Being a toy addict and having children is like being a crack addict and having a 3 foot tall drug dealer for a roommate. Sometimes I just have to buy awesome toys for my intern just so I can play with them myself!
That was totally the case with this Little Tikes B.C. Builders I-Fell Tower Playset.
I've been peripherally aware of these Flintstones ripoff pre-school toys for years, having seen bits, pieces, dinosaurs and cavemen at random intervals at garage sales and flea markets on many occasions.
But I've never seen a complete set, or even close enough to a complete set to feel it worth the asking price to purchase them.
But the other day we were at the local thrift store and I spotted this Brontosaurus (officially, he's an Apatasaur, but he'll always be a Brontosaurus to me!) and picked him up off the shelf. I was shocked and amazed to discover he had a whole baggie of accessories taped to him!
Being no expert on this toyline, I couldn't assess if the contents made for a complete set. But I could tell that there was enough in the baggie (including an Imaginext Stegosaurus) to warrant the five dollar asking price.
Upon returning home I Googled the toyline and we discovered that there was indeed a complete 'I-Fell Tower' playset. My intern and I then spent the next hour or so building and smashing!
I just LOVE how much this set calls upon the Flintstones and their silly non-scientifically-accurate dino/human/modern stone age family aesthetic.
Pardon my French, but this shit is epic.
And of all the sets, the Brontosaurus is of course the greatest because it's based on the most iconic of Flintstones moments - the 'quitting time' Fred Flintstone slide off the gravel-pit Brontosaurus machine Yabba-Dabba-DOOOOO!!!!
The set's stackables can be knocked down with the Brontosaur's front mounted wrecking ball. There's also a trigger mechanism that can be sprung by hitting a target on the base with the dinosaur's tail, causing the whole thing to topple down!
Literal hours of fun.
This playset is a ton of fun. Now I just need to find an official Fred Flintstone to set in the driver's seat!
In 1994 Mattel, in conjunction with Pebbles cereal, produced one of the most unique Hot Wheels to date. Not unique because we've never seen a vehicle like it before, on the contrary, we'd been seeing it for decades. Unique because it was such a departure from regular Hot Wheels fare. Which may explain why it was a mail away cereal promo and never released as a mass market casting.
I speak of course of the famous free-wheeling Flintmobile!
The gaudy colors are due to this toy's "changes color in warm and cold water" feature, which is such a lame idea that I will speak of it no further.
The design, however, is excellent and very cartoon accurate. There's great attention to detail all over it, from the ties holding the canopy together to the shell steering wheel to the stone wheels.
"Ugh...traffic. I better take the expressway..."
Not to be outdone, Fred's neighbor Barney finally got a toon accurate ride in 1998. This car is from Johnny Lightning, and although it is officially christened the "Flintstones' Sports car" we all know that it was Barney that drove the log.
The details are limited, but then it IS a log. The steering wheel looks like a stone, and the license plate says "75 BC."
The interior also has a hole in the bottom for the driver's feet to go through. Unfortunately the wheels are standard Johnny Lightning wheels and the chrome is not cartoon accurate, but at least the tires are a rock-like grey color.
"I hate tailgaters!"
"Ahh, much better. I'll be home for dinner in no time." " Wiiiiiilllllllllllmmaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Although these vehicles come from dueling die-cast companies (and dueling neighbors,) The Flintmobile and Rubble-log are perfect companion pieces. They're a page right out of history.
They're both pretty much the same 1:64 scale, although the log may be scaled up a bit (or maybe the Flintmobile is a little small in comparison.)
A modern stone-age mini van, next to Rubble's swinging chick magnet.
"Hey Fred...wanna race?"
Car Toons Week Day 2; I bid you adieu with a Pterodactyl's eye view.