Here's an opportunity to tell this story again.

Back in the days of JLTalk, I don't recall if it was Jeff Koch or Mac Ragan that told us the Speed Rebels line was some of the first original tooling Tom Lowe and the new Playing Mantis had made up. When Tom Lowe saw how small the models turned out (they came in closer to 1/72 scale +/-), he ordered them remade. The original first run tooling was laid to the side and forgotten for a few years.

"Somebody,"...we were not told whom...got the idea to do something with that tooling to at least pay for itself sometime after Playing Mantis and the Johnny Lightning name got their legs under them and doing well. That is where the Speed Rebels line came in.

10 models, 14 colors, 3 of which were special editions and two exclusive 5 packs. These were priced to compete at the time with Hot Wheels and Matchbox, which would have been a foolhardy endeavor if Tom persisted, but Speed Rebels never intended to be a serious challenge to the blue cards or the orange cards. Speed Rebels were only in the stores for about a year, and then no more...