Key: Vibroplex Blue Racer Deluxe – World War II era
Serial: 131443
Vintage: 1944
Acquired: March 24, 2026
Plate: D5 | 833 Broadway N.Y. | 6 Patents + Others Pending
Base: Battleship Gray
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Review
Introduced in 1914, the fourth Vibroplex model originally came with a blue enameled base with nickel-plated top parts. As with other Vibroplex models in the early days, a nickel-plated base option was also available. The base was smaller than the Original at just 2-1/2″ wide. Early models carried serial numbers that began with “B” followed by a number. By 1921, advertisements were referring to the model as the “Famous Blue Racer”.
Blue enamel was the standard finish for the #4 for the first few years before giving way to the black japanned finish that was available on other models. As was the case with the Original and Lightning Bug keys, the Blue Racer was offered with Red, Blue, or Green bases in the late 1920s.
Early models of the Blue Racer use a U-shaped damper assembly which has a damper wheel pinned to one arm of the assembly while the other arm is bare. At first, the arms were squared off at the tops, but later U-shaped damper assemblies were rounded at the tops. “Late-model” Blue Racers, that is models produced after the Second World War, eschewed the U-damper in favor of a smaller facsimile of the Original’s L-damper assembly.
During the Second World War, the U.S. government required rationing of certain metals, which included chromium. With a majority of chromium being used to support the country’s war efforts, manufacturers were forced to find alternatives. As a result, the Vibroplex company provided its Deluxe model bugs with a “Battleship Gray” crackle base instead of the usual chrome-plated base. These bugs would retain the same jeweled trunnion screws and bright, deluxe top parts and red finger pieces. As soon as the war ended and the rationing of goods stopped, the chrome-plated bases returned, resulting in WW2-era “Battleship Gray” deluxe models for the Original, Lightning Bug, and Blue Racer being a bit of a collector’s item.
The Blue Racer was discontinued in 1966, but was reintroduced in 2000 as the “Blue Racer – 2000” while the company under ownership of S. Felton “Mitch” Mitchell. The new Blue Racer had a bright blue base and all the same chrome-plated top parts that adorned the Blue Racer in the late 1940s, 1950s, and early 1960s. The Blue Racer is still in production today and only comes in two variations of the deluxe model–one with a blue powder-coated base and the other with a chrome-plated base. Both have jeweled trunnion screws and red finger pieces.
Collectible versions of the Blue Racer would include early models with the “B” serial numbers and blue enameled bases. The #4 was also offered with the wider 3″ and 3-1/2″ bases, but were uncommon and so are scarce. The Battleship Gray Blue Racers are collectible also as they were only available for a few years in the mid 1940s.
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