Home | About | Blog | Contact Us
 Subscribe RSS
Home » Advertising, Film, Marketing, Mattel Disney Pixar CARS, Retail, TV, Toys, collecting, diecast

Mattel Disney Pixar Diecast CARS: Launchers at Lewis Drugs, The New Walmart

This is how it begins. The cutting slash of retail capitalism … Woolworth’s replaced a million five-n’-dimes, Kmart crushed Woolworth’s, and Walmart took down Kmart … Monty Wards was replaced by Sears and Target has knocked down Sears … and so it goes … and now, Lewis Drugs has struck the first blow against Walmart … Dismissed as some upstart with “only” stores in 32 stores throughout South Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota, they are perfectly primed to take down Walmart … far from major transportation hubs, they are all about stealth …

Sure, they’re all about the cute …

But beneath the free cider and cookies, they want you to practice your marksmanship at their stores with live reindeer … behind every cute message, you have to read their cold harsh words …

This is Serious Ming-Ming …

Indeed, this is serious Ming-Ming. Is that a stick of dynamite?

Or their main graphic, what are they saying - life is a bitter square pill and you will swallow it …

And that is you in the center and we build more and more stores to trap you …

Mattel is listening … why else would they get these before anyone else on the planet?

Of course, not really unexpected in the bigger sense as they were all listed as launchers coming out in late 2008 or 2009 but I’ll bet no one had money on LEWIS DRUGS as the first place they would actually show.

What’s also interesting (and telling?) - it just asks you to collect THESE 6 launchers on the back …

So, this is CASE A. Now that the secret is out, it is available for resellers to sell … so who knows where it might show up next but Mattel is shipping from their distribution center now.

CASE A is:

Chick Hicks (1)
Shifty Drug (2)
Tank Coat (1)
Vitoline (2)

First, Samuel R, thanks for the picture and enjoy your first in the US launchers :-)

And of course, this means other than the BUTTON STORE, you pretty much have to stop in each store, grab the first employee and ask, “Where be the Octane Gain hauler?!”

And since Mattel is being secretive about these, we’re not exactly sure if CASE B will contain 3 more “new” launchers or more likely 2 of “new” launchers and a repeat of some here but the next four on the list are:

Fiber Fuel 0-27084-71734-1
Mood Springs 0-27084-71735-8
Retread 0-27084-71736-5
Shiny Wax 0-27084-71737-2

(AND UPC FOR THESE)
Vitoline 0-27084-71732-7
Shifty Drug 0-27084-71733-4

So, if you thought you could pass by the SIP & GO … think again, Horatio …

CARS - it’s dull and it’s always different.

Happy Hunting (not just reindeer)!

« Mattel Disney Pixar Diecast CARS: The Mack RC TransporterMattel Disney Pixar Diecast CARS & Other Diecast Cars: Small Collection »

46 Comments »

  1. does that mean we won’t be seeing these any time soon in CA?

    (MET: Well, any Mattel reseller can order them now …)

    [Reply]

    //christine
    21 November 2008 at 10:59 pm

  2. So if Wal Mart is the 800 lb Gorilla does that make this place Curious George…

    [Reply]

    Mary Reply:
    November 21st, 2008 at 11:25 pm

    HaHaHa! How far are you from Minnesota Pirate?

    [Reply]

    PirateDad Reply:
    November 21st, 2008 at 11:31 pm

    Driving directions to Minnesota, MN, USA
    1,572 km – about 15 hours 44 mins

    (MET: What is it not bothering with roads? …).

    [Reply]

    PoPeYe Reply:
    November 21st, 2008 at 11:34 pm

    hey..a reason to talk to the mother in law…she’s in Northfield MN…

    [Reply]

    PirateDad Reply:
    November 21st, 2008 at 11:42 pm

    Hi Mom, how are you…what are your plans for Thanksgiving…NO we are not coming, I`m just making small talk…Listen will you just go to Lewis Drugs for me or what…

    [Reply]

    PirateDad Reply:
    November 21st, 2008 at 11:59 pm

    Are you questioning Google Maps? That’s like betting against Met!!

