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Hot Wheels is a brand of die-cast toy cars introduced by American toy maker Mattel in 1968. It was the primary competitor of Matchbox until 1997, when Mattel bought Tyco Toys, then-owner of Matchbox.
Many automobile manufacturers have since licensed Hot Wheels to make scale models of their cars, allowing the use of original design blueprints and detailing. Although Hot Wheels were originally intended for children and young adults, they have become popular with adult collectors, for whom limited edition models are now made available.
For its 40th Anniversary in 2008, Hot Wheels celebrated the making of its four billionth car with the production of a diamond-studded model worth US$140,000. It had 2700 diamond chips, a total of almost 23 karats, and was cast in white gold, with rubies serving as taillights.
1968
The original Hot Wheels were made by Elliot Handler. Hot Wheels were conceived to be more like "hot rod" (i.e.customized/modified or even caricaturized or fantasy cars, often with big rear tires, superchargers, flame paint-jobs, outlandish proportions, etc.) cars, as compared to Matchbox cars which were more like small-scale models of production cars. There were sixteen castings released on May 18, 1968, eleven of them designed by Harry Bentley Bradley. The first one produced was a dark blue "Custom Camaro".Bradley was from the car industry and had designed the body for the (full-sized) Dodge Deora concept car and the Custom Fleetside, (based on his own customized 1968 Chevrolet C-10 Fleetside).
In 1968, the first production line of Hot Wheels Cars is known as The Original Sweet 16, which is the first of the Red Line Series, meaning the tires have a red pin stripe on their sides.
Racing track set
In addition to the cars themselves, Mattel produced a racing track set (sold separately). Though it would be updated throughout the years, the original track consisted of a series of brightly colored orange road sections (pieced together to form an oblong, circular race track), with one (or sometimes two) "super chargers" (faux service stations through which cars passed on the tracks, featuring battery-powered spinning wheels, which would propel the cars along the tracks).[7]An important feature here was Hot Wheel's use of wide, hard-plastic tires that created much less friction and tracked more smoothly than the narrow metal or plastic wheels used on contemporary Matchboxes; Hot Wheels cars were designed to roll easily and at high speeds, which was a great innovation at the time
The "Sweet 16"
The Sweet 16 is the first production line of Hot Wheels for the year 1968. The lineup consists of the following:
Few samples from a 2000s Hot Wheels toy collection.
Through the years, Hot Wheels cars have been collected mostly by children, but since the late 1990s, there has been an increase in the number of adult collectors. Mattel estimates that 41 million children grew up playing with the toys, the average collector has over 1,550 cars, and children between the ages of 5 and 15 have an average of 41 cars. Most believe the collecting craze started with the Treasure Hunts in 1995. Mike Strauss has been called the father of Hot Wheels collecting; he has organized two collectors' events each year in some form since 1986. The first event was the Annual Hot Wheels Collectors Convention, normally held each year in the fall. The convention occurred in various locations around the country until 2001, when the first Annual Hot Wheels Collectors Nationals was put together. Since then, the Conventions are held each year in southern California. The Hot Wheels Collectors Nationals rotate among cities outside of California during the spring. Strauss has also published the quarterly Hot Wheels Newsletter since 1986 and was one of the first to unite collectors all over the world. He also writes the Tomart's Price Guide To Hot Wheels, a book listing history, car descriptions and values, which is used by almost every collector to learn more about the hobby and their collection. Strauss sold his collection in 2011 and retired from the Hot Wheels Newsletter.
There are hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of web pages dedicated to Hot Wheels collecting. Collectors are seeking everything related to Hot Wheels, from only new castings to only Red Lines and everything in between. For the most part it is a relatively inexpensive hobby, when compared with coin collecting, stamp collecting or Barbie collecting, with mainline cars costing about $0.97-$1.08 (USD) at retail.
The price has not changed much in almost 40 years, although in real terms the models have dropped significantly in price (a Hot Wheels car cost $0.98 in 1968 and costs $0.98 today, in spite of inflation). After the cars are no longer available at retail the cost can vary significantly. A common car may sell for less than retail, while some of the more difficult cars can sell for many hundred or even thousands of dollars. The highest price paid for a Hot Wheels car was close to $70,000 in 2000 for a pre-production version of a Volkswagen Rear Loader Beach Bomb (the asking price was $72,000).
The Beach Bomb is a VW microbus with a pair of surfboards poking out the rear window. This design failed initial testing, proving to be top-heavy and not functional with the Power Booster track accessory. A widened version with the surfboards mounted in side slots was designed and released for the 1969 model year, making the "rear loader" version a rarity and very sought-after piece. As of 2018, there are about 50 "rear loaders" known to exist.
