History and Development of RiggenHO
In 1998, Toybaron.com acquired 14 of the original Master Molds used by Riggen Industries in the 1970’s for their BOSS HO and MR HOT ROD series’ of HO scale race cars. These molds were carved by Master Modeler Gordon L. Brimhall while he was employed at Riggen Industries.
The original “hard cast” molds were then taken to a plastics specialist and new resin cast molds were made to endure the process of sheet producing new bodies in Lexan plastic. The sheets were then roughly trimmed and sent to Jay Jaap of Holeshot Painting for final trimming and custom painting, preserving the original “blocky” paint styles employed by Riggen in the 70’s for their production runs.
In the meantime, efforts began to obtain and reproduce all of the other parts required to release a collectible and functional edition of HO cars. New brass chassis and shaker plates were commissioned using the latest CAD-CAM process. Aluminum tapered front and vintage rear set screw wheels were faithfully sourced and reproduced. NOS Mabuchi HT-50 motors were obtained. Plastic Guide flag assemblies were CAD-CAM designed and produced. Other plastic parts such as the plastic motor clips and crown gears were reproduced. New rear tires were spec’d and produced and assembly tools and molds were hand made.
In 2005, after a long period of research and effort, our new RiggenHO Model Series 100 Race Cars were introduced to the Slot Car community (see the press release). The first RiggenHo product was determined to capitalize on the rebirth of vintage HO slot car COLLECTING, fueled by the great success of Johnny Lightning T-Jet replica’s. To our surprise, we received tons of feedback from our early customers, enthusiastically encouraging us to provide a product that could really RACE and compete as part of the re-birth of HO scale slot car RACING! Our series 100 cars quickly sold out. Series 1000 for collectors and restoration was next offerred followed by Series 2000 cars for racers. An active Club Racing program is under development. New products are being developed all the time, driven by our customer feedback!