Superfine Turbine (1973)

The Superfine Turbine, designed by Larry Wood, is one of three castings in the 1973 product line
which were never used again, the other two being the Sweet 16 and the Double Header.
Since it was produced for only one year, it is one of the hardest to find castings.
Interestingly, the Superfine Turbine was also released in Mexico under license by CIPSA.



A Typical Superfine Turbine
(Click on it to see other colors)

The Superfine Turbine is characterized by the prominent jet engine in the front.



Front and rear details of the Superfine Turbine

The door on the rear pops open to expose a two tiered shelf.




Paint Colors

The Hong Kong assembled Superfine Turbine came in six different colors.



The CIPSA assembled car has been found in only two colors.



All six HK colors have been found in blister pack and the CIPSA BP is the yellow/orange color.
Any color Superfine Turbine in blisterpack is quite rare. The CIPSA is the only known example.

Dark Blue	Light Blue	Foam Green	CIPSA Orange	Yellow	Pink	Red

Approximate Color Distribution of Loose Superfine Turbines

Color	Percent	Comments
Light Blue	25%	Most Common
Dark Blue	25%	Common
Red	25%	Common
Foam Green	20%	Often thin spray
Yellow	5%	Some shading variations
Pink	<1%	Rare in good condition about 6 decent loose and 2 BP's are known
CIPSA Orange	<1%	Only 3 known to exist, one BP
CIPSA Green	<1%	Only 1 known to exist, none in BP

Interior Colors and Wheel Variations

All Hong Kong made Superfine Turbines have black interiors.
All CIPSA made Superfine Turbines have white interiors.



CIPSA Orange and HK Yellow

All Hong Kong made Superfine Turbines were assembled with capped wheels in the rear and through hole wheels in front.
All CIPSA made Superfine Turbines have capped wheels in the front and rear.





Casting Variations

There are no known casting variations among Superfine Turbines, which is likely a consequence of the brief span of production.
All production bases are labeled with Hong Kong as the country of origin.



A disassembled production Superfine Turbine




Preproduction

The Superfine Turbine is unique in that a number of items associated the manufacturing process have survived,
including a contractor's spec sheet blue print, the original pantograph pattern piece and four 1/64th scale protoypes.
Two of the preproduction cars are zamac cast with blank bases and two have zamac bodies with plastic bases.




Contractor's Blue Print

The blue print is dated May 2, 1970, however, the car was not issued until 1973.
Note that the name was originally "Turbo Wagon".
The drawings shows that a dual circular pane windshield was planned, which never made it to production.
The wheel design shown is characteristic of the 1971 product line.


Pattern Piece, assembled

This is the original manufacturing pattern which is used to create the casting mold (tool).
It is four times the size of the finished toy.



Pattern Piece vs. 1/64th Casting





Blank Base Protoype, assembled with screws


Side View Blank Base Protoype




Plastic Base Prototypes
(Courtesy of Roy Nakamura)




Zamac Blank Base Prototype, fully spun




Zamac Blank Base Prototype, fully spun