Hanna-Barbera Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine

Scooby-Doo first came out in 1969 and by that time I was pretty much set in my ways cartoon-watching wise so it didn't really appeal to me. Also, I was starting to get interested in other things and cartoons weren't grabbing my attention any more. It wasn't until we got back to the States in '91 and the kids were at the right age to enjoy cartoons that I really started getting into Scooby-Doo and now I can shamelessly say I'm hooked! Yup, just gotta get a dose of Shaggy, Scooby, Fred, Daphne, and Velma every so often just to feel complete hahahahaha. Well, okay, maybe that's a little extreme but I do try to catch 'em on TV when I can. Anywho, today's post is about this nice little rendition of the Mystery Machine by Hanna-Barbera Productions. I got it used and don't know if it was part of a set or not or when it was made. It has a friction motor with forward-reverse bump-&-go action activated when the bumper hits an object. It measures 3 5/8" (9.20cm) L x 1 5/8" (4.12cm) W x 2" (5.08cm) H Enjoy! Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina

Wendy's Wacky Racing George Jetson

The Jetsons, Hanna-Barbera's futuristic counterpart to The Flintstones, first aired in 24 episodes from 1962-1963 and with a resurgence in popularity, new episodes ran from 1984-1987. When it debuted in 1962 it was the first show to be televised in color on ABC-TV but at the time only a handful of stations around the country were color-capable. The TV we had back then was black-&-white and that's my earliest memories of the show. The Jetsons was set in the year 2062 and had as its cast of characters:

-George, Jane, Judy, and Elroy Jetson
-Their dog Astro
-Rosie the robot maid
-Mr. Spacely, George's boss at 'Spacely Space Sprockets'
-Mr. Cogswell, Mr. Spacely's competitor
-R.U.D.I., Goerge's computer - and best friend (next to Astro!)

It was always a treat to watch the futuristic space settings the animators came up with for the show and following George as he zips around the solar system in his personal spaceship. When you look back at these cartoons you'll notice a certain 'mid-century modern' design ethic in place in the buildings, interiors, and furniture designs, which would be natural considering when it was made but now kind of looks nostalgic. The Jetsons was one of my favorite childhood cartoons and I guess it's because of this that the toy featured today appealed to me -besides, it was cheap too :-)

'Wacky Racers' or 'Wacky Racing' is used in several Cartoon Network licensed series. The die-cast 'Wacky Racers' toys were often Johnny Lightning offerings but today's toy was a plastic 1999 kid's meal offering from Wendy's. The toy measures 3 1/2" (8.9cm) L x 2 3/4" (7cm) diameter x 2 1/4" (5.7cm) H. Enjoy and have Fun From The Berg's :)