The History of Micro Machines: Fast Talking, Teeny Tiny Vehicles of the 80's & 90's

[00:00:00] Dan Larson: The best way to do something that has been done before, the only way to separate yourself from a field of people who are doing the same thing you're trying to do right now, is to find a better, more interesting, more entertaining way of doing that thing. Be funnier, speak louder, think smarter, talk faster, get smaller, smaller than that, smaller, smaller. I'm Dan Larson and this is the History of Micro Machines. Micro Machines are mechanical objects produced just like integrated circuits around 100 nanometers to 100 micrometers. They are used in accelerometers and other complex systems of gears and levers. Most Micro Machines act as transducers, either as sensors or actuators. Sensors convert information from the environment into interpretable electrical signals. Those actuators convert electrical signals and energy into some kind of motion. The three most common types of actuators are electrostatic, thermal, and magnetic, and wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Not those Micro Machines. These Micro Machines. Hundreds of tiny cars and boats and motorcycles, monster trucks and airplanes and playsets and Star Trek, Megazords and limousines and trains and the X-Men, tanks and Indiana Jones and James Bond, and cars and cars and cars and cars and cars and cars and cars! Micro Machines are a comprehensive line of all kinds of vehicles and playsets. Some of them are officially licensed brands like Star Wars and Star Trek. Most are officially licensed versions of brand name vehicles from across the spectrum of human transportation. For the most part, they were roughly N scale, around 148th to 160th the size of the actual vehicle. That means that a standard size car would be about one and a quarter inches from bumper to bumper or just over three centimeters. Micro Machines were created by Clemens V. Hedin, Patty Joe Hedin, and Ned Kane, and released by Galoob beginning in 1987. Clemens says he came up with the idea while working in his toy shop one day in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. He had recently attended Toy Fair where he found out Galoob wanted a new, reasonably priced line of toy cars. Galoob was already on toy shelves with products from brands like The A-Team, Blackstar, Defenders of the Earth, She-Ra competitor Golden Girl, and Infaceables. Charles and his team were a company called FunMaker. They would create toys that would then be licensed out to larger toy companies for production, distribution, and sales. FunMaker, today known as Fun City USA, were responsible for a ton of popular toys. From Fun City's website, quote: Other Fun City toy hits include: The Silly Sam, Talking Broom and Friends, Spider Ball, Toddler Golf, Atom Ball, Cookin' Cookies, Bug Out, Grab Banana, Forever Friends, Clippin' Tails, Bungie Pool Tornado Maker, Lightning Lab, and hundreds of other successful toy concepts. After working with his team to develop a line of 24 micro-sized cars and their packaging design, he brought it to Galoob to see if they were interested. Galoob loved it and wanted to buy the concept immediately. They knew they had a hit on their hands. Tiny cars were nothing new in the toy business. Hot Wheels and Matchbox were on the pegs with 164th scale cars and trucks and helicopters and boats and stuff. Back in the 70s, Ideal had a line called Skeeters that were the same size as Micro Machines. Skeeters were highly detailed and featured amazing packaging design with a plastic bubble that featured a built-in magnifying glass. Tiny cars were not a new product, but what was new about Micro Machines? How Galoob introduced them to the world through an unforgettable series of commercials. Commercials that would be the identity of the brand for nearly its entire run, thanks to one very special actor. Literally the world's fastest talking man, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, John Machida Jr. took the title in 1966 when he was just 12 years old. He got his big break in 1981 after an appearance on the TV show That's Incredible. After reciting the lyrics to the song Ya Got Trouble from the Broadway show The Music Man in 60 Seconds, he was featured in a commercial for Federal Express, which today is not only one of the most successful ads for FedEx, but also one of the most successful and recognized ads ever made. In 1986 he was cast as Blur in the Transformers movie, and in 1987 he began a string of 125 commercials as the face of the Micro Machines brand, as the Micro Machines guy. The commercials were fast and fun and exciting and positioned the tiny vehicles as a must-have for every kid on the playground. Cool cars, smaller than pocket size, microscopic details, something you could build a large collection with in no time. [00:04:36] Speaker 2: Micro Machines Man here with the Mini Micro Man. We're bringing you the Super Scoop on Special Auto Supplies with a secret inside. Wanna see? What's inside? This brilliant battery opens to a simply secret airport with real runways, roadside rental car, perfectly perfect pumps, amazing air traffic controls, into passenger terminal, fantastic fold-down jetways, and a seriously secret express tunnel. And that's not all. This genuine-looking gas can holds a hidden mountaintop adventure with a great gas station, radical road ramps, super sightseeing restaurant, precise parking, and a real working elevator. See? It's not a secret anymore. And yet there's even more to see to this mountain scene, a secret place to store your Micro Machines. The Micro Machines Secret Auto Supplies from Galoob. Remember, if it doesn't say Micro Machines, it's not the real thing. [00:05:05] Dan Larson: The line of tiny toys got big