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Johnny kept me going
Topic Started: Jun 7 2016, 08:12 AM (721 Views)
Stangfreak
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Convertible
Many times during the late 70s through the early 90s I came very close to giving up on collecting diecast all together. There was nothing out there worth collecting in my interest. Racing Champions NASCAR replicas of the early 90s sparked my interest a great deal, but by 94 and 95 the whole NASCAR scene kinda went to pot for me. I'm not sure of the exact year I began discovering the cool looking Johnny Muscle Cars USA series, My interest really took off again. As the castings were reformed and more detail added, I began trading and selling off these early Johnny Muscle Cars. These castings were kind of awkward and way out of proportion and scale, but were the coolest on the shelves at that time.

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After a while, I couldn't get enough of the Johnnys. Everytime I turned around there was a new series or a new casting.
The Customizing kits and the kit cars were pure awesome, and so many to find and collect. These cars played a great deal in my learning to customize diecast cars, although I had been building plastic kits for many years.


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These were also a few of the great series to pursue...

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And sooooo many, many more... Although there are some nicer and mabe more detailed castings out there now days, Johnny Lightning will always be tops in my book. They have done well in keeping my interest in the diecast world a great deal!!!

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JBH6666
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Fullsize
I share your love of Johnny Lightnings for the same reason. As a pre-schooler in @1970, I had the original Topper GTO in orange with the opening doors. Somehow this car got lost at my parent's friends house when I brought it over to play on night. When I saw that they were coming out with reissues of the original JL cars back in 1994, I could not have been more excited. Although these cars lacked some of the details of the originals (namely opening doors, wheels), they were close enough. I was so excited to find the Custom GTO and Custom El Camino.

As the JL line expanded with the muscle cars the following year, I faithfully chased down just about every one of them. Funny thing is now I can barely stand to look at most of them as they are so poorly proportioned. The creation of White Lightnings really changed the hobby as a whole- led to Treasure Hunts and a whole host of other "chase" cars.

The following years provided so much innovation in the hobby- the licensing agreements really brought out a lot of cool stuff that was imitated by many other manufacturers. I think the cars they produced in the late '90s through early 2000's had a lot of detail and charm to them. While not completely accurate, they were close and had their own style and feel.

I think today's diecast market would be well-served with Johnny Lightning occupying the place it did during that time period ($2.50-$4.00 price point). I think there is a strong demand for reasonably accurate, nicely detailed cars that don't break the bank. Their efforts toward the end of the Tomy era sold primarily at WalMart with the plastic bases were good examples of this philosophy. Those seemed to go pretty quickly (for the most part).
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Dean-o-mite
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Muscle Car
Stangfreak
Jun 7 2016, 08:12 AM
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This set was a most-wanted prize for me when it was new. I was 14 years old when it came out, and there were so many cars included that were completely lacking my young collection: Nova, Hurst Olds, Chevelle, etc. But it was priced beyond the purchasing power of my allowance, and I'd have had to save and not buy anything else for quite a long time. I daydreamed about someday being able to have this set. I let my mom know several times that it was my most wanted "thing" at the time, and I got this set for my 15th birthday. Still have all the cars, as fresh as the day the box was cracked open.

These castings are horrid by today's standards, but at a time when classic muscle cars hadn't blipped on any of the toy brands' radars, seeing this variety of vehicles was astonishing, and the accuracy didn't matter.

Oh how the times have changed.
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lil rod shop
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Midsize
I can also say that Johnny revived my interest in diecast collecting, esp. with the Musclecars USA series. I still have all of the "crude" round 1 releases, which I've recently started selling/trading off. (The wheels from the ones that don't sell will at least be handy for customs.)
And I agree that JL could do well in the aforementioned mid-price niche, with occasional special higher end offerings. I'm hoping they stay around for a long time, whatever path they choose!
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Stangfreak
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Convertible
Johnny seems to have had a good impact on us all. I have always said and made comments and replies that "Johnny Lightning leads the way" and still do feel that way. They sure have came a long way. I can say I am glad I was into diecast and there to see the changes and watch them grow. Although certain cars created a good amount of excitement for me, this series of the Mustangs almost caused an overdose of excitement when I discovered the fist two or three. Noticing there were 30 cars in the series I knew I was in for a challenge and a bunch of fun tracking them down.

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There were a few different carded series of Mustangs, but I don't think I acquired everyone of them as I did chase down the whole 30 car set of the later series.

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Johnny kind of disappeared from the shelves on me, but I continued hunting on the net, flea markets, and swap meets over a 10 year period to add all of the Bassin' USAs, Customizing Kits, the Rock~N~Roller series and my Mustang series... Finding each car for a decent price...

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Yes, I have quite a history with Johnny...LOL :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

There is just something about looking at these cool old cars in the packages that sparks many fond memories of collecting, like no other brand, except for the excitement Lesney created for me as a small boy...

