Art & Inspiration Happy 50th Birthday, Hot Wheels!

There were the Hot Wheels Sizzler cars also, I have several.


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Here are the cars I got as a kid.


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Here are the Sizzler cars I have. The batteries were corroding so I removed them a number of years ago. My brother had the gas station style charging station.


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Forgot to attach the picture


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I also have these two cars by Mattel called Revvers, the were rubber band powered, don’t know if they were marketed under the Hot Wheels name.


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The last piece that I have is my original pop-up collectors case. It is pretty rough shape.


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Yep! I got nailed once also.... Damn, it hurt! Couldn't sit for a week...

 

Yep, that is exactly what they were, I had the gas station/charger, and a red Mustang and a white Trans Am, must have been 1971, and I was in the 4th grade. My 3rd grade teacher the year before confiscated my Snake Barracuda and my Mongoose Duster when they were one day old. My brother was really into collecting/buying/selling redlines a few years ago, I need to see what he may have.

 

And I can't be the only one here who got his ass whipped with a section of Hot Wheels track, can I?

 

Price of stamps going up. Why not get these?[/ATTACH]

 

I started buying them for my kids mid 70's or so and said to myself " These are pretty Kool " and the collection started. Another collection of mine that through the years that has grown, have enjoyed and now wonder what am I going to do with it as all of my grandchildren are not into cars in any way shape or form. Surprises me that as adults none of my 5 children are car people as they were raised in it and like I was, they were at dirt track events for all their youth as I was chasing the dream like my Dad/Mom did ( Midget race car owner 40 years ) myself Midgets/wing Sprint cars 21 years and back to Cars/Hot Rods through this day. Memories ! Priceless !

 

Last October I mentioned to a friend that it had been 50 years ago that day that I got my first Hotwheel. My 7th Birthday. A brown Beatnik Bandit. I got the dual supercharger track set that Christmas. I currently have around 200 or so originals.

 

Yep, still have my first 4. A blue Torero, a blue Shelby turbine, a copper custom Camaro and a purple custom Barracuda. Funny thing is the blue ones are marked 1969 and the other 2 are marked 1967.

 

Didn't all of the 1967 dated cars have small front wheels? I remember a change in those and I didn't like it at the time.

 

My first and favourite Hot Wheels was a Plum Crazy 'Cuda,,, never thought of it till today.
my truck

 

Yeah I got some stamps too

 

Ya know what, they do have smaller front tires. I wish I wouldn't have beat the hell out of them. Shit
, the hoods are gone. The paint is all dinged up. What can I say, out of all the Hot Wheels I had,and have, they were my favorites.

 

The Custom Camaro and Custom Barracuda were part of the first 16 released in 1968 (copyright 1967). The Torero and Shelby Turbine were released (for the first time) in 1969.

 

hot wheels track hurt worse than a fly swater

 

You probably talked to Harry Bradley, who was hired by Mattel to lead the design team. Here's an article:

http://www.toyhalloffame.org/toys/hot-wheels

I grew up in the Flying Colors era in the mid 1970s, right after they stopped making the Spectraflame models. I coveted those; some of my friends had hand-me-downs from older brothers and they were way cooler than what I was buying at the K-mart at the time.

My friends and I dug roads and built towns in our backyards and had hours of imaginative play. I kept my love of cars long after my friends got into sports.

I had a copy of the 1970 catalog that I pored over as a kid, the Spectraflames were there, but just out of reach. Eventually I bought many of them on Ebay, including the Boss Hoss Chrome Mustang, which I coveted most of all. Those aren't all that rare; I think a lot of kids saved those.

I had a big collection of muscle cars and vintage racers in authentic colors and graphics but I lost them in a burglary. Broke my heart.

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I joke around with my mom that she beat my brother and I with Hot Wheels track but it wasn't a joke when it hit your rear!
I have some from the '70's and 80's and probably a thousand newer ones unopened. I try not to buy them but the current run of cars is pretty awesome.

 

I was born in '67, and vivdly remember the orange track with the purple C-clamp deal that held the top end of the track. The VERY first car I ever had was the Lincoln Continental in metallic red paint, with the opening hood. Have no idea whar ever happened to it, but I loved that car. I would LOVE to find another one to put on the shelf, so if anyone has one in good shape, let me know.

 

This was (and still is) my favorite Hot Wheels of all time....and it looks the part! I'd be willing to bet this one has a 1/64th scale "million miles" on it!



This is "toy patina"!

A couple others...

 

I have 8 of the original 16 from 1968. A few from 69, and a few from 70. None after that, so I guess that's when I outgrew them. Saturday afternoon I was home alone, so got out the drag strip and ran eliminations. Just like I did almost 50 years ago. And my 55 Nomad is still the champ.

 

Best O Birthdays buddy, 50 is kids stuff!

 

Growing up my Brother and I played with Matchbox, Tonka, Structo, Hubley, those rubber cars and built models, In 68 when Hot Wheels came along we were playing with full size cars. The collecting bug hit both of us after we started Families and had our own kids. My Brother got real serious and by the late 90's had collected almost one of each diecast Hot Wheels had made each year since 68. He was one of those guys you saw at Walmart or Toys R Us almost every day. I was less aggressive and eventually focused more on the ones that really appealed to me. The old kids room in my basement now has more toys then when my kids were growing up and played down there. Our 4 Grandchildren which includes 1 Girl are all into Hot Wheels. We often set them up and play "Cruise Night" together.
Our recent North East snow storm kept me in the house the last few days. Combine that with watching a few episodes of car building shows and Hoarders on the old TV gave me time to start going through my collection and find things that I could probably sell. Spring will eventually be here and I always enjoy some of the local automotive and toy swap meets. I am sure whatever I end up selling will probably get replaced by other items that get my attention. Years ago I made things using Hot Wheels cars and would sell them. It is always fun re-purposing or restoring some of the older diecast toys and I have even customized some of the small Hot Wheels size cars to look like my full size builds.

