Launchers... some of us like them... some of us don't... Some or us bought them the first time we saw them... some of us didn't buy them until they went on clearance... some of us still haven't bought them and say we're not going to buy them... Can any of you guess which group I'm in? I know, that's an easy question.
10 of the 11 Cars2 World Grand Prix launchers have been released in a fairly wide distribution... One, Rip Clutchgoneski, first turned up in Greece - marios posted about it on July 3, 2012... If the first release of Rip is as a launcher, I think many collectors who were not going to collect launchers will make an exception in order to buy Rip... What do you think?
Just like their Cars counterparts, the Cars2 launcher is the same Car with the launcher as an accessory... The accessory is expensive - launchers now typically retail for between $14.99 and $16.99 plus tax in the US and are even more expensive than that in the UK and other countries... Are launchers worth 4 times the retail price of a single Car? I think most of us would say "No"... however, many of us open our wallets and say otherwise... In this article, we'll take a look at the Cars2 launchers.
Carded launchers
The first 4 launchers came out officially in the US on May 16, 2011... I only bought a few as I'd gotten a case early... Here they are:
Lightning McQueen:
It makes sense that McQueen was in the first case... after all, McQueen is the featured racer in Cars2.
Nigel Gearsley:
It also makes sense to me that Nigel was in the first case, as a good part of Cars2 takes place in London, and Nigel is from the UK.
Max Schnell was also in the first case:
Shu Todoroki was also in the first case:
There were plenty of the first case launchers when the Cars2 toy launch took place on May 16, 2011... Mattel made a mistake by filling the next several cases with the same launchers, minus Shu... Many collectors waited for the singles to come out... those of us who like launchers did not.
The next 2 launchers that were released were Lewis Hamilton and Miguel Camino... I first saw one of each at one Indianapolis area Target store on June 21, 2011... it took me months to see them in a store again and I've just recently started seeing them on a more widespread basis - 1 year after they were first released!
Lewis Hamilton:
Miguel Camino:
I have seen Lewis and Miguel launchers at couple of Kohl's stores, at 1 TRU, a couple of Kmart stores, and 2 Target stores... they've been very much hit and miss as stores got way too many of the first 4 and are still stuck with 3 of the first 4 14 months after they were first released.
The next 2 launchers that came out were Raoul Caroule and Francesco Bernouilli... I found them at Kohl's at the end of September 2011 in Indianapolis while on my way to a conference in Bloomington... I was one of the first to find them... we didn't know that they were coming... I found them at quite a few Kohl's stores and Family Dollar stores... I've probably only seen them at one Kmart and one Target.
Raoul:
Francesco:
In fact, the cheapest launcher I bought was two weeks ago when I found one Francesco Launcher for $6 on clearance at Family Dollar... I did not buy any launchers at Kmart stores for the $4.50 sale price.
The next 2 launchers to come out were Jeff Gorvette and Carla Veloso... they first turned up at Disney Land and Disney World - when Disney Parks are where Cars2 items first come out, you know that the retail experience of the Cars2 items is not good... They were $14.99 each at Disney - I received sets from both musicnywu1 (Disney Land) and GOMATERGO (Disney World)... I also found them at Kohl's in Abilene, Texas on April 3 while on vacation.
Carla:
Jeff:
I've seen Jeff and Carla launchers mostly at Kohl's stores... I have seen them and left them on the pegs at 1 Kmart store - I did direct GOMATERGO to that store and he was able to buy them at the $4.50 clearance price... sometimes waiting to get an item is good; I don't have that patience, as there are too many Cars I would not have if I would have waited.
Opened launchers
Here are photos of the first 10 launchers, opened:
Lightning McQueen:
Nigel Gearsley:
Max Schnell:
Shu Todoroki:
Lewis Hamilton:
Miguel Camino:
Raoul Caroule:
Francesco Bernoulli:
Jeff Gorvette:
Carla Veloso:
Coming Attractions
We know that this launcher is coming:
(Photo used by permission of marios... thank you, marios)
Here's Rip's cardback:
(Photo used by permission of marios... thank you, marios)
If there are 2 Rip in the case of 6, I'll probably buy the case even if I get 4 repeats... I know me... and you do too... and as I said earlier, I think many people who would not normally buy a launcher at full price will in order to add a 1:55 scale Rip Clutchgoneski to their collection.
I have also learned from a source that there are slightly different versions of the launchers coming out... when I get photos, I'll share them.
It would be great news for Mattel to finish the Cars2 World Grand Prix launchers product line... too many times they've started product lines and not finished them.
In Conclusion
Mattel has currently widely released 10 of the 11 World Grand Prix racers from Cars2 as launchers... too many stores got too many of the first cases and have only had 4 or fewer to sell... the next 6 appear to have been released in much smaller quantities... stores that got in the first 2 cases of launchers did not get in any newer ones... certain launchers went straight to what we'd call the secondary market (Kohl's, Family Dollar, Disney Parks, etc.)... Many online Mattel retailers did not order in launchers cases after getting too many of case A and B... I think if there's a new case with 2 or more Rip Clutchgoneski in it, more of the retailers will order in the case.
I like launchers... I like them so much that I traded with GotFrank for a custom set of the last 17 launchers from Cars... maybe I'll ask him to make custom launchers for the Super Chase Cars for me - after all, I've got extra Cars2 launchers.
Thanks for reading... as always, I do appreciate your comments.
Chris
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