Product: 1993 Tyco Mini Traxx Pickup
On the 28th of June, a member of Taiyo R/C Club (Facebook) posted a question:
“Anyone have any information on this R/C?”
Within the post were photos of a Tyco R/C car that none of us had ever seen before.
There are four possibilities when this situation arises.
The vehicle is:
- Prototype or Factory Sample
- Rare. Very Rare.
- Country Specific
- Modified / Custom
Without a “source of truth”, Tyco and Taiyo collectors must rely on word of mouth, a problem that TycoCollectors.com is trying our best to solve.
FACT: it’s impossible to be 100% sure what this is unless loads more evidence appears, such as more owners with the same item, more prototypes, an ex-Tyco employee, etc.
But we can be pretty sure… so what do we think?
Packaging
To any collector of Tyco R/C products, this presents as a genuine item without question.
All the markings, fonts, designs, everything checks out.
It’s the Mini Traxx packaging, modified for ‘Pickup’.
The model number 2342 (49Mhz) would also fit in just fine amongst similar products of its era.
2335 Tyco RC Mini Wild Thing 19922335 Tyco RC Mini Bandit 19922338 Tyco RC Mini Traxx 19922342 Tyco RC Mini Traxx Pickup 19932363 Tyco RC Mini Hammer 1993 There is only one thing which seems amiss…. The body on this car is not the Pick-Up. It’s the Eliminator!
Pikachu is surprise dot jpg
This is probably the only thing that does’nt seem right…
Being a prototype, or ‘first production’, a mistake like this is not surprising. The whole reason the production process occurs is to identify and correct mistakes like this.
It’s also possible Tyco simply decided to name the car a ‘PickUp’ since it might sell better.
Afterall, the Eliminator is a type of ‘Futuristic Pickup’ style chassis.
Photos of the Mini Traxx Pickup
The Note
On the side of the box, is a white sticker with a hand written note.
1st Production
9-20-93
Sample sent to Portland
So on 20th September 1993, someone likely from Tyco Toys HQ in New York organised for this first production sample to be sent to “Portland”.
So what about Portland? With some internet sleuthing I found the answer…
It is likely that the Quality Control department was also based in Portland, the natural recipients of any production samples that needed to be checked for errors… such as putting the wrong product name on the box!
Vehicle closeups
Here we can see the full profile of the car. It’s aggressively styled, with the hot pink chassis against the black a killer combination. I’m sure it would sell well in any toy store today, 30+ years later!
Close-up shots of any unknown vehicles are important so you can see whether there are signs of tampering, such as spray painting, misaligned panels, or clearly incompatible parts that only become apparent with close inspection.
This vehicle has obviously seen some use, based on the rubber tread which naturally stretches over time, however it’s likely been mostly indoor use as the vehicle is in great condition overall. The rear drive-train with the twin Mabuchi 260 motor cans visible, all in hot pink, with black screws… it really does look amazing, and I quickly forget I’m looking at one of those dredded “reverse-turn” cars that I always hated as a kid.
Yes, the Mini Traxx range including the PickUp are not full function RC. They will go forward, and to turn they will rotate in a clockwise direction only. It’s not ideal, but much better with a tank-style car than a regular wheeled car.
Most interesting and telling in any vehicle with unknown origin is the undercarriage.
In this one we see a typical Mini Traxx chassis, stickers, and 49Mhz suggesting that there’s also a 27Mhz variant out there of another color.
We can also say with certainty that the hot pink is not fake, or sprayed on – that’s genuine moulded plastic.
All the ‘Mini’ range cars run on 4xAA. Not fast, but plenty enough for this one to scoot around the house, running over anything in its path.
Conclusion: What is it?
What we are looking at, in terms of parts, is genuine.
So is it a custom fan project, built out of parts from other vehicles? Sold as a prototype? Possible, but the weight of evidence suggests it unlikely.
In the last 24 hours another photo has surfaced, this time from the original seller…
A 27Mhz Lime Green Mini Traxx PickUp/Eliminator!
So now we have…
- Three cars total
- Both color and frequency types
- All from the same source (original seller).
At this stage we suspect these are genuine vehicles that potentially never made it to mass production, or were only sold in a specific region.
One or two people have also stepped up to claim they’ve seen this model before.
Have you? Please – leave us a message below, we’d very much appreciate it!
IMPORTANT UPDATE!
2nd July 2022
Well, we said it would take a few more owners to step forward with photos, and would you believe it… we’ve got a 3rd owner, who posted this photo yesterday.
OK. It’s 100% genuine!
Alright folks, I think that pretty much solves it. It’s a real, genuine product! So why don’t more people know about this?
Well, there’s one thing in common with every owner who has stepped up so far.
They all hail from the glorious land of Mexico! Nice one dudes!
So, apart from the first one we found which appears to be a Scenario #1 (Factory sample), the Mini Traxx PickUp appears to be Scenario #3 (Region specific) in general. And boy are we jealous!
