The Metro Triple Wheels is a radio controlled vehicle manufactured by Taiyo (Japan), and released into the Australia (and potentially New Zealand) markets by Metro RC ( PlayCorp ) in 1994*.
For better photos of the same product, just with a TYCO logo, check the Tyco Triple Wheels.
The toy that helped destroy Metro RC / PlayCorp - one of the most beloved toy companies in Australia!
So... what happened?
In the early 90s the Japanese company Taiyo Toys (who now produced all of the R/C cars sold by Metro RC) was now under substantial ownership and direction of the American Tyco Toys, moving them away from their traditional focus on realistic scale R/C models of actual vehicles (or models at least somewhat grounded in reality) and began experimenting with more toy-like, hyper-active designs.
While this would result in some of the most popular and memorable toy R/C cars ever made (many purists might disagree!), such as the Rebound, Mutator, and Python, it would also result in some designs that were perhaps less popular, and stretching the bounds of what was mechanically possible at the time.
Many saw this as an 'Americanisation' of the brand, yet Tyco's reasoning for this was legitimate - flagging sales due to the rise of Nintendo and Sega which were stealing attention away from physical toys and fixating kids to their TV screens. And so producing more attention grabbing and outrageous designs was an understandable business decision, and one that the Japanese designers were more than happy to satisfy.
The most notorious of those was the Triple Wheels, not only for its unusual design, but a manufacturing / design fault which would ultimately contribute to the fall of Metro R/C Australia, and subsequent takeover of the Australian market by Tyco R/C (later purchased by Mattel).
Features and Performance
Powering this were two Mabuchi RS-260 motors, the same as those found in the Tyco Scorcher.
While there are six wheels, just 4 are active, on the rear and rear 'top'. The front wheels are freely turning, allowing it to drive in 3 modes:
- Normal way up
- Standing up on it's rear
- Upside down / flipped over
What is the curved rod on the bottom?
Possibly the most innovative feature of the Triple Wheels is the unusual curved rod on the underside. But what is it?
It's the antenna! Pretty neat. I wonder why they did'nt do this for other R/C cars... I can only assume the answer is that it reduced range, and so they needed other components on board to compensate perhaps?
Impact on Metro RC Australia’s Downfall
So, what led the Triple Wheels to be blamed for the collapse of Metro RC in Australia?
GTI (George Tauber Imports, operating as Metro RC) was the Australian distributor for Tyco/Taiyo products, including the first release of the Triple Wheels.
Unfortunately, that initial version had a flaw – a weak spot in its dual axle gear system. As shown in the patent below, the drive-train was quite intricate, with several gears involved. The problem appeared to be in the materials used for the gears, which broke easily, causing the vehicle to fail completely."
A second version was later released, featuring gears made from a stronger polymer. However, by that time, Metro RC Australia had already processed many returns from Australian customers with defective cars, expecting reimbursement from Taiyo.
Unfortunately for Metro/GTI, when it came time to seek compensation, Taiyo (Japan) was unwilling to accept such a large number of defective units without prior notice. This became a major issue in their relationship and negotiations from that point forward.
As a result, Metro RC was eventually cut off from receiving new stock of the next season’s models. It wasn’t long before Metro RC / GTI was forced out of the market, largely due to Tyco RC, Taiyo’s major investor and a direct competitor to Metro.
Recommendation
You’ll either love it or hate it, and you’ve probably already made up your mind. But from a 'fun' standpoint (after all, these are toys!), the Tyco Triple Wheels delivers well, especially for younger audiences, and holds a notable place in the history of Taiyo, Tyco, and Metro RC.
So, should you get one? In my view, this car captures the essence of Tyco in the 90s and makes a great addition to any collection of cars from that era.
Teardown: http://reparar-cochesrc.blogspot.com/2017/02/reparar-transmision-de-tyco-triple.html
Disclaimer
*I've only seen one of these in the wild (shown in the photos) so I'm not yet able to confirm release date from package, however as both the original Taiyo and the Tyco versions were released in 1994, it's likely the Metro RC version is the same.