    [Reply]

    //PirateDad
    21 November 2008 at 11:00 pm

  3. Whoo Hooo I’ll wear the big yellow hat if I stumble across these anytime soon…

    [Reply]

    //PoPeYe
    21 November 2008 at 11:08 pm

  4. What a stupid snipe on the back…collect and connect all 6…. Is this trying to trick us like the did with the original 12 Desert Backs

    [Reply]

    //PirateDad
    21 November 2008 at 11:19 pm

  5. I did see the Chick Hicks launcher but wasn’t interested - didn’t see the ROR Lightning Mcqueen or King launcher but wouldn’t have bought them either way. Believe me, I was shocked when I saw these hanging there - it was the last thing I expected when I ran in and did my quick check of the toys section because Lewis Drug is just not known for having a great Cars selection.

    [Reply]

    //Samuel
    21 November 2008 at 11:39 pm

  6. Actually these are case B… the case number is N5534-999B. These were found in Indianapolis today as well.

    [Reply]

    jason Reply:
    November 22nd, 2008 at 7:53 am

    Hey Indykjt-Where in Indianapolis?

    [Reply]

    Indykjt Reply:
    November 22nd, 2008 at 10:00 am

    They were found at a small independant toy store… they usually only get one case of something when they get anything at all. It has been awhile since anything at all came in, until this week.

    It has been a great seceret source for me!

    [Reply]

    //Indykjt
    22 November 2008 at 12:06 am

  7. What happened to Easy Idle? Wasn’t he supposed to come along side Tank Coat?

    [Reply]

    //Brown Fury
    22 November 2008 at 12:29 am

  8. Dude-Met-Dude,

    I beg to differ on the whole “Dull but always different” thang.

    Tryin’ to convince myself NOT to get all the WOC w/new snipe,

    then attempting to get them and everyone sending the wrong card back because I didn’t specify that I wanted the ACTUAL ITEM PICTURED FOR SALE!?!?!?!?!

    Then finally getting that “two-piece” McQueen in the Lightning fast speedway,

    only to find out the new one from ROR has variants with the Smell Swell McQueen as well, hell.

    Cryin’ over the fact that ROR chase McQueen has a friggin’ smile variant too…!?!?!?!

    And this is just the cream of the crop lately!

    I won’t point out that I am in CANADA and this is MY FRIDAY NIGHT!!!

    THIS IS NO WHERE NEAR DULLSVILLE - I AM A CARS-O-HOLIC AND FLIPPIN’ LOVIN’ IT!!!!!

    [Reply]

    buckland-blowouts Reply:
    November 22nd, 2008 at 1:09 am

    oh yeah and… WOOOOHHOOOOOO!!!!

    [Reply]

    //buckland-blowouts
    22 November 2008 at 12:51 am

  9. What’s all the fuss? MattyCollector.com has had these on there for several weeks now.

    JUST KIDDING!!!

    [Reply]

    PirateDad Reply:
    November 22nd, 2008 at 4:52 pm

    Bet this is the first time you wished you were John in South Dakota!!

    [Reply]

    //John in Missouri
    22 November 2008 at 6:04 am

  10. Man the list of Cars to be found the fall is soooooo great!! I cannot wait to see these in the wild!!

    [Reply]

    //jestrjef
    22 November 2008 at 6:22 am

  11. Hmmm, time to check out Gepetto’s!

    [Reply]

    racerguyinsd Reply:
    November 22nd, 2008 at 8:58 pm

    Monica, are you serious? ;) Actually, you are dead on. I will go to the one in North County to avoid any unwanted “confrontations”. :lol:

    [Reply]

    //Monica
    22 November 2008 at 10:17 am

  12. FF, grab the camper, we are heading to South Dakota!!

    [Reply]

    //crazyforcarsakajim
    22 November 2008 at 10:55 am

  13. Pirate, you grab the portable plank, if we see hoarders… they walk it!!

    [Reply]

