This is another unusual toy mentioned in Cramer Burke's Spy Toys book.
The Secret Agent Crash mobile.
.webp)
It looks like all four cars are from US TV shows. The Secret Agent car is on the left.
Secret Agent was called Danger Man in the UK.
Is it a show you watched?
That Secret Agent car looks like a version of James Bond's DB5, and not some car from 'Danger Man'.
ReplyDeleteI don't think any of them are based on TV shows, but merely claim to be, in order to sell knock offs.
I could be wrong, but that's how they look to me.
I had a couple of these back in the day. The spy car did look like an Aston Martin db6. The roof and four body sections would fly off by way of a spring mechanism.
DeleteThey also had a crude wind up mechanism, powered by a rubber band if I remember correctly. Lots of fun.
DeleteDANGERMAN (Secret Agent) was just half hour episodes when it began and then stretched to an hour. Ultimately Patrick McGoohan carried the character into THE PRISONER.
ReplyDeleteUnlike crime fighting TV characters agent John Drake did not have a regular car to use as his stories involved other countries and locations. In THE PRISONER the opening credits used a Lotus 7.kit car.
This toy line was by Tri-Play Toys, of Chicago. These were the same people who did the exploding Bullfighting toy. The cars seem to have come in two sizes. Powered by Special Steel Spring Motor. Moulded in different colours, with different bodies on a common chassis.
ReplyDeleteThe cars look to be loosely based on real movie or TV cars of the 1960s, but not so closely that they could be accused of copying a design. I would say the Aston Martin DB5 from the James Bond movies - Munster Koach from The Munsters TV series - I have no idea what the Stock Car Racer might be based on - The 1966 TV Batmobile ?
Possibly the same toys were later sold under the Tarco name ? Which was The Tarrson Company, in the 1970s.
I did watch Secret Agent as well as DANGERMAN but never knew of any toys associated with the shows. I did have a couple of crash cars though. One was a larger car with free rolling wheels that came apart gloriously after ramming it into another car. Then there were the Eldon crash car jalopy's for use on their 1/32 scale slot car race tracks.
ReplyDeleteCorrection: I watched Secret Agent as well as The Prisoner - DOH!
ReplyDeleteIn my copy of the Spy Toys book the toy is linked to the TV show Secret Agent. Maybe the author was stretching it a bit.
ReplyDelete