Most of us love race cars that are only a tiny handful. Something about the size turns us into kids and we want to have fun, complete with loud noises and crashes!
These little Series 1 Co-Hog racers were a blast to make. They're like Co-Hog versions of Matchbox or Corgi toys, although they were made in far smaller numbers and not meant for children.
"Production" was limited to 1980-81 and only 44 BMW's and 74 of the Lotus were finished. I've no idea how many one- and two-race car teams were made.
Bodies were cut, shaped and sanded using pine. Each was brush-painted and graphics were hand-cut and applied. The silver window frames were tricky, being only 0.025" (0.06 cm) wide.
These pieces all have the original art supply striping material, which in the space of a year proceeded to delaminate from itself. This resulted in a frantic recall to fix everything with Scothcal instead. Fortunately, someone had mentioned it to me as a better alternative.
It certainly was!
The tires were cut, drilled out and shaped from maple dowels; 3/8" (.95 cm) for the race cars and 1/2" (1.3 cm) for the trucks. Axles were properly sized nails.
These were definitely adult toys because of the small parts and pointy bits.
Overall, the Lotus was the smallest at about 2" (5.1 cm) long, with the BMW's being 2 3/4" (6.9 cm) long. A double race car team with truck and trailer ran about 6 1/4" (15.9 cm) long.
If you ever see any of these small goodies for sale, grab them and have some awesome fun for yourself!
To find out more about the original line of Co-Hog Toys click the link.