1971 Hot Wheels Sizzlers

Posted on May 30, 2014 by Smackeralcafe

The free-wheelin’ Sizzlers introduced in 1970 came with 7 sets that let you run the cars hard on orange track. But as good as it was, you always felt like you were trying to hold the cars back, especially with the Speed Brake, and keep them on the track.

For 1971, Mattel made sets for Sizzlers to wind up and go flat out. This was accomplished with Fat Track.

Sizzlers Fat Track comic book ad. The ‘Cuda Trans Am is mislabeled as the Firebird Trans-Am. Courtesy eBay.

This black plastic track lets cars run 3 abreast down the straightaway and jostle for position all the way along the course. You never quite know what is going to happen. So you have to be vigilant for spins outs and cars getting turned around and going the wrong way.

A typical Fat Track race is 100 laps long. At this distance, invariably, pit stops become a factor in the race. Cars have to make 1 or 2 stops to charge up. (As you may recall, the 1970 tracks use a dual-lane 20 lap counter so pits stops never come up.) The length of the final pit stop plays a significant roll in who wins a race. You need just enough power to finish the race. If there is only 10 laps left, you have to guess how long a charge is needed to run that far. Of course your competition, who is still out on the track, may be gaining fast and can push you to shorten your charge time so that you get back out quickly to stay ahead. Then again, you may let him go by to make sure you have enough power to finish and hope the other guy runs out of juice before the 100th lap.

1971 Sizzlers poster. Courtesy eBay.

There are 2 orange track sets for 1971 as well. One from North America and one from the U.K. We’ll look at these first in the next 2 blogs.

So there you have it. The 1971 Hot Wheels Sizzlers.

It’s still fast. Still fun.

The 1971 Sizzlers from the 1971 Collectors’ Catalogue. Copyright Mattel, Inc.

Race Car & Juice Machine. Box art-front. Courtesy eBay.

1971 Race Car & Juice Machine combo. Box art-back. Courtesy eBay.

1971 Race Car & Juice Machine. Box art-side. Courtesy eBay.

1971 Hot Wheels Track Sets Summary

Posted on May 16, 2014 by Smackeralcafe

1971 marked an ambitious 4th year for Hot Wheels. Mattel introduced the Big Belter/Matchmaker, RRRumblers motorcycles and Sizzlers Fat Track. The big promotions involved more Don Prudhomme and Tom McEwan drag racing plus Ontario Motor Speedway.

For the Hot Wheels mainline there is:

1. The Flyin’ Circus Set.

Box art – front. Courtesy eBay.

2. The Great Getaway. A limited production chase set sold only in Canada.

Box art – front. Courtesy eBay.

3. The Ontario Trio with oval layout, drag strip and figure – 8 course.

Ontario Trio box art – front.

4. The Danger-Changer 2-Pak deserves special mention because it did not show up on any sets in 1971 (with the sole exception of a single Danger-Changer in the Great Getaway set).

With Danger-Changers sitting in the track, the potential for a collision will always grab a kid’s attention.

5. The Mongoose & Snake Drag Set from the United Kingdom (Funny Cars).

UK box and contents. Courtesy eBay.

6. The Mongoose & Snake Wild Wheelie Set (Rail Dragsters).

Box art – front. Courtesy eBay.

7. The Big Belter/Matchmaker & Victory Pak accessory paks let you make the same track as The Wild Wheelie Set.

Victory Pak.

Here’s a video summary of the 1971 Hot Wheels mainline track sets.

The brand new RRRumblers motorcycles run on 5 tracks.

1. The Big Belter/Matchmaker & Victory Pak combo.

2. The Stunt Rider Set

3. The Daring Duo Set from the United Kingdom.

4. The Dizzy-Dare Set.

Box art – front. Canadian version.

5. The Mean Mountain.

Here’s another video summary. This time for the RRRumblers motorcycles.

And finally we have the 1971 Sizzlers Sets; 2 orange track sets and 3 Fat Track Sets. With 3 cars wide passing available on Fat Track, racing doesn’t get much wilder than this. Ontario Motor Speedway (OMS) played a prominent part in the first year of Fat Track.

Sizzlers sets include:

1. The High-Winder Set.