Merchandising & Toys
Which came first, the cartoon series or the toys?
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The toys. The series was commissioned by Mattel, the toy manufacturer,
to drum up sales for their line of plastic vehicles, called Wheeled
Warriors. The characters and plot were entirely devised by the series
writers, and have no relation to the toy line itself, which merely presented
the Lightning League vehicles as "good" and the Monster Minds as "bad."
Ironically, the show was much more popular than the toys ever were.
What were the toys like?
-
Mattel only made toys of some of the Lightning League vehicles and Monster
Mind troopers. Armed Force, Battle
Base, Drill Sergeant,
Quick Draw, Spike
Trike, Trail Blazer, Saw
Boss, Beast Walker, Terror
Tank, Gun Grinner, and K.O.
Kruiser were made. Battle
Station, Flap Jack, Lurcher,
Snap Dragon, Fling
Shot, and Spray Gunner were
never made into toys. No character dolls were made, either. Every vehicle
came with a tiny plastic generic male driver, while the troopers came
with tiny plastic plant brains. If you manage to find any of these toys
now -- especially if you find them with plastic driver/brain intact
-- then you are incredibly fortunate.
Are there any Wheeled Warriors videos?
-
Yes. Wheeled Warriors videos were made in the mid to late 80s by
Magic Window, a children's video distributor. The known volumes are listed
below. Other than placing Escape
from the Garden at the beginning, Magic Window seems to have recorded
the episodes in a random order. Volume 13 was apparently released onto
laserdisc at some point, but The Root is not clear as to whether
or not the other volumes were released on LD. Please note that these are
the listings for the North American (NTSC) format videos. For information
about European (PAL) format videos, see the next question.
- Volume 1: Escape
from the Garden, Ghostship
- Volume 2: The
Silver Crusaders, Fire and
Ice
- Volume 3: Critical
Mass, Flora,
Fauna, & the Monster Minds
- Volume 4: The
Sleeping Princess, Future
of the Future
- Volume 5: Bloodstone
- Volume 6: Liberty
Stone Parts I, III, V (Bizarrely, Parts II and IV aren't included.)
- Volume 7: Deadly
Reunion, Lightning
Strikes Twice, Blockade
Runners, Swampwitch,
Braintrust
- Volume 8: Space
Outlaws, An Affair of
Honor, Double Deception,
Darksinger, Do
Not Disturb
- Volume 9: A
Question of Conscience, The
Vase of Xiang, Steel
Against Shadow, Gateworld,
Space Thief
- Volume 10: Slaves
of Adlebaren, Frostworld,
Underwater, Underpaid,
The Purple Tome, Hook,
Line, & Sinker
- Volume 11: Bounty
Hunters, The Hunt, Quest
Into Shadow, Sky Kingdom,
Unexpected Troubles
- Volume 12: The
Stallions of Sandeen, Moon
Magic, Circus Planet,
What's Going On, The
Mirage Makers
- Volume 13: Deadly Reflections, Doomflower, Dreamworld, Early Warning, Lifeship
Are there any Wheeled Warriors videos in European (PAL) format?
-
Yes, but they're quite possibly the most elusive items in Wheeled Warriors
fandom. The Root knows of only two people who have actually been
able to get their paws on any of these videos, but we have verified that
at least eight volumes were at some point released. The video contents
are listed below. Note that the the contents are not the same as
those in the North American (NTSC) volumes.
- Volume 1: Escape
from the Garden, Ghostship
- Volume 2: The
Silver Crusaders, Fire and
Ice
- Volume 3: Critical
Mass, Flora,
Fauna, & the Monster Minds
- Volume 4: The
Sleeping Princess, Future
of the Future
- Volume 5: Bloodstone,
Blockade Runners
- Volume 6: Deadly
Reunion, Double Deception
- Volume 7: Space
Outlaws, An Affair Of
Honor
- Volume 8: Darksinger, Lightning Strikes Twice
Are there any Wheeled Warriors DVDs?
-
Yes. Two have been released, with hopefully more to come. DIC's DVD is entitled Escape from the Garden of Evil (presumably referring to the invading Monster Minds as opposed to Gillian's garden of good). It can be bought from eBay, Amazon.com, and other media outlets. It is formatted for Region 1, includes Interactive Menus and Episode Access, and boasts four episodes listed below. In addition, a company called JADE has released a DVD called The Lightning League. It can be bid on at eBay. It is formatted for Regions 1 & 4, includes Interactive Menus and Episode Access, and features an Image Gallery featuring individual black-and-white pics of Jayce, Herc, and Flora. Their full-figure images can be seen in the Promotional Items gallery. Its six episodes are the series premeire plus the contents of Volume 13 from the aformentioned videotape/laserdisc, also listed below.
- DIC DVD: Escape
from the Garden, The
Vase of Xiang, Steel
Against Shadow, Flora,
Fauna, & the Monster Minds (this last one is offered as a "Bonus Episode").
- JADE DVD: Escape from the Garden, Doomflower, Deadly Reflections, Early Warning, Lifeship, Dreamworld.
What were the Wheeled Warriors storybooks about?
- The Adventures Begin: Find out what happened
in a scientist's laboratory that caused the creation of the Monster
Minds. Learn why the Lightning League, a band of courageous characters,
must protect the universe from the sinister creatures.
- Destination Danger: The search for Jayce's father's
lost scientific notebook becomes the most dangerous mission in Jayce's
life. Can he and his mighty vehicles defend the Lightning League from
the strength of the terrible Monster Minds' troopers?
- The Rescue Squad: What begins as a playful adventure
for Flora and Oon turns into a frightening experience. They become
lost near a volcano and are being stalked by the Monster Minds. Will
Jayce and Herc Stormsailor reach them before it is too late?
