Jurassic Park The Lost World Electric Race Set is a Magnum 440-X2 slot car track set manufactured by Tyco Toys, and released into the global market in 1997. It is a popular collectors item for both slot car enthusiasts and fans of the Jurassic Park film franchise.
Concept
Released in 1997 in conjunction with the movie "The Lost World: Jurassic Park," the Tyco electric race set is a colorful, and exciting thrill ride through the dangerous landscape of Isla Sorna, the dinosaur-inhabited island featured in the film. The only Jurassic Park slot car set we're aware of, it does a good job of conveying the feel of the movie, and comes some excellent quality artwork from Tyco.
Track and Features
This Jurassic Park themed slot car set has been designed with close attention to detail, carefully themed with dozens of set decoration pieces
T-Rex Figure
The set includes a battery operated motorized T-Rex that apparently can grab a car in its mouth! I don't have this set myself, so I wonder how much 'artistic licence' there is in this. Surely it can't actually grab the car, and more likely the mouth opens and the car crashes into it, sending it off the track. Any owners of this set, please leave a comment below!
Cardboard set decorations
The set includes an extensive array of mountains, waterfalls, and dinosaurs in cardboard, in addition to the moulded plastic Brontosaurus and Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Vehicles
The race cars themselves have been painted up in Jurassic Park style colors and logos, however to my knowledge these are not vehicles specifically featured in the film, and instead seem to be bodies reused from other sets.
The first is a US Army style HumVee, and the second is a JP style Pickup truck. I'd liked to have seen the classic JP Subaru, but I guess that would have complicated licencing and increased the price.
They've done a good job though, as I did'nt notice the car on the front of the box was'nt the classic JP car until I really thought about it.
Collectability
Thankfully these sets are still widely available on eBay in various conditions, though finding a complete set in good condition is getting more difficult.
And there's no doubt that this Jurassic Park Slot Car set would be a valuable item for any collector if found in good enough condition, making the perfect addition to either a slot car collectors set, or a fan of the film franchise.
While there are no particularly unusual track elements, the set decoration is well done, the T-Rex is just plain cool, and the whole package including box art is just a warm fuzzy reminder of what made the 90s so great for film and toys.