fast. They were sold in packs of five with new offerings all the time. From the start, Galoob knew they were going to have competitors. You can legally protect specific designs, but the idea of micro-sized toy vehicles was fair game for anyone. The Micro Machines branding touted that they were the original scale miniatures. The commercials ended with the tagline, "If it doesn't say Micro Machines, it's not the real thing." Because the age of Micro had arrived and everyone was looking to get a cut. Funrise was one of the first to jump in with Micro Magnifiers, micro-sized cars imported from China repackaged with a magnifying glass so kids could examine the details, just like Skeeter's back in the 70s. In 1989, Kenner released Megaforce, a whole line of die-cast sci-fi military vehicles, and a full complement of transporters, battle stations, and other support gear. Hasbro introduced Transformers Micro Masters, vehicles slightly larger than Micro Machines, but with the ability to transform into robots. From 1987 into the 90s, Micro Machines were the best-selling toy car line in the United States. Sales numbers were higher than Hot Wheels, Matchbox, and Majorette combined. Galoob met demand with an ever-expanding roster of vehicles and an ever-expanding lineup of gimmicks. Deluxe vehicles with opening doors and hoods, snapbacks, private eyes, micro lights, ultra-fast wheels, tough tracks, color changers, drivers that featured little people in the seats, x-rays, classy chromers, the motor muncher to pick up, store, and launch your Micro Machines. The Turbo Shot, a gun that fires Micro Machines onto a race track, electronic gimmicks like Turbo Talkers and Smash Ups. They expanded to licensed brands like Star Trek and Star Wars, Babylon 5, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Men in Black, James Bond, and Indiana Jones. They released a plethora of playsets, some that connected like a puzzle, some that transformed, some that acted as storage and transport, some that could actually float on the water. They went even smaller with insiders that featured a tiny car that could fit inside a regular Micro Machine, and they went larger with Macro Machines that were as big as a regular Hot Wheels or Matchbox car. Micro Machines wasn't just the toys, they were also featured in a series of video games. Codemasters has published games on nearly every platform from Nintendo Entertainment System to Amiga, Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo, Game Boy, PlayStation, N64, GameCube, Xbox, and Game Gear. Most of the games set the tiny vehicles in real-world settings like the living room, the kitchen table, your bedroom, a desk. Micro Machines in 1991, Micro Machines 2 Turbo Tournament in 1994, Micro Machines Military in 1996, V3 in 1997, V4 in 2006, and even Micro Machines World Series just a few years ago in 2017. Micro Machines stayed alive by pushing the boundaries within the micro vehicle genre and by experimenting with different genres and scales of microsity as necessary to power a line. Gloob produced Z-Bots from 1992 to 1994, an original creation, tiny robots with vehicles and other color variants. It was a battle between the heroic Z-Bots who were designed to defend and the evil voids who were made to menace. In 1995, they took their Star Wars license even further with a new scale of vehicles called Action Fleet. This allowed them to still make tiny vehicles, yes, but large enough to fit tiny figures inside and produce larger interactive playsets as well. Action Fleet lasted until 1997, the year that the Star Wars Special Edition was released. In 1996 and into 1997, Gloob's Micro Machines faced their toughest competition yet. Kenner, as part of Hasbro, put out a line of branded micro vehicles and playsets called Microverse. Featuring toys from Superman: The Animated Series, Batman & Robin, Transformers, Beast Wars, Goosebumps, Jurassic Park, Harley-Davidson, G.I. Joe, and Tonka trucks. Packaging and designs that were almost indistinguishable from the Gloob designs. Hard to argue that wasn't done on purpose. As the saying goes, if you can't beat 'em, consume 'em. In 1998, Gloob was purchased by Hasbro who, for a brief time, kept the brand alive. Especially in 1999, when Star Wars Episode I was released. But over the next decade, releases would be sporadic. The Micro Machines name slapped on various products until it faded into the past. The Line saw a brief revival in 2015 as part of the merchandising for Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. Hasbro released several vehicle packs and playsets, individual blind bags. Some of the sets, like the Toys R Us exclusive Ultimate Saga set, pulled from all of the Star Wars movies that had been released up to that point. But not even the power of Star Wars could bring the line back to the prominence it once had. After releases tied to Star Wars: Rogue One in 2016, Micro Machines was once again set aside. Micro Machines took over the toy car industry with an approach that established an attitude and an enthusiasm that kids connected with. That compelled them to collect as many tiny vehicles as they could stuff in their pockets. It steered the entire toy industry in the direction of tiny things that resulted in big, big sales. Thanks for watching, please hit like, hit subscribe if you're not already a subscriber. Thank you very much to those of you who already are. If you're in the position to help the channel grow, please visit our Patreon at patreon.com/toygalaxy. Please share this video and let us know in the comments down below. I didn't finish the end slate. So, uh, hey, you like tiny cars? You ever invented a set of tiny cars before? We're working on a set of tiny cars. I can't tell you what they're called, but coming soon. Cut.