The Cars that Never Were

Within weeks after launching Hollywood Die-Cast.com in February of 2003, this picture surfaced in the Hobbytalk Johnny Lightning forum.  Speculation ran rampant.  Would Johnny Lightning release an "invisible" version of the Aston Martin Vanquish from the Bond film Die Another Day?  Then-Brand Manager Jeff Koch responded to my inquiry:

"Note use of word "concept". Just something we got the factory to play with for us. No plans for production. Just a tease to get you all gerked up."

A few samples exist and have commanded top dollar when put up for sale, but this awesome concept never did reach production. 

Also in February of '03, Diamond Distributors announced in their Previews Catalog that a 1:64 scale version of The Car would be included in RC2's entertainment series.  Maybe it was a mistake on their part, but The Car never shipped with the rest of the series.  A 1:18 scale version of The Car DID begin shipping later in 2003.  (UPDATE:  A prototype finally surfaced in 2011 belonging to Johnny Lightning's Tom Zahorsky!) 

In March of '03 Johnny Lightning announced the official lineup for Hollywood on Wheels 4.  Among the cars on the list were a '67 Plymouth GTX from Tommy Boy and a '73 Cadillac Eldorado from Rat Race.  Both cars were dropped from the series, however a photo included a pic of the proposed Rat Race Cadillac Convertible (above.)  A Plymouth Barracuda from The Brady Bunch was inserted into the lineup. The Tommy Boy GTX resurfaced in 2005 in the Mopar or No Car 10-Car boxed set, though it wasn't officially licensed. 

Also in March of '03, Johnny Lightning announced the cancellation of a second release of Batman die-cast model kits, before the first series even really had a chance to arrive in stores:

"The second release of the 1:64 scale Batman Die cast Model Kits have been cancelled for now.  Because sales of the first release have been disappointing, we have decided to forgo investing in tooling for another release of similar kits at this time."

At the end of March, I stumbled onto some information about Matchbox's line of Star Cars.  Three series had been released, many of which were pretty awful, but a planned fourth series (and quite possibly the best)  never saw the light of day. 

SC 19 - CHARLIE’S ANGELS - CHEVY VAN - Orange with ‘Charlies Angels’
SC 20 - C.Hi.P.s - MOTORCYCLE - Black and Silver
SC 21 - BRADY BUNCH - ‘55 CHEVROLET CONVERTIBLE - Black
SC 22 - WELCOME BACK KOTTER - SCHOOL BUS - Yellow
SC 23 - AMERICAN GRAFFITI - ‘57 FORD THUNDERBIRD - White
SC 24 - EMERGENCY - RESCUE TRUCK - Red

The photo at right is from a Matchbox catalog that shows some of the unreleased prototypes among cars that were released. My buddy Dennis owns one of the prototypes of the Welcome Back Kotter school bus, found on eBay for $200.

Tom Larson sent me the above pic stating that Green Hornet's Black Beauty was also slated to be among Matchox's Star Cars line, but never made it past the resin prototype stage.

In April, Diamond Distributors solicited orders for The Italian Job 3-Car boxed set from Johnny Lightning.  The cars were to have a "dirty" appearance.  The dirty Mini Coopers were eventually released individually as part of HOW5, but the 3-car boxed set never surfaced to my knowledge.

In November of 2003 I received some interesting info about a series from Matchbox planned for 2002 that never materialized:

"1:64 LICENSED MODELS: Special models from 22 prime time Emmy TV shows are on the agenda for 2002 beginning in July with The Sopranos Chevy Suburban.  Later in 2002, there should be a model from the TV show Masters of the Universe. In total Matchbox has promised 22 of these special models. The price is set at US$4.00."

In December of '03, Diamond Distributors solicited orders for a 1:18 scale version of the Family Truckster from National Lampoon's Vacation from RC2.  For whatever reason, the car was later canceled, much to the disappointment of collectors.  I've heard from a few different sources that the Charger from the Wesley Snipes movie Blade was also offered around the same time in 1:18 scale.  I'm trying to get confirmation, but regardless, it was never produced either.

In January of 2004, proposed dioramas from The Simpsons and Scooby Doo were officially canceled by Johnny Lightning. 

In February of 2004, this unproduced motorcycle from the 1982 film Megaforce sold on eBay for $400.  Mattel had produced five vehicles in the line, but for some reason, the motorcycle never went into production.

