The early 90s saw an explosion of toys with this thermal-paint that changed colour if put in the fridge. Many toys from Asia had this feature, and among these, many were low budget toys, so I assume it was not much more expensive than normal paint.
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| Matchbox's Catalogue 1989 |
Matchbox was no exception in the die-cast world, and released a short but intesting line of colour changing cars in the popular 3 inches, "superfast", series. The models released within this series are not new casts, they are all known from the previous years.
I guess they must be a bit rarer than the normal series. Taking a look at the catalogues, I see they were available for not very long, they only appear in 1989 catalogue.
I own only these two: the Ferrari F1 and the Chevrolet Chevy. Note the strange pink paint. When cooled down, they turn kind of white. I have to check other models I have that appear in the catalogue picture above, since some of them may be Super Colorchangers. I have to find that out.
All colour changing models are made in Macau.
FACTS AND FIGURES:
- Name: '57 CHEVY and F1 RACER
- Scale: Around 1:64
- Year: 1989
- Company: Matchbox (United Kingdom)
- Size: approx. 7 cm
Wow, had completely forgotten about these. Myself and my brother had a couple, they came with a sort of sponge that fitted over the car that made it change colour (never tried putting them in the fridge). Thermal was in at the time as you say - I also remember thermal t-shirts being a hit briefly at the same time (where you could leave hand prints etc on the shirt)
ReplyDeleteHi David,
DeleteMany thanks for the comment!
I cannot recall the sponge, but it could perfectly be. I'll try to find some MOC pictures and update my article, if I find them.
Cheers,
Juan
What's the value on the F1
DeleteSorry, not much. I guess it must something between 5 US$ and nothing (if battered or in bad condition). Maybe a bit more if still in package or absolutely mint condition. Thanks for the comment!
DeleteFor what it's worth, I also had plenty of the sponges, back in the day. They were square and yellow.
ReplyDeleteHi Todd, thanks for the comment! So, the cars changed colour not with cold temperatures, but with water, or how did it actually work? Cheers, Juan
DeleteHere are links to two packages that include the sponge. This is the only way I ever saw them in stores. Warm water would turn them one color, and cold water would turn them another.
ReplyDeletehttps://cloud10.todocoleccion.online/coches-a-escala/fot/2007/11/16/6466071.jpg
https://mbx-u.com/images/models/SF0288-005-c-01_1.jpg
Thanks!
Delete