Tyco Ultra Cliff Hangers is a HO Scale Electric Slot Car set manufactured by Tyco Toys, and released into the US, UK, and Worldwide in 1993.
Defy Gravity! Race Upside Down!
Perhaps the longest running slot car series Tyco ever produced, Cliff Hangers came in many varieties, from the initial 1983 Cliff Hangers with Nite-Glow (and non Nite-Glow), the 80s-90s Zero Gravity Cliff Hangers, to 1994's Super Cliff Hangers and Boomerang Cliff Hangers, this was an incredibly successful product with at least 8 versions I'm aware of specifically.
Features
Wall climbing is the core premise of the series, with initial versions including a single up/down wall curve, and later versions becoming more and more elaborate, until we arrive at 1993's Ultra Cliff Hangers.
With more than 30 foot of track, Ultra Cliff Hangers is perhaps the most feature packed Tyco slot set that I've documented so far, and would have to be one of the most complex they ever made.
The track's major features include:
- Original 'Cliff Hanger' wall climb
- Half Loop / Half Wall Climb that splits into single lanes departing opposite directions
- Two Single Giant 360 degree loops
Amongst all that there's plenty of straights and areas to build up speed.
Track Set and Components
Unfortunately I don't have this set myself, and finding a decent set of images from the parts list and layout is proving difficult, but here's what I've been able to ascertain so far. Feel free to issue corrections in comments below, or to contact us.
Each set included:
- 2 x 9in Straight Double Lane
- 3 x 9in Radius Curve. 1/8 Circle Double Lane
- 6 x Transitions Double Lane Green Neon
- 3 x 6in Straight Double Lane
- 2 x 9in Straight Single Lane
- 2 x 3in Straight Adapter Double Lane
- 26 x Transition Single Lane
- 1 x 9in Radius Curve, 1/4 Circle Neon Green Single Lane
- Plus: No. 7 and No 4 Supports, Cradle Sets, Single Bridge Loop, Support Adapters, Bag of 6 clips, Sandpaper, Neon Green Guard Rails
- 2 x 9in Radius Curcle 1/4 Circle, Double Lane Neon Green Deco (Double Rails)
- 1 x 9in Terminal Track Neon Green Double Lane
- 3 x 9in Radius Curve, 1/8 Circle Single Lane
- 3 x 9in Radius Curve, 1/4 Circle Single Lane
- 1 x 9" Radius Curve, 1/4 Circle Double Lane
- 6 x 6" Straight Single Lane
- 1 x 9in Radius Curve, 11z/8 Circle, Neon Green Single Lane (Double Rails)
- 1 x Cardboard Loop Deco Sheet
Vehicles
As a premium set, Ultra Cliffhangers comes with two premium vehicles - a metallic mirror red and blue Lamborghini Countach Magnum 440x2 slot cars. NICE!
TV Commercial
Check out this 1990s TV ad for the Tyco Ultra Cliff Hangers which has been cleaned up and restored.
Availability and Collectability
There are many Cliff Hangers sets available on eBay at any given time, however Ultra Cliff Hangers are a little bit less common, so you might be waiting a month or two until one comes up for sale.
At the time of writing, the last few sets in used condition sold for between $50-80 USD which seems incredibly cheap to me, and I do wonder if its going to stay that way for long, or if it was just an outlier.
In any case, do you need the Ultra version when there are so many others? Not really, unless you're determined to get one of the largest and most complex sets that Tyco sold, and are willing to be a little patient.
