Johnny Lightning JL2.0 and The Car

Happy Halloween! I was cleaning up in my toy room at home over the weekend and found a particular "Car" that I have been searching for for almost 2 years now. Back in 2003, I was working on 1:18 scale American Muscle, Racing Champions MINT, Hot Rods line and our licensed 1:64 Entertainment asst, which included the Munsters, Smokey & the Bandit, Dukes, Dazed & Confused, Gone in 60 Seconds, and many others. I began tooling on a movie car that never quite made it into production, the 1:64 Car, from the 1977 flick. I had already completed tooling on the 1:18 scale version and it was natural to do in 1:64, however, the 1:64 scale line was discontinued and the Car never got released. You're looking at the only full die cast version in existence, sitting next to a preproduction sample of the new JL2.0 R11 Phil Bonner Galaxie, for size comparison.

Tom Zahorsky
Senior Design Manager
Johnny Lightning

Johnny Lightning International Pickup

The International Pickup is coming along nicely. I made some revisions to the cab area before tooling started. This pickup will see duty in our Forever 64 line, JL2.0 line and our ERTL Ag line. The first release will be in the Forever 64 line and shortly after will see action in the Ertl line where it will feature a diecast body and chassis. All new rims and tires will debuted on the model as well. One unique feature about this casting is that it will have a commercial rear bumper giving it a more rugged look.

Tom Zahorsky
Senior Design Manager
Johnny Lightning