A child's hand pushes a car along a wooden living-room floor: an orange sports-coupe front on a red pickup back, both on a black chassis

Marble Cars

Five little push cars that come apart at the doors and roll on glass marbles.

Five cars, parked.

A hatchback, a pickup, a minivan, a sports coupe and an off-roader, each in its own colour on a dark chassis.

One chassis under all of them.

Lift the bodies off and the five bases are the same part: four round sockets for 0.9 in glass marbles, and a post in the middle where a fifth marble sits as the driver.

Every body is two halves.

Each car splits at the doors into a front and a back. A small disc magnet holds each half down on the chassis.

Any half fits any car.

Move every front one car along and you have five cars that did not exist a moment ago.

No motor. A push.

Nothing inside drives it. Your hand does, and the marbles underneath let it roll forward, sideways or round in a circle.

A new line-up.

Five fronts and five backs make 25 different cars, and any of them goes back to the original in a second.

Five shapes, one chassis.

Shown side on, at their real sizes against each other. All five are 2.2 in wide and sit on the same base; only the bodies change.

  • Side drawing of the blue hatchback

    Hatchback

    4.4 in long, 1.6 in tall

    Short bonnet, tall cabin, square back. The one that looks most like the family car.

  • Side drawing of the red pickup

    Pickup

    4.4 in long, 1.6 in tall

    A cab up front and an open bed behind it, with a raised triangle across the bed floor.

  • Side drawing of the yellow minivan

    Minivan

    4.4 in long, 1.7 in tall

    One long box from the windscreen back. Tied with the off-roader for the tallest roof.

  • Side drawing of the orange sports coupe

    Sports coupe

    4.4 in long, 1.5 in tall

    The lowest of the five, with a roof that slopes all the way down to the tail.

  • Side drawing of the green off-roader

    Off-roader

    4.5 in long, 1.7 in tall

    A flat, square roof and a spare-wheel box standing proud of the tail.

Up close

Each one fits in your palm.

Every car is 4.4 in nose to tail and 2.2 in wide. All five together weigh 10.7 oz, and lined up side by side they take 4.5 × 15.0 × 1.7 in of shelf.

All five cars from above, noses toward the camera: green, orange, yellow, red and blue
All five from above. The pickup's open bed and the coupe's open roof let you see down to the chassis.
The blue hatchback from the front: two round cream headlights, an open windscreen, navy chassis showing through the wheel arches
The hatchback's face: two round lamps and an open windscreen you can look through.
The orange sports coupe from behind: two red tail-lights, the seam at the doors, black chassis below
The coupe from behind. The line at the doors is where its two halves meet.
Five bare chassis in a diagonal row, four black or grey and one navy, each with four round holes and a raised dome in the middle
Bodies off. Every chassis has the same four round sockets and the post in the middle.

Any front, any back.

The halves are cut at the same place on every car, so a front from one fits a back from another. Five fronts and five backs make 25 cars. Pick two and see what you get.

Front

Back

Sports front, pickup back

Studio photo of a sports-coupe front in orange on a red pickup back, sitting on a black chassis
For real: a sports-coupe front on a pickup back, the orange nose pulling a red bed.

Marble Cars

Five cars in the box, and every half swaps.

5
cars: hatchback, pickup, minivan, sports coupe and off-roader
10
body halves, a front and a back for each car
5
chassis, each with four marble sockets and a centre post
20
round lamps, cream at the front, red or amber at the back
Each car
4.4–4.5 in long, 2.2 in wide, 1.5–1.7 in tall
All five in a row
4.5 × 15.0 × 1.7 in
Weight, all five
10.7 oz
Rolls on
0.9 in glass marbles, four under each car
Driver
a fifth marble on the centre post, seen through the windows
Halves held by
small disc magnets, one per half
Combinations
25 front-and-back pairs
A blue hatchback front on a green off-roader back, sitting on a black chassis

Good to know

Does it need batteries?

No. There is no motor and nothing to switch on. The cars move when you push them, rolling on the glass marbles underneath.

Why does it roll in any direction?

A car on wheels can only go where its axles point. These ride on four 0.9 in glass marbles in round sockets, and a marble rolls whichever way it is pushed, so the car can go forward, sideways or spin on the spot.

How do the halves stay on?

Each half snaps down onto the chassis with a small disc magnet. Lift it off, set a different half in its place, and it holds the same way.

What is the marble in the middle for?

It is the driver. A fifth marble sits on the post in the centre of the chassis, where you can see it through the windows.

How big are they?

Each car is 4.4–4.5 in long and 2.2 in wide, small enough to sit in an open hand. All five weigh 10.7 oz together.