The Tyco Cliff Hangers with Nite Glow model #6220 is a slot car racing set manufactured by Tyco, and released into the US, UK, and other countries worldwide in 1984.
Concept and Features
Cliff Hangers was one of the more popular slot car sets manufactured by Tyco throughout the 80s and 90s, with this particular track being the successor to the original 1983 ‘Cliff Hangers’ version.
The first (to my knowledge) with ‘Nite-Glow’, as per the name this one upgraded the original with glow-in-the-dark cars, rails, and track decals which used phosphorescent materials embedded in the plastics.
Glow in the dark was a big fad in the 80s and early 90s, and was everywhere, but for anyone not familar, this is the type which required you to ‘charge’ the object by keeping it near sunlight or a bright light for a few moments, and when placed in the darkness it would glow.
Track Layout
The track included with Cliff Hangers was one of the simplest and shortest in the Tyco range, at just 14.5 feet, or 3.5 meters, however this doesn’t dim the excitement (get it? glow in the dark, dim? heh heh ehh…), and as with all Tyco tracks could be extended indefinitely by adding more pieces, or combining with other sets.
The most important part of the set was the wall climbing feature, with two ‘cradle’ pieces that allowed the track to climb up the wall to a vertical, and come back down to level.
Unfortunately, the track itself didn’t have embedded glow-in-the-dark paint, and instead they included a sticker pack which you’d use to apply strips along sections of the track indicated in the manual.
Not quite as cool as the advertisement, however the guard rails and the cars were made of phosphorescent materials which did glow well.
Vehicles
The set included two 1980 Corvette C3 Magnum 440 cars, whose bodies were made of glow-in-the-dark embedded plastics, easily identifiable by any kid who owned a glow-in-the-dark-anything in the 80s or 90s due to that weird yellowy white plastic.
The Cliff Hanger cars themselves had strong magnets embedded in the base, which together with raw speed and inertia would keep the cars planted on the track while travelling up and down the wall.
Collectability and Availability
There are several Cliff Hangers sets available online at any one time, though this original ‘Cliff Hangers with Nite Glow’ is a little less common than Zero Gravity and others.
Pricing for a complete set in good condition can get into the higher range for Tyco slots ($400+), but you can usually pick up something beaten but fixable for under $100. See below, and our Price History / Value section for the latest updated data on average and highest price, with the highest price typically indicating what the best quality sets will cost.
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