Trick or Treat Through 31 Days of Toy Terror: "The Mummy" Rip Rod from Hot Wheels Silver Series: Universal Monsters by Mattel

 

   Just in time for Halloween Hot Wheels has released a set of five Universal Monsters inspired vehicles in the Silver Series. These cars are a little more expensive than your average Hot Wheels, but cheaper than some of the more specialized vehicles. Hot Wheels often does Halloween inspired cars and if I lived in a neighborhood and had Trick 'r Treaters, I'd be inclined to buy a bunch and give them out as treats as they're really quite neat. One of the first cars I found is the Rip Rod decorated in tribute to the 1932 Universal Studios film The Mummy. Is this a buggy that Imhotep could possibly use to cross the deserts of Egypt? Let's check out this speedy and scary car after the break...

The Facts:

Length: 2 1/4ths inches

Non-Scalper Price: $3 to $4 dollars

The Packaging:

* I did remove my Rip Rod from the package but I still wanted to take a photo to show off the packaging. It's not as nice as some of the art from the Hot Wheels Premium series, but it's still a real treat to see anything with the Universal Monsters on it on toy shelves these days. Those classic logos just look incredible. While I'm writing this, I just realized I'm wearing my The Mummy had from Universal Studios. I have a Wolf Man hat, a Mummy hat, and a Frankenstein hat and I rotate them with a few other ballcaps I wear pretty frequently. 

The Positives:

* The Rip Rod is a fast looking buggy with an ivory body, a black chassis, and lots of gold highlights. It's fit for a pharaoh, though Imhotep is probably the one hot rodding it across the dunes in this vehicle.  

* The hood has a great print with an Egyptian inspired design on it. There are hieroglyphic like drawings and images along with the image of what might be a winged scarab. The front of the car has a transparent bumper with some symbols printed on it as well.  

* Along both sides of the Rip Rod is the stylized name The Mummy. While the package clearly shows Boris Karloff's Imhotep, do you suppose that Kharis, Ahmanet, and Imhotep ever hang out and race in these? Like, a mummy version of The Fast and the Furious?

* The back of the Rip Rod has either some flatter tailpipes or a very small spoiler alongside a rear bumper. I really like the copper- gold color used on the trim. It definitely feels like a nod to the colors you'd see on metal artifacts found in a pyramid.  

   How do I feel about this "The Mummy" version of the Rip Rod? I'm actually pretty wild about it. I like this entire set and I'm planning to review at least three of these during the Halloween season this year. This is a Great and a 1/2 little car, especially considering it's under $5 bucks. It's fun, perhaps a bit kitschy, and it's a nice tribute to my beloved Universal Monsters and the era of Universal classic horror. The other four cars are based on Dracula, Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstein, and The Wolf Man, so keep your eyeballs peeled if you're not usually one who peruses the Hot Wheels aisle. 

  If you're looking for more of the Mummy, specifically Imhotep, I've reviewed the Universal Monsters Select The Mummy, the NECA Mummy (Black & White) and Ardath Bey, the Mummy from Pop Mart's Universal Monsters Alliance, the Toony Terrors The Mummy, the 1999 Jack in the Box The Mummy, and The Mummy's Tomb, the McFarlane Monsters Mummy Playset, the Mummy ReAction figure, the Funko POP! Imhotep #1082 and Bedtime Bear as the Mummy #1628, the Big Bucket of Monsters Mummy, the Mummy from Mezco's Tower of Fear, and the mummy included with the Mighty Max set "Mighty Max Conquers the Palace of Poison."