In September of 2004 Johnny Lightning announced the lineup for Hollywood on Wheels 6.  Among the cars on the list were a '04 Cadillac Escalade (?) from 2 Fast 2 Furious and '69 Pontiac GTO from The Punisher.  The Escalade was replaced with a 2003 Nissan 350Z and the Pontiac GTO was canceled due to licensing issues.  In 2011, JL released a gray '69 Pontiac GTO (with bullet holes) as part of its Forever 69 line (right) although the car in the movie didn't have a rear spoiler.

In January of 2005, Ban Dai announced that it would release FOUR sets of Batman vehicles as part of its Charawheels line.  Each set would reflect a different Batman movie.  To date, only the set from the 1989 Batman movie has been released. 

In July of 2005, an unproduced Matchbox prototype of the morphed version of the car from the 1994 TV series Viper sold on eBay for $263.  I found out years later that Matchbox had planned on producing several cars from the series (see catalog page at left) in 1994.  Unfortunately, the TV series was canceled before the line could hit stores. 

In October of 2005, Johnny Lightning announced two new entertainment properties scheduled for release:

Video Games/Hollywood on Wheels (November '06 release)
2002 Nissan Skyline
2002 Aston Martin V12 Vanquish
2000 Honda Civic
Halo Warthog
1955 Chrysler 300
1957 Chevy Nomad
1956 Ford Thunderbird
1959 Cadillac El Dorado

TV Land (December '06 release)
Hispano Suiza Cabriolet - Addams Family
School Bus - Partridge Family
Black Beauty - Green Hornet
Curtiss P-40E Warhawk Modified - Sky Captain
1977 Dodge Monaco with speaker - Blues Brothers
Dragula - The Munsters

Both series were promptly canceled.  Then, in March of '06, another Hollywood on Wheels series was announced, then, promptly canceled:

Brady Bunch - Greg's Convertible
Speed Racer - Mach V
Speed Racer - Racer X Shooting Star
Speed Racer - Assassin's Car
Speed Racer - The Fastest Car
Star Trek - Decloaking Klingon D7 Battlecruiser
Star Trek - U.S.S. Yamato
Blues Brothers - '74 Dodge Monaco 

Then, in April of '06, Johnny Lightning announced a new wave of cars from the James Bond series.  Some, including the '64 Ford Falcon Ranchero from Goldfinger, would've been brand new to this series.  JL went as far as to create the artwork seen at right.  Sadly, this wave was also canceled.

Longtime contributor Metro Privratsky sent me an e-mail telling me that in 2006 he purchased a resin "prepro" for Knight Rider 4000 (KIFT?)  He believes it was proposed for the Matchbox Star Car line, as well, but never made it past the resin prepro stage.  The car was designed by Jay Ohrberg and more pics can be found on his WEBSITE.

Rick Blevins of Kansas City added:  "I am a HUGE fan of the American Graffiti Coupe and collect EVERYTHING ever produced on this little yellow devil.  I ran across a Graffiti Coupe that was supposed to be done by RC2 in the stylized series a few years back, but it never made it due to the licensing running out. I did however get this photo of the toy coupe (see photo above) and I talked to the guy in charge of this prototype which was made. I even tried buying the toy coupe for my collection but they just wouldn't sell the dang thing to me."

Malibu International announced a second series of cars as part of their Reel Rides series.  Pictures were posted on their website in April of 2008.  To date, only the Cadillac El Dorado from Casino, and red and blue Mini Coopers from The Italian Job have been found in stores.  The Delorean Time Machine from Back to the Future was shown on their website (above) but never reached stores.   KITT from Knight Rider was announced, as well, but never materialized.  Mattel has since snatched up the rights to Back to the Future and released the Time Machine as part of its mainline.  KITT was rumored to be released in 2011 in the Hot Wheels line, but since disappeared from the official release list. 

And finally, in early 2009, Johnny Lightning announced it would release an entire series of die-cast cars based on the fourth installment of the Fast & Furious franchise.  Numerous series were announced featuring a wide variety of makes and models.  After the movie bumped up its release date, I was told the series was put "on hold."  Despite Fast & Furious becoming a smash hit upon its release in April of 2009, the die-cast cars were never released.