From the Toysit archive
Hot Wheels Lava Land Slimecano
Explore the 2004 Hot Wheels Lava Land Slimecano through its launcher, changing ramp and slime-pit ending, with the original school-launch report preserved.
The play at a glance
A volcano-themed journey with two endings
Lava Land Slimecano makes an obstacle story out of a car journey. Mattel’s B5672 instructions show a launch, a gel-operated ramp change and a jump that can end beyond the pit or in it. The volcano face and toy boulders make the sequence theatrical.
Toysit’s August 31, 2004 coverage also records a launch event at Lavaland Elementary School in Albuquerque. That report and its photograph remain part of the page’s history.
Follow the action in stages
The manufacturer’s play sequence moves from launching a vehicle to changing the ramp, positioning the route and attempting the jump. It also shows retrieving a car from the pit. The ending is followed by another setup, rather than being a permanent defeat.
A storyteller can give each stage a name: approach, surprise, choice and result. Those landmarks make the adventure easier to retell than describing every track piece at once.
Keep the slime effect in context
The original design uses Slime gel as part of the action. The guide warns that it can stain and includes storage and cleanup directions. A surviving container’s age or appearance does not establish that its contents remain usable; no replacement recipe or substitute material is proposed here.
The same branching story can be drawn with colored pencils. A blue line can mean a clear route and an orange shape can mean a delay. The imagined obstacle does not require a working set or any gel.
Read the school story as a period report
The original account connects the toy’s name with Lavaland Elementary and describes the children’s response at the launch. The preserved photograph gives that particular report a setting. It does not establish how every child would respond to the toy.
The later paragraph about fascination with volcanoes offers general context. For this playset, the most direct reader activity is following a route and inventing what happens after it changes.
Draw two endings to the lava route
- Draw a vehicle approaching an imaginary volcano.
- Mark the point where the route becomes uncertain.
- Draw one branch that reaches the destination.
- Draw another branch that pauses for help or a new attempt.
- Add a final panel showing what happens after each ending.
This independent paper activity is a story prompt, not an eruption experiment or a set of launcher instructions.
The historical record
Original Toysit coverage
The complete August 31, 2004 report and later general volcano paragraph remain below. The school visit is preserved as the original account, not presented as new firsthand reporting or Toysit testing. The volcanic character and slime effects are fictional play features, not a model of a real eruption.
Playset involves launching diecast cars up a track that drives under lava and jumps over a slime pit
To launch the new Hot Wheels Slimecano playset, third-grade students from Lavaland Elementary School in Albuquerque, New Mexico got a sneak-peek at the new toy when they were the first kids to test and approve the new Hot Wheels playset. Lavaland third-graders were pleased with Slimecano, the volcanic centerpiece of the Hot Wheels Lava Land Playset Assortment.
First available in 2004, the Hot Wheels Slimecano playset is a daring challenge against an angry volcano that is ready to erupt. Kids launch their cars up a track driving under the volcano's jaw, race them down tandem tracks and jump over the Slime pit. If a car makes the jump, the track guides it to safety. If it misses, it plunges into the pit.
Children are often fascinated by volcanoes because they offer a dramatic and tangible way to visualize Earth's inner workings. The erupting lava, billowing smoke, and seismic activities associated with volcanoes stir the imagination and bring to life concepts like geology and plate tectonics that might otherwise seem abstract. Volcanoes are also prevalent in popular culture and educational settings, often featured in movies, documentaries, and science experiments, which only heightens their allure. The idea of nature possessing such raw, explosive power can be captivating to a young mind that is eager to learn about the world's natural wonders.
Sources and editorial notes
Both pages of Mattel’s B5672 instructions were visually reviewed, including assembly, gel preparation, launch, ramp movement and recovery from the pit. The pictured older Slimecano matches this guide; the later G6091 Ultimate Lava Land was not substituted. No mechanism or surviving gel was tested. The two-ending story is an independent paper activity.
- Mattel Lava Land Slimecano B5672 instructions — Original assembly, play sequence, gel handling and cleanup guidance.
Images and descriptions are retained as historical material. How Toysit covers toys.
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