The Tyco Dallas Cowboys Hopper / Dallas Cowboys Wild Thing is a limited edition, super rare RC car only sold in JC Penny catalogues after the Dallas Cowboys won the 1995 Super Bowl.
By 1995 the Turbo Hopper / Wild Thing had been out of production for about 3-5 years (depending when they stopped production of the 1990 Heads Up! Wild Thing), and so spooling up manufacturing again for a short-run to sell at JC Penny was as unlikely as it was epic.
Did we mention it’s rare?
We say the word ‘rare’ a lot here, as so many of these R/C toys are quite rare. But amongst those are the rarest of the rare, and that’s what we’re looking at here. But rare does not make valuable, and the difference with this one is it’s linked to an incredible Super Bowl win, making it one of the most valuable Tyco RC cars in existence.
What is the packaging like?
I’ve never seen one of these in a box, nor a photo of its box, and I wonder whether it uses the regular Wild Thing packaging (as per instructions), or something else? If you have a photo of the car in its box, please post it in the comments below!
Photos of the Prototype
The car in our photos was reportedly owned by a Tyco marketing executive, and was one of the initial runs so never had a box. It’s likely the design was created, sent to the factory in Singapore who manufactured it, and they sent back this working sample in a plain unprinted box for confirmation that it met expectations. At that point manufacturing would have begun and stock shipped to JC Penny in time for the catalogue.
However they came to be, these Dallas Cowboy Hoppers are so rare that many don’t even know they exist.
Performance
I’d highly recommend that you do not put this down in the dirt (or even in your loungeroom!) given how few of these exist, however their performance and features are still quite something:
- 9.6v Turbo Battery Pack
- Mabuchi RK370 Motor
- Solid Rear Axle
- Fat Rear and Front Tires
- Larger 1/14 scale
- Shock Absorbers on Front and Back
- Two Speed Gearbox
- ‘Heads Up’ function with drivers head turning left/right
Availability and Collectability
These appear for sale online very rarely. In the last two years I’ve only seen 1-2 become available. Given the nature of the Tyco Dallas Cowboys Wild Thing, the expected price for one of these would be higher than most other Tyco RC cars, especially as it’s doing double duty as Dallas Cowboys / Super Bowl memorabilia.
As it is, I’m struggling to think of a Tyco RC that’s likely to be more valuable.
Image Credit: J.C. Penny catalog thanks to Muse Technical Catalogs & Wishbooks
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