The Challengers Movin' Van (Green) Commemorative Limited Edition Johnny Lightning The Challengers Item No.: Item: 100-180 Model: 106 Manufacturer: Playing Mantis Includes: Silver Plastic Limited Edition Coin, #2,126 Action Feature: Rolls Retail: $2.99 Availability: ca. 1993 Other: Available in many other colors
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Two of my favorite things for an old toy to be are weird and wordthless. The Johnny Lightning Movin' Van (Green) is both - it's a 1970s toy remade in the 1990s, both of which are pretty reasonable. The 1990s remakes are worth less than their original SRP on eBay, so if you see this one and dig it, I have good news for you: it's affordable.

In the mid-1990s, I was more focused on Kenner, Galoob, and Playmates toys. Between the Star Wars and Star Trek toys, and Aliens and Predator and Jurassic Park and Universal Monsters TMNT, there was a lot to like. Since action figures were $4-$6, a $3 car was not something I could seriously consider on the budget of someone who hadn't yet started freelancing. Today? Sure. Maybe if I was older in the 1990s I'd have bought this, but I don't even remember seeing this exotic green car.

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Car culture used to be fascinating. Hot rodders and kids who wanted to do genuinely fancy and weird stuff to their cars lead to famous car designers like Ed Roth or George Barris being just two famous names that cranked out remarkable vehicles. Open roofs! Fins! Curves! Shapes that nobody asked for but dagnabbit, they were cool. Today the mods you see tend to be speakers, wheels, or maybe you lower the car to the ground. It's not nearly as exciting as adding exposed chrome pipe engines or a weirdly elongated customized body like this green car with exposed metal base. I assume it's just a concept car with no real world analog, but it's the kind of thing a kid might see and go "Cool!" And that's good enough for me to want one.

The metalflake green paint and red-trimmed black wheels with some chrome look really nice. It's not as great as the not-quite-Spectraflame paint of the originals, but it's striking. It has a cool tampo on the back, and it doesn't look like something that should be able to exist. It's marvelous. The wheelbase is similar to Hot Wheels and Matchbox, so if you want to run this on those playsets or tracks? Have at it.

It's heavy and doesn't roll as well as the best of the best of Mattel's offerings, but it's the kind of thing you might want anyway. You've got realistic cars, you deserve something bonkers.

The only accessory is a coin that's plastic with sticker on it. It's big, but not huge - about 1 1/2-inches across.

If you find one of these at an antique mall or in a bin somewhere for under five bucks, I'd say you should buy one. I don't need it in every last color, but it's the kind of thing that is just a delight to be able to get. A very affordable 1990s remake of a not-too-expensive 1970s toy is the kind of thing that makes me happy to still be out looking at toys. Everything isn't rare and valuable, and a new toy collector who isn't necessarily here to "invest" can have an excellent time for less than the price of a dozen eggs. Or maybe an egg with Easter a month away. Just hide some cars in the yard for kids, they're cheaper.

Additional Images

See more Playing Mantis figures in Figure of the Day:
Day 2,722: Playing Mantis Johnny Lightning The Challengers Nucleon (Yellow)
Day 2,730: Playing Mantis Johnny Lightning The Challengers Bug Bomb (Pink)
Day 2,832: Playing Mantis Johnny Lightning The Challengers Movin' Van (Green)

See more Johnny Lightning figures in Figure of the Day:
Day 2,722: Playing Mantis Johnny Lightning The Challengers Nucleon (Yellow)
Day 2,730: Playing Mantis Johnny Lightning The Challengers Bug Bomb (Pink)
Day 2,832: Playing Mantis Johnny Lightning The Challengers Movin' Van (Green)

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