by 5 people |
I loved Record Breakers as a kid!
It was a great concept: trade in the remote control for a power switch and track; customize your car's body and race against other custom "hyper cars." It was a huge hit, too... In Japan.
But here in the USA, it was a flop. American kids were just lazy, and didn't want to bother tinkering around with their toys. At least, that's what the industry experts said.
Sighting: Mini 4WD Box Art Gallery
Though rare, you will find the occasional glimpse of these fabled toys on the internet. Here's a few which have come to my attention:
- Mini 4WD: Hasbro
- A reader e-mailed me to let me know about this site! On this page you'll find a collection of Hasbro's Record Breakers Dual Turbo, Tri-Power and Road Burner series cars.
- Mini 4WD Garage
- Another reader-submitted link: this is a gallery of Hyper Cars! Some are Record Breakers, but all are giving me flashbacks!
Sighting: My House (Christmas Day, 1989)
![[close-up] Record Breakers (Christmas 1989)](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2175/2192952780_e59bd7b67a_o.jpg)
Sighting: eBay
Shuffled off to department store clearance aisles long ago, perhaps your only hope to find these racers today is that collector's heaven, eBay:
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand by
Sighting: Tamiya America
If you don't find what you're looking for on eBay, Tamiya's 1/32 Scale Racing Mini 4x4s are a great alternative. These cars are pretty sweet, and I daresay even better looking than their predecessors!(Pictured: Tamiya America's Limited Edition JR Poseidon-X Black SP [$12.50].)
Guestbook
Leave me a message here if you remember these toys — better yet, contact me! If you've got photos or video I'd be happy to help you get 'em on Flickr or YouTube... anything to revive this classic!
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- Marketeer Mik Marketeer Mik Nov 3, 2009 @ 8:53 am
- I did a whole Marketing case study on them, back in 1991. We had the inside track at Hasbro Canada here in Montreal, so we were able to get lots of the promotional materials, marketing plans, and of course some samples. I went to a few of the meets. It seemed pretty cool. Mind you, I was already 20 at the time so I wasn't going to get into it too deep. I'm going to look for one of the cars now, just to play with them again.
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- Adam Adam Oct 18, 2009 @ 7:27 am
- I'm Adam and I'm 26. My two best friends and I were all about Record Breakers when we were kids. We each had at least 5. We'd zip them around the hallway of my freinds' house. I used to have the track, it wasn't the Super 8 or whatever, it was this flimsier plastic grey track. I have to talk to my parents and see if it's still in the attic somewhere. On eBay about a year ago or so, i found my favorite car from when i was a kid. It was one of the twin engine models. It sits on display on my shelf, I take it down and zip it around the kitchen floor now and then. I love it, i wish i still had some of the ones i had back then.
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- Gunthar Gunthar Mar 26, 2009 @ 7:34 pm
- Boy I just introduced my kids to my old track and cars. I was actually in the races and took first place in the customizing competition. I got a trophy, a track,and it was just a heck of a lot it was a lot of fun. me and my brother where both in the races together in different age brackets. we had are picture taken with Jesse Ventura. my little brother past away a few years later. from MD but it was something I will always remember my kids are enjoining them almost as much as I do now. It would be nice to see there make a come back.
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- jeff hebert jeff hebert Jan 20, 2009 @ 4:31 pm
- it would be great if someone could recreate the tv show again. or, even better, create a role playing game of the record breakers.
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- burritobandit burritobandit Jan 5, 2009 @ 2:49 pm
- My friends and I had these, and we used water hoses to make tracks :) We did all sorts of carving out of the chassis for 'weight reduction'. I bought the figure 8 track and the other track a few years ago, but I've never had the chance (or the room, as I'm in an apt) to use them :/
I remember seeing the episode with Jesse 'The Body' Ventura as the host as well :D
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by seitler
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I'm a web developer and system administrator for The Digichick, a digital scrapbooking store. For about five years (2003-2008), I was also...
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