This Tyco Stanley Stocker is a custom radio control car not sold on store shelves, manufactured by Taiyo (Japan), and released by Tyco RC in 1992 as a white-boxed item.
What is this exactly?
Hut Stricklin's #92 Stanley Chevy Lumina was a NASCAR stock car driven by Hut Stricklin during the early 1990s. The car and driver were a part of the stock car landscape in the early 90s, and though they were respected and competitive, they aren't renowned for winning any championships or dominating in any way.
It was not easy to find photos of the actual car (above), suggesting again that it was'nt the most popular at the time. As for the RC model, in the past several years three of the white box Stanley #92 cars have appeared on eBay. All the same, white box, no detail or packaging except one that came with a manual and accessories of a typical model 2306 car.
My guess is that these were either made as promotional items for Stanley and the race team, or this was a prototype and potential design for release amongst the several Stockers that year, and ultimately others were chosen instead.
As we now know, the actual stock cars released by Tyco in 1992 were mostly related to the Days of Thunder film, including:
- 1992 Tyco Days of Thunder - STP (Blue/Red)
- 1992 Tyco Days of Thunder - Mello Yello (Yellow)
- 1992 Tyco Days of Thunder - SuperFlo (White/Pink)
- Plus the 1992 Tyco Pennzoil #30 (Yellow).
All the Stanley #92 cars came in a plain white box with no markings.
Features and Performance
Like all the 1992 season Tyco Stock Cars, the focus was on high detail level, matching the actual cars as closely as possible. Less focus was put on the electronics/mechanical, with a standard 4xAA road chassis providing OK power and performance. With limited suspension and slick race tires, the best place for this would be indoors on a smooth floor, or outdoors on concrete or similar smooth flat surface.
Collectability and Availability
Without question, any Tyco or Taiyo which is limited run, hard to find, or in this case just surrounded by mystery as to its origin, is comprehensively collectable! At least in my opinion, though not everyone would agree based on the 2 cars which have sat on eBay at a reasonable price for several months.
In my mind, these would be collectable by both Nascar fans, but also Tyco R/C enthusiasts and collectors, however it's certainly not a 'must have', more of a unique curiosity that almost nobody else will own. Personally, when I see one of these listed I feel like I should buy one, if nothing else to just preserve a little piece of history.
