Like the Stuntbuster, the Speed Jumper used the two speed General Lee. Rev up the General, let him fly up the ramp and he gets a speed boost courtesy of the hidden mechanism on the base of the car. There is certainly lots of potential with this set including ramp to ramp jumps, single jumps to scatter traffic cones, or simply bust through a wall should you want to. There are also some nice stickers for the set which give good detail.
Originally the playset was manufactured by Knickerbocker Toys, and then Hasbro took over production when they bought the company. Look out for the box variations – early manufactured sets will have a Knickerbocker logo while later ones will have Hasbro. See the Speed Jumper gallery for examples.
Originally the playset was manufactured by Knickerbocker Toys, and then Hasbro took over production when they bought the company. Look out for the box variations – early manufactured sets will have a Knickerbocker logo while later ones will have Hasbro. See the Speed Jumper gallery for examples.
The two speed General Lee - difference 1
The General Lee on the left is the two speed version. The trigger mechanism can be seen as the cutout L-shape near the rear wheels. A small plastic lever is pushed backwards as the car runs over a plastic ridge on on the ramp. This speeds the motor and sends it flying over the jump at a greatly increased speed (see the videos for a demonstration).
For comparison, the General Lee on the right is taken from a Barnbusters set.
For comparison, the General Lee on the right is taken from a Barnbusters set.
The two speed General Lee - difference 2
The front grill and bumper on the General Lee is also different on the the two speed version. You will see it has wider and thicker edges. The car which is second from the right is the two speed version, plus the car without a grill is also two speed. For comparison the others are single speed cars taken from Barnbusters sets.
Dukes of Hazzard Speed Jumper Factfile
Date manufacturing began
1982
Company of manufacture
Knickerbocker Toys then Hasbro
Manufacturing variations
The colour of the jumps and crash wall vary
between sets. They are either black or bright yellow.
Date manufacturing ceased
Approx. 1985
Box
See gallery for examples
Date manufacturing began
1982
Company of manufacture
Knickerbocker Toys then Hasbro
Manufacturing variations
The colour of the jumps and crash wall vary
between sets. They are either black or bright yellow.
Date manufacturing ceased
Approx. 1985
Box
See gallery for examples