- Roots of Fear: There is something unreal about
the man that Jayce meets on a strange planet. Is he really Jayce's
father or an enemy about to set a trap to stop Jayce's mission in
space?
- Seeds of Battle: The Monster Minds plant a field
of seeds that grow into machines to terrorize the Lightning League.
How can the seedling armies be stopped before they overrun the good
planet?
- The Stalkers Strike: There is a brand-new kind of excitement going on when two mighty machines come together in a struggle to see which one is the strongest. Which stalker, Trail Blazer or Beast Walker, will be able to stand the blows of battle?
- In The Vision, Gillian has a vision of a planet on fire.
Jayce decides to visit the planet despite Gillian' warnings. Once
there they meet a man named Galbert. He says that Audric gave him
a miraculous plant that will end hunger. Gillian is very suspicious
about Galbert's claims. Herc wants to leave them there and go on a
delivery trip. To stop him Flora hides the Battle Base in giant forest.
Galbert is actually working for the Monster Minds and tries to poison
Jayce. Flora stops the attempt and the Monster Minds attack. Jayce
uses the ring to create holograms of the Lightning League while they
search for the Battle Base. They find it and defeat the Monster Minds.
Galbert burns all the plants that Saw Boss gave him and they fly away,
leaving Gillian's vision fulfilled
- In Message from Audric, Audric uses a sample of the Root to create a liquid. He gives this to a messenger named Rider to deliver to Jayce. Rider is captured by the Monster Minds and is forced to arrange a meeting with Audric and Jayce so that the Monster Minds can destroy both of them. On the way to this meeting, the Lightning League battles the Monster Minds, and the liquid is destroyed in the battle. With Rider's help the League reaches Audric's lab and finds him missing. There is a note from Audric telling Jayce that he had to flee the Monster Minds.
In America there were at least twelve children's books made by Golden. These were entitled The Adventure Begins, Destination Danger, The Far Fields, The Last Oasis, Message From Audric, The Rescue Squad, Roots of Fear, Seeds of Battle, Slings and Arrows, The Stalkers Strike, Vines of Vengeance, and The Vision. All storybooks contained original artwork and stories.
The following six summaries are from the back cover of one of the Golden Books.
Dwight Crevelt owns two other storybooks and was kind enough to summarize them for The Root.
The French stories in the The Root's Storybook Gallery are not true storybooks but chapters from an oversize stickerbook. These stories chronicle the events that take place in the episodes Escape from the Garden, Fire and Ice, and Vase of Xiang. Please see the Storybook Gallery for text and pictures from these stories.
The music from this show is really cool. Can I get a soundtrack?
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No, unfortunately. Back in the 80s, releasing music from a television
series was virtually unheard of, especially for a cartoon. The Root
is trying to locate former Wheeled Warriors sound technicians in
order to rescue any remaining master copies of the music, but this is
an extreme long shot. Don't hold your breath.
Was any other Wheeled Warriors merchandise made?
-
In addition to the videos, toys, and storybooks, there was a Paint
and Color Book, a Trace and Color Book, at least two coloring
books, a plastic lunch box, a metallic lunch box, a small tin garbage can, a plastic children's
watch, napkins, and a poster advertising the first Magic Video. These items were made only in the mid 80s and are thus quite rare.
In France, the existence of an oversize stickerbook has been verified.
Like the other items mentioned here, it was made in the mid 80s. There
may have been other items made in other countries, but if so, The Root
has not heard of them.
Where can I get Wheeled Warriors merchandise?
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Garage sales, toy conventions, and swap meets have been known to yield
Wheeled Warriors merchandise, but only rarely. Your best bet for
finding other new and used Wheeled Warriors goods is to keep an
eye on the eBay internet auction. Anyone
may search the eBay database to see what is available (try jayce or wheeled
warriors as the search keyword), but you must register with eBay in
order to bid. Don't worry, registration is free and your name will not
be passed on to spam lists. Registration is merely a precaution to ensure
that no one can bid in your name except for you. You will no doubt encounter
some bidding opposition from fellow fans, but the Lizzard can assure you that
the competition is friendly and fair. eBay auctioneers occasionally use
an abbreviated lingo in their descriptions. The most common of these abbreviated
terms are listed below so that you won't be baffled. For information on
eBay bidding rules and official auction terminology, please see the resources
at eBay.
- MIB: Mint In Box. In other words, the item is
in perfect condition and comes with its original box. It may or may
not have been removed from the box at some point. The box itself may
or may not be in perfect condition.
- MIMB: Mint In Mint Box. In other words, the item
is in perfect condition and comes with its original box, which is
also in perfect condition. It may or may not have been removed from
the box at some point.
- M / NM: Mint / Near Mint. The item is just about
as perfect as it can be, but may have a few extremely minor factory
flaws or scratches. The item will not come with its original packaging
unless otherwise stated.
- NRFB: Never Removed From Box. The item has never
been removed from its original packaging. The item is presumably in
mint condition, but the condition of the box itself will need to be
checked.
- MO / PMO: Money Order / Postal Money Order. This
is a method of payment rather like a check, but without the clearance
waiting period and risk of bouncing. POs can be purchased at many
US banks and all US post offices. They are payable in cash only and
there is a small purchase fee. They more than make up for the pain-in-the-butt
factor by being the most reliable way to mail cash. POs cannot be
used for international transactions.
- IPMO: International Postal Money Order. This is a method of payment rather like a check, but without the clearance waiting period and risk of bouncing. IPMOs can be purchased only in US post offices. They are payable in cash only and there is a small purchase fee (which is slightly higher than that for a regular MO). IPMOs more than make up for the pain-in-the-butt factor by being the most reliable way to mail cash internationally. Almost all international transactions will require an IPMO, as banks in other countries generally charge a high fee to cash checks in foreign currencies.
