Oatmeal Swirlers for breakfast, all you had to do was leave her a note! And if you weren’t sure that just handwriting on a piece of paper would convey the urgency of the matter, then you could record an actual message! Hallelujah! Breakfast would be saved!
This thing had a voice recorder and a playback feature and came with not one, but two tapes to record on! It even had a volume control so you could turn it up real loud so when she hit play, there’s no way she wouldn’t get blasted with your message.
And a convenient little feature this wonder device also boasted was that the organizer part was detachable, so you could move this marvel around wherever you may need access to a pad and pencil, or clipped coupons, fingernail clippers, or whatever else wouldn’t fit in that drawer in your kitchen. You know which drawer I mean. We all had one.
Unfortunately, the Talking Note Pad ran its course. But we can all take solace in the fact that things like this eventually led to the invention of the smartphone. I mean, something had to come along to replace this, or how would we ever leave messages for Mom, or write notes to remind ourselves that Hulk Hogan was wrestling Paul Orndorff in a cage on Saturday Night’s Main Event that weekend?!? It was a must-have product of the past.
I’m in a comic book mood today, so I thought I’d share another old edition of the Wax Pack Flashback from the YouTube series I do for The Retro Network.
In this one, I opened a pack of Doomsday: The Death of Superman Cards from 1992. The Death of Superman is one of my all-time favorite comic book storylines, and these cards are mostly just images taken from the comic books themselves.
If you were into comics in the ’90s, I’m sure these cards will have the nostalgia coming back and waving over you. Enjoy!
Enjoy the complete scan of this McDonaldland Fun Times Magazine from 1990! And be sure to check out all of the other complete scans archived here at Retro Ramblings.
