Toy Review: Fastlane 3-pack

Toys R’ Us Fastlane 3 pack

When wave 10 of the Marvel Universe (MU) figures was announced with the classic Johnny Blaze jumpsuit, I immediately knew I wanted to buy this set of 1:18 scale motorcycles from Toys R’ Us (TRU).

I’ll admit though, that I’m not really a big fan of scale models and generally only want motorcycles that have that classic cruiser styling from the 30s-60s as opposed to the more popular sport bikes from Ducati that seem to be the thing that Diecast collectors are buying (from the evidence on the toyshelf anyway). I always keep an eye out for Maisto bikes on sale for only Php 100.00 and since I converted to the 1:18 scale, I’ve got a few models to go with my Logan and some Joes.

I’d seen the 3-pack in the local branch of and was waffling about buying it for ages. It was only Php 420.00 for 3 figures, but I really only wanted the one with the long forks. Even when I first saw it I said, “that’d make a great bike for a 1:18 scale Johnny Blaze…” It really is too bad I wasn’t able to score an MU Ghostrider, but I’m glad I was able to pick this one up before it was gone for good. I couldn’t find it in the Galleria Department store where I first saw it, but did a little digging in the main Toys R’ Us branch and came up with a few severely dinged up boxes.

Fastlane is a proprietary brand of Toys R’ Us made by a factory in Hong Kong called Motormax. It’s obvious from the multi-lingual features on back of the box that these toys were made for kids 3 and above in Canada and other countries.

The box boasts that the figures have “Working Rear Suspension!” and “Working Kick Stands!” and bears the logos of 3 big motorcycle companies; Honda, Kawasaki, and Yamaha.

Unfortunately though, the box isn’t really collector friendly. It’s big, it’s ugly, it’s loud, and very delicate. It’s open in the front instead of being closed with a window. It’s basically just a blister pack.

I threw it away as soon as I ripped it open.

The bikes are pretty varied. There’s the two cruisers, one with short forks colored black, and one with the long forks with flames going down the side. The other is a yellow sport bike.

blah.

The yellow bike is pretty big, and I’m not entirely sure that the scale is perfect. It seems a little too tall and wide to fit my 4″ Scarlett/Agent Helix figure.

I was hoping for some diecast parts here, but it looks like Php 420.00 doesn’t buy a lot. The bikes are mostly just plastic. It’s not the end of the world, but with these kinds of toys, I prefer the metal. There’s a nice heft to diecast that makes a replica feel more… legit.

The black one is more my speed. I just love the look of Harleys and other motorcycles of this type. I know kids these days are into racing and custom high-performance parts, but there’s a certain ideal that is associated with cruisers; a man and the open road. It’s why you don’t put Logan on a Ducati, ’cause he is and always has been a loner.

This one suffers from the lack of dicast the most. It feels light and delicate, like you have to be very careful with it or that “Working Rear Suspension!” will fall off.

Last but very best is the one I bought the set for. It looks like the custom jobs you see from Jesse James (he’s the dude who got beat up by his porn star wife and then cheated on Sandra Bullock - what a douche) on TV and definitely befits the carnie roots of the original Ghostrider. And what do you know, it’s got flames!

It looks great on this, it was dumb on Optimus Prime.

It’s a little hard to get my Marvel Superhero Showdown Ghostrider to stay on the bike. Having no experience with these things in real life, I could be doing it wrong, but I’ve got a sneaking suspicion that it’s a little too small for 1:18. It still looks pretty good.

Overall, despite the cheap feel of the plastic parts, I think Php 420.00 is a pretty good price for 3 different motorcylces. It’s not much more than I paid for the Maisto bikes that I bought on sale, and not being a hard core collector of these things, I can’t really complain.

I’m not entirely sure what to do with the rest of the bikes though. There are only so many characters that really need them. I figure Punisher would look good on a dirtbike and I saw another Fastlane 3-pack with one. Maybe I’ll get that and paint it black…