hot wheels radar gun

I’ve found another candidate for greatest toy ever. Mattel, creators of Hot Wheels and (since 1997) producers of Matchbox have just introduced the Hot Wheels Radar Gun. Playing with ~1:64 scale cars is already a good time. You can drive them around, collect them, park them, crash them and race them. I remember zooming my cars down slick orange track and around loop-the-loops, but the great thing about Hot Wheels and Matchbox was that pushing them across the floor or up and down a chair was just as much fun. Any surface could become a highway.

Police cars in my Matchbox world were at a distinct disadvantage, however. It was tough enough to catch rogue drives as the bad guys cars went really fast and could perform amazing escapes by flying through the air or hiding under the sofa. But if the police did catch violators of the posted speed limits, it was hard to prove it in court. My Matchbox traffic safety force lacked funding for radar. If only the Hot Wheels Radar Gun was available when we were little.

With the Hot Wheels Radar gun, kids everywhere can find out how hot their Hot Wheels really are. It displays in MPH or KPH, and a second switch lets you select between actual speed and converted 1:64 scale speed. It is a low-powered unit (those pesky safety laws) so it won’t measure automobile traffic speed, but it is perfectly appropriate for clocking the dog or a sibling at closer range. The gun is available from major retailers like Toys R Us and Amazon, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it hasn’t made its way to a few lists for Santa.

Bonus link: this thread contains more technical information on the gun and tips for converting it into a higher-powered unit