Stock# 18293
Collector# 640
CB's Die Cast Review: March 21, 1998
1998 First Editions #2
Slideout
While there is currently a huge base of collectors for HWs, these toys are designed for
The Slideout is the second of 40
FEs this year, and the fifth one released. This car is a good representative of a
sprint car, as far as attention to detail and markings. The design of the car is
first-rate. That said, I'm not thrilled with this Malaysian-made offering, as the
negatives outweigh the positives.
children, and the majority is bought for children. The orange plastic front spoiler is
not properly attached on the production model, and needs to be snapped into place at a
30-degree angle. As is, this small piece easily separates from the body. The upper fins,
also molded in orange plastic, can be detached from the body without much effort. The
body frame is painted in purple metallic, and is the only component besides the axles made
of metal. The body frame is riveted to a gray plastic chassis, and the two pieces
sandwich an orange plastic interior/rear bumper assembly. The car rides on medium
five-spoke wheels in front, and large five-spoke wheels in back. The various tampos are
printed in orange, white and black.
I'm disappointed with this car for two reasons. The first is, while Mattel is including
more plastic in their HWs recently, I prefer the ones that are predominately die-cast.
The Slideout has the highest plastic-to-metal ratio of any new model in recent
years. The second reason is, these toys are played with by young children, and having
small pieces that easily pop or snap off is unacceptable in my book. The bottom line is:
yeah, it's a nice model, as long as it stays in the blister or the display case, and
doesn't get out on the track.
