OK, quiz time - what do these two photos have in common?
I mean, other than some groovy guys secret crimefighters holding race car controllers! (Oh, and how about that TV set, lamp, and sofa in the photo! And the textured orange carpet, oh I remember that. I wish I had that TV and sofa, but they're long gone.)
The Aurora Model Motoring Thunderjet race track set in the top photo was probably the greatest Christmas gift I ever received.
It was great fun creating different track layouts and hopping up the cars for faster performance and better traction. Heck even the illustrations in the catalog and box graphics are wonderful to look at.
Like many childhood toys, it ended up in a box and eventually was given or thrown away. I don't have another one, but I do still have a couple of the cars, including a British racing green Jaguar XKE, and this yellow Ford GT with hacked up rear wheel wells modified for huge racing tires.
The cars I really lusted after were the Aurora Batmobile and Green Hornet car, but I never did get them at $3.49 each!!!
I do keep my eyes out at sales for this vintage Aurora slot car stuff, but it doesn't come up very often around here.
That Bruce Wayne slot car photo came off of the cover of a 1967 slot car magazine that I picked up at an auction years ago. Here's the original cover and the inside article. This is great stuff and probably pretty rare!
I don't have any old home movies of my track, but here's a cool clip from none other than stately Wayne Manor!