    //crazyforcarsakajim
    22 November 2008 at 10:55 am

  14. now what happened to easy idle, what ever, i went to 2 walmarts 1 targtet 1 kmart toys r us and 2 walgreens..not much to talk about however scored a ron hoover at walgreens—seen an over sized barney stormin, didnt buy–michael showed no interest in him..but i was happy to see a rather large selection at toys r us so i bought michael 5 cars and i will now send in for the n2o coloa car–

    northport area toys r us is worth the trip if you want to buy 5 cars for the n2o cola–make the trip–atleast this time you can get a nice assortment

    the biggest find today was kathy copter and ron hoover if that tells you anything about my day–i did see the lightning with the tires around his eyes but didnt get him

    [Reply]

    //kevin roche
    22 November 2008 at 12:08 pm

  15. does anyone know how many piston cup cars are now avialiable in single form launchers or whatever? we must be getting near to the 30 mark or maybe even more.

    (MET: I was waiting to see the new WM pallet actually out on the floor before the next checklist is out so maybe in a couple weeks) …

    [Reply]

    jammes Reply:
    November 22nd, 2008 at 3:39 pm

    but what about up until just now????? 21st.

    [Reply]

    //jammes
    22 November 2008 at 12:14 pm

  16. I LOVE THIS SITE!!! SAW THIS POST AND CALLED LEWIS DRUGS IN SOUTH DAKOTA, NOT ONLY DID THEY HAVE THE VITOLINE BUT OFFERED TO SEND IT TO ME FOR $3.00!!! THANKS SAMUEL AND MET!!!!

    [Reply]

    jestrjef Reply:
    November 22nd, 2008 at 1:08 pm

    NICE!! I guess I better get on the phone!!!

    [Reply]

    jestrjef Reply:
    November 22nd, 2008 at 2:02 pm

    I must saay this loudly . . . .

    SCORE!!!!!!!! SCORE!!!!!!

    crazyforcarsakajim — great idea baby!!! I just scored 2 Vitoline, 2 Shifty Drugs and 1 Tank coat!!!

    Thank you to the very helpful KATE at Lewis Drug!! I might have to mail all my subscriptions up there, as they are my new favorite drug store!!!

    They are even going to ship to me . . . all the way down to FLORIDA!!

    Now I only need 2 Tank coats and one each of Shift Drug and Vitoline and my whole family is covered!!

    This makes up for yesterday and this morning where I found NADA!!!

    whoooooooo hoooooooooooooo . . . :)

    I need a dancing smiley face, but I don’t know how to do it!! LOL

    (MET: Well, they have 32 stores - did you call them all? :-) ).

    [Reply]

    crazyforcarsakajim Reply:
    November 22nd, 2008 at 2:06 pm

    GLAD I COULD HELP YOU SIR!!

    [Reply]

    jestrjef Reply:
    November 22nd, 2008 at 2:42 pm

    No, only got half way through the list!! Most of them were closed.

    Walmart could take some serious notes!! Every person I talked to went out of their way to check the toys section if they had a toy section. They were friedly and extremely polite!!

    Any one at Walmart listening????

    [Reply]

    FuzzyLloyd Reply:
    November 22nd, 2008 at 3:21 pm

    I wasnt able to find any, but I will tell you that you are right, those were some of the nicest people in retail I have ever spoken to. Almost makes me wish I lived in SD. Ok….not really, I have always considered SD and up to be Canada (no offense PD)and Canada seems way too cold for me.

    [Reply]

    jammes Reply:
    November 22nd, 2008 at 3:38 pm

    sure hope you count me as one of the family bro, sis, mum, dad, cousin, come up with these and i might even be your wife. mmmmmm think i’ll retrack the last statement.we’ll just call it mates. lol. nice score though.

    [Reply]

    PirateDad Reply:
    November 22nd, 2008 at 4:46 pm

    None taken…it is brrrr here today!!

    [Reply]

    kevin roche Reply:
    November 22nd, 2008 at 4:22 pm

    ok whos the wise guy–i called every store on the list and they sold em out, all phone orders sometimes 5 of the same car at a time—SNOOZE YOU LOOSE–that stinks, well i hope i can still get my hands on them

    [Reply]

    crazyforcarsakajim Reply:
    November 24th, 2008 at 11:06 am

    (raises hand sheepishly)

    [Reply]

    //crazyforcarsakajim
    22 November 2008 at 12:31 pm

  17. Which ones did you guys call?

    (MET: Here is their entire store list - I expect you all to march into physically, drive pell-mell or call and generally act like a marauding army - I expect no less …. report in how you knocked over the reindeer to get to these :-) … I am of course kidding, if calling, please be polite and ask nicely … if you live in Sioux Falls - they have 10 stores there!).

