Fantasticar
The second Fantastic Four movie was released in the early summer 2007 season. Hasbro released a limited line of action figures, and this vehicle, the Fantasticar. The Fantasticar was featured in several scenes in the movie, particularly in the climatic battle with Dr. Doom. This toy has a fairly close likeness to the car in the movie.
This car is large, 17” long and 8” wide. As in the movie, it’s specifically designed to accommodate the members of the Fantastic four. The front seat is smaller but easily fits the Mr. Fantastic figure, which is included with this car. The middle two seats are “make out” seats, placed side by side so the Invisible Girl can get to know the Silver Surfer. The Thing has to park his fat butt in the back, the and the rear single seat is oversized to accommodate it. Sitting in the back is a good strategy, as The Thing can “let them rip” as much as he likes and no one is the wiser.
The Fantasticar has an open cockpit design. I’ve seen some criticize the practicality of an open cockpit vehicle that would fly at supersonic speeds. However, in flight the Invisible Girl could place a force field around the craft so no one is disturbed by wind blast. In any case, if you have any action figures with big hair, such as a gang of Super Saiyans, this is a good ride for them.
An interesting feature is the Dodge “Ram” logo on the hood. It’s a not-so subtle product placement that was joked about in the movie. In 20 years this should really pay off for Dodge!
The Fantasticar has a break-away feature that was utilized in the movie to confound Dr. Doom. The craft can split into three independently-piloted vehicles. This is also an ingenious way to allow three children to play with the same toy.
Each of the three mini-cars has its own armament, and can roll along the ground on wheels. The front unit, normally piloted by Mr. Fantastic, has a spring-loaded cowling. Pressing a button on the control console releases the cowling to reveal twin turbo-fan engines.
Armament – The Fantasticar is armed with rockets and bombs. The front car unit has twin rocket launchers. These are revealed with the engine cover cowling is opened. Pushing a button on the control console fires both rockets at once. Range is about 18” and fairly accurate. The center car unit has twin bombs. These fit into small bomb bays under the car. The bombs are held in place by a unique magnetic system. Pressing a button on the control console apparently moves the magnet inside the car, releasing the bombs. The rear car unit has a detachable twin rocket launcher. This launcher was not shown in the movie, but can be removed.
The Fantastic car includes a Mr. Fantastic figure. He stands 5 ¾” tall, and features “stretchy arms. His leg and torso are well articulated. The figure has an excellent likeness to loan Gruffudd, the actor who played Reed Richards in the movie.
In all, the Fantasticar is a fun and durable toy that has survived several weeks of hard play by my 5yo son. The large size makes it easy to use with other action figures.