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Edited by Stangfreak, Jun 8 2016, 08:14 AM.
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Eurosport94
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Station Wagon
It didn't get any better back then, than Johnny Lightning. I just went through all of the first Muscle Cars USA series cars I have, and had a good time thinking back to back then.
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craftymore
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Support your local demo derby.

JL got me into the adult collecting phase about 10 years ago. I had my childhood collection of HW, MB and various off brands but didn't buy to collect till JL hooked me.
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diomakr
Station Wagon
Brings back a lot of great memories- I stopped collecting when I "grew up" but kept a lot of my childhood cars, and then got back into it little by little when I had a real job and could afford it. back then I didn't see paying 2 or 3 bucks for a diecast, and then once I bit the bullet and started with the johnny's then the matchbox premiere models (but I would only get 'em on clearance- what was I thinking?)

now I've got more JL than I know what to do with, especially with all those "not exactly correct scale" models, but I still love 'em. without JL, I might have become a model train fan, or maybe even a cat person!
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Hosspower98
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Forever Blue Oval
Sort and stubby like a child's pedal car.

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Swifty
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The Mustang II is a Mustang too!
Hosspower98
Jun 8 2016, 03:05 PM
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I always thought this one looked like a Mustang II convertible from the side (and yes, they made a few of them): http://www.mustangandfords.com/featured-vehicles/mump-0007-1978-ford-mustang-king-cobra-convertible-muscle-car-review/

I have a similar story. When Johnny Lightning's Muscle Cars USA came out I was 14, and I was beginning to feel awkward browsing the toy section looking for cars. I was just about ready to outgrow my collection. And then these collectible muscle cars showed up. Superbird! Nova! I was drooling over these cars. Suddenly it was okay for me to be browsing the toy aisle in Hills.

Looking back, they certainly have their faults, but I'll echo what's been said previously. There was nothing else on the pegs comparable to them at the time, and their timing couldn't have been better. Around 1997 Hot Wheels came out with a '60s Muscle Cars five pack. They needed to include a '65 Mustang convertible, a '63 Corvette, and a Shelby Cobra because their Charger Daytona and 442 were the only true muscle cars they offered at the time.
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Vintage20
Fullsize
It also started with the Muscle Car USA series back in the 90's to revive my interest in diecast. I still have most of them. The main part of my collection consist of JL's from the Playing Mantis and RC2 days. I cut down on buying JL's when they came out with the 40th anniversary and Forever 64 series.
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accobra64
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Minivan
Steve, thanks for all the wonderful pictures of Johnny Lightning diecast.
Truly a walk down memory lane looking at all the images.

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Above is an image of one of the very BEST castings ever produced as a JL casting.
This one is very special.

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Above is illustrated the newer version that replaced the outer version shown below the new version.
The old version wasn't bad but maybe a little on the "fat" side.
The newer version was a vast improvement and very accurate.

Do you remember these:

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It was fun looking back.

Cheers. Cobra
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Stangfreak
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Convertible
There sure is some sweet, sweet stuff there. Love seeing them.
I picked up a few of the 1/24th cars as well and still think those cars have the best quality out there.
Loved the dragsters too. Don't have many of those anymore, sons and grandsons kinda conned me out of those...

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This 1/24th Coke van was one I had a very good time with, converting it into a replica of my real Ford Econoline...

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I swear, sometimes I feel Johnny was as big of a part of my life as Captain Kangaroo, or Mr. Rogers...LOL
You sure are right about fun looking back!!!


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Edited by Stangfreak, Jun 9 2016, 07:22 AM.
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Stangfreak
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Convertible
accobra64
Jun 9 2016, 12:01 AM
Steve, thanks for all the wonderful pictures of Johnny Lightning diecast.
Truly a walk down memory lane looking at all the images.

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It was fun looking back.

Cheers. Cobra
No thanks needed, but thanks to you as well. I enjoyed the pics you posted a great deal. I am head over heals in love with this candy red Torino. Absolutely gorgeous!!!
I have it in orange and have always admired this year and style Torino. Than candy red one just blows me away. I have had to come back a half a dozen times to admire it. THe 1/24ths were very limited for me to find here in their time. If I remember correctly, I think I did find two at a toy store called Children's Palace. The others I acquired came from an antique toy store a friend of mine operated. At a cost of $12.88 each, you couldn't beat them in any way. A trip down memory lane with Johnny is always an enjoyable trip...LOL


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Edited by Stangfreak, Jun 9 2016, 08:42 AM.
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wall-e
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Station Wagon
I'll go on the record of saying I'm a big fan of JL, including the recent reissues. I was always overwhelmed by the number of cars they had around 2000-2004. I bought a few, and missed most. Now, I'm catching up on the ones I missed. Yes, they cost twice as much, but I'm not complaining.
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