    [Reply]

    Samuel Reply:
    November 24th, 2008 at 10:50 am

    There’s actually only 5 Lewis Drug stores in Sioux Falls where I live, the other 5 are basically express pharmacies located in grocery stores. I will certainly be on the lookout if they get any different cases of the launchers and be sure to post it here if and when they do so everyone can resume calling the stores. I’m glad it worked out so well for everyone!

    [Reply]

    //FuzzyLloyd
    22 November 2008 at 2:38 pm

  18. I am guessing I am a little behind someone literally is buying them all out.

    [Reply]

    //FuzzyLloyd
    22 November 2008 at 2:56 pm

  19. met im going nutts here, very odd, easy idle and tank coat are on the list to come out–ok fine and dandy..now we see shifty drug–vitoline-and tank coat..even on the backs of the cards shows 6 cars–king-mcqueen-hicks- shifty drug tank coat vitoline NO EASY IDLE,,what happened to easy idle, i know the backs of the packs are differnent for each car in the launcher set, the 3 stooges are always on them plus 3 new ones, like leakless will have the 3 plus no stall and octain, and trunk fresh will have rpm plus 1 plus the 3..

    does this mean easy idle is sharing 2 other non listed cars and is still coming out in this secret pallet lock up conspiracy deal…please help me understand this one

    i was completly fine with the cars coming out in order of the list but when i saw the backs of the new 3 cars, well it stired it all up again—signed goofy

    [Reply]

    PirateDad Reply:
    November 22nd, 2008 at 4:50 pm

    This is just my opinion, MET will tell us the real truth, BUT I am guessing the Easy Idle and other one on the WM pallet is gonna be WOC and the 3 at the Drug store with the collect and connect all 6 are ROR, so it is just packaging not an indication that Easy is not coming out!!

    [Reply]

    kevin roche Reply:
    November 22nd, 2008 at 5:16 pm

    yeah, i was thinking along that line however, i just,, meaning this morning bought michael trunk fresh in the launcher pack and it has the same backing, the 3 stooges plus 3 others, this one had rpm and no stall–same back ground, just woc not ror– i mean same thing collect and connect all 6—and i know i keep saying this but we have all seen this–nothing on ebay and its ALWAYS on well before the release in stores

    [Reply]

    //kevin roche
    22 November 2008 at 4:38 pm

  20. Just an FYI the MN and the IA stores do not have toys so we can stop calling them LOL

    [Reply]

    //blakefrommn
    22 November 2008 at 5:06 pm

  21. SOMEONE TELL ME THE SECRET OF HOW TO GET THE CARS. EVERYWHERE I GO IT IS THE SAME OLE, SAME OLE. HAVE LOOKED AT WALMART, KMART,FAMILY DOLLAR, WALGREENS, BIG LOTS, SEARS, GORDMANS AND TOYS R US.

    (MET: It all depends on where you live and if you live near some people willing to get up at 7 AM every morning, your odds are definitely slimmer - however the past few weeks have been tougher since they had a glue issue and some retailers were stockpiling for Black Friday … so hopefully after Thanksgiving, things will be better).

    [Reply]

    crazyforcarsakajim Reply:
    November 24th, 2008 at 11:08 am

    or you could ask one of us for help?!!? what do you need? you can email me at marcopolo5150@yahoo.com

    [Reply]

    //MAMA LOU
    23 November 2008 at 4:57 pm

  22. Does anyone know if the new race o rama launchers will be out for black friday at Walamart??

    [Reply]

    //scott
    23 November 2008 at 7:17 pm

Have your say!

Add your comment below, or trackback from your own site. You can also subscribe to these comments via RSS.

Be nice. Keep it clean. Stay on topic. No spam.

You can use these tags:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>