 

Hello,

My wife and I had been together for just a couple of years. Her 1962 Corvair Coupe was on its last dying days. Fan belts flying, weird sounds coming from that flat 4 cylinder, oil coming from some mysterious place, (but not on the ground) and to top it off, she got stuck on the windiest day in So Cal on Coast Highway. No cell phones back then.

When I realized that she was not home around 4 p.m. I hit the highway in the case of the missing wife. Since I knew that Corvair was on its last days, she was probably stuck somewhere between Newport Beach and Seal Beach. As I was driving in the super, windy day along the Huntington Beach’s barren, Bolsa Chica State Park, I saw her walking with her coat collar pulled up and a bandana over her face. There was no mistaking her, even covered up.

I was correct in my "last days" assumption, , the Corvair just died and would not start, despite the new battery. So, the calming drive back to our apartment (following the tow truck) did some contemplating on what car to get next, for her. The next day I went to the local toy store and bought several Hot Wheel Cars, a Mustang Coupe, a Camaro, and a Mercury Cougar. They would give us something to see and wonder if they would be our next purchase.

These cars had some meaning and possibilities for purchase. She wanted a car with A/C and some style, so these were the best I could show her until we went to the car dealers in Long Beach and inland Huntington Beach. She thought the little cars were cute and liked the red Mustang Coupe. Her dad had bought one in 1965 and sold it prior to her getting the chance to drive it. But, the Mustang Dealers everywhere were sitting on a jackpot and the prices were sky high just because of the demand. “You know, if you don’t buy it today, it will be gone tomorrow.” A common sales ploy we heard constantly.

Her mom had a 68 Chevelle 2 door coupe, so that was out. (I liked the SS w/4 speed version) Our next door neighbor had a new Z 28 302 C.I. Camaro in dark green with stripes. So, my wife did not want to copy them, either. (Even though she liked the 1968 Camaro styling) So, two Hot Wheels cars were nice but did not connect with the real cars in the showrooms.

Finally, she asked what a Mercury Cougar was and how it compared to the Mustang. Later, when we drove a demo model with leather, A/C and the GT package, she was sold on the concept. So, the Hot Wheels Mercury Cougar was a hit from the beginning. She also liked the young sales person and the car. The Cougar was dark green with a black top, just like the Hot Wheels.

Jnaki
A few years later, I had the pleasure of photographing two people that worked at Mattel in El Segundo with their hot rods. The hot rods were a sedan delivery and a truck with a homemade camper on the back. Those guys were a couple of young designers and their hot rods were finished quite well.

Those original Hot Wheels must have “bit the dust,” as they were not in my son’s two car cases 10 years later. When we discovered the Hot Wheels Cases 4 years ago in the attic, they were not in there. We decided to give the remaining Hot Wheels to our car crazy nephew to play with his car crazy dad. It was a 25 plus collection case. The smaller collection went to the “other” grandmother” (wife’s sister) for those special days with the Hot Wheels at her house only. What a treat. For us, the value is in the wonderment of just playing with those little cars and trucks at anytime.

My son and I used to go to the City of Orange, antique locales. Those shops were always good for gobs of Hot Wheels, Matchbox, Corgi, and Dinky cast cars and trucks. We were looking for a VW van with surfboards. We thought we hit the jackpot and bought one, only to discover, later, that it was not “THE” original one that was very valuable. But, for us, it did not matter whether it was new/old or not. It was the "fun" in making those cars go around the sidewalk, backyard dirt roads, and on a large table top.

Now, I have some 50th Year collection brands given to me this past vacation. So, they will go to the nephew, as we see him at the family functions. (and as the car slips out of my pockets) It is nice to know he loves these little cars. If I buy a pack with only one or two cars I want, the other models go to his growing collection.

Good old, “Uncle Nak” trying to keep the hot rod era alive and pumping. But, we still have a purple Pontiac Hot Wheels car that our then, 2-8 year old granddaughter used at the beach. It was primarily used for driving up those wet sandy roads to the top of the sand castle. That beat up purple one was her favorite. Now as a teenager, when she saw the little purple Pontiac in a drawer, she started talking about the Balboa Pier Beach, sandcastles and of course, ice cream cones.

Hot Wheels, in its 1/64 scale versions, have left an impression on most anyone that comes in contact with them… They are classic, have a tremendous following, and are getting some competition from companies like Greenlight for more detailing/rubber tires, etc. But, LONG LIVE THE LEGEND!

 

I had the very first edition Hot Wheels . It was a simple straight 6’ long orange track you bolted to the coffee table. We thought that was absolutely “it”. I bet those cars I had are fairly collectible. Although my cars had the piss beat out of them from play.

 

We have a member in here that was the vice-president of design for Hot Wheels for awhile. He's far too humble and modest to blow his own horn about anything, but I'll see if I can talk him into chiming in with a story or something. He was driving mild customs in the late fifties here in southern California, and is still designing and building them today. His "eye" for this stuff is truly amazing ...

 

When I was a kid, I liked Matchbox cars more than Hot Wheels. That has definitely changed. Here is some of my collection of Redlines, Sizzlers, Rrrumblers motorcycles Chopcycles (the motorcycle version of Sizzlers)and some more modern ones including 4 1/18 scale cars. The Sizzlers and Chopcycles batteries would eventually leak and ruin the "chrome" plating on the windows and engines. I sent a lot of mine to a guy who replated them.