HOT WHEELS
Hot Wheels is a brand of die-cast toy cars introduced by American toy maker Mattel in 1968. It was the primary competitor of Matchbox until 1997, when Mattel bought Tyco Toys, then-owner of Matchbox.
Many automobile manufacturers have since licensed Hot Wheels to make scale models of their cars, allowing the use of original design blueprints and detailing. Although Hot Wheels were originally intended for children and young adults, they have become popular with adult collectors, for whom limited edition models are now made available.
For its 40th Anniversary in 2008, Hot Wheels celebrated the making of its four billionth car with the production of a diamond-studded model worth US$140,000. It had 2700 diamond chips, a total of almost 23 karats, and was cast in white gold, with rubies serving as taillights.
1968
The original Hot Wheels were made by Elliot Handler. Hot Wheels were conceived to be more like "hot rod" (i.e.customized/modified or even caricaturized or fantasy cars, often with big rear tires, superchargers, flame paint-jobs, outlandish proportions, etc.) cars, as compared to Matchbox cars which were more like small-scale models of production cars. There were sixteen castings released on May 18, 1968, eleven of them designed by Harry Bentley Bradley. The first one produced was a dark blue "Custom Camaro".Bradley was from the car industry and had designed the body for the (full-sized) Dodge Deora concept car and the Custom Fleetside, (based on his own customized 1968 Chevrolet C-10 Fleetside).
In 1968, the first production line of Hot Wheels Cars is known as The Original Sweet 16, which is the first of the Red Line Series, meaning the tires have a red pin stripe on their sides.
Racing track set
In addition to the cars themselves, Mattel produced a racing track set (sold separately). Though it would be updated throughout the years, the original track consisted of a series of brightly colored orange road sections (pieced together to form an oblong, circular race track), with one (or sometimes two) "super chargers" (faux service stations through which cars passed on the tracks, featuring battery-powered spinning wheels, which would propel the cars along the tracks).[7]An important feature here was Hot Wheel's use of wide, hard-plastic tires that created much less friction and tracked more smoothly than the narrow metal or plastic wheels used on contemporary Matchboxes; Hot Wheels cars were designed to roll easily and at high speeds, which was a great innovation at the time
The "Sweet 16"
The Sweet 16 is the first production line of Hot Wheels for the year 1968. The lineup consists of the following:
Beatnik Bandit
Custom El Dorado
Custom Camaro
Custom Corvette
Custom Fleetside
Deora
Custom Mustang
Custom T-Bird
Hot Heap
Ford J-Car
Custom Cougar
Custom Firebird
Custom Barracuda
Python (also known as Cheetah)
Silhouette
Custom Volkswagen
CollectorsFew samples from a 2000s Hot Wheels toy collection.
Through the years, Hot Wheels cars have been collected mostly by children, but since the late 1990s, there has been an increase in the number of adult collectors. Mattel estimates that 41 million children grew up playing with the toys, the average collector has over 1,550 cars, and children between the ages of 5 and 15 have an average of 41 cars. Most believe the collecting craze started with the Treasure Hunts in 1995. Mike Strauss has been called the father of Hot Wheels collecting; he has organized two collectors' events each year in some form since 1986. The first event was the Annual Hot Wheels Collectors Convention, normally held each year in the fall. The convention occurred in various locations around the country until 2001, when the first Annual Hot Wheels Collectors Nationals was put together. Since then, the Conventions are held each year in southern California. The Hot Wheels Collectors Nationals rotate among cities outside of California during the spring. Strauss has also published the quarterly Hot Wheels Newsletter since 1986 and was one of the first to unite collectors all over the world. He also writes the Tomart's Price Guide To Hot Wheels, a book listing history, car descriptions and values, which is used by almost every collector to learn more about the hobby and their collection. Strauss sold his collection in 2011 and retired from the Hot Wheels Newsletter.
There are hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of web pages dedicated to Hot Wheels collecting. Collectors are seeking everything related to Hot Wheels, from only new castings to only Red Lines and everything in between. For the most part it is a relatively inexpensive hobby, when compared with coin collecting, stamp collecting or Barbie collecting, with mainline cars costing about $0.97-$1.08 (USD) at retail.
The price has not changed much in almost 40 years, although in real terms the models have dropped significantly in price (a Hot Wheels car cost $0.98 in 1968 and costs $0.98 today, in spite of inflation). After the cars are no longer available at retail the cost can vary significantly. A common car may sell for less than retail, while some of the more difficult cars can sell for many hundred or even thousands of dollars. The highest price paid for a Hot Wheels car was close to $70,000 in 2000 for a pre-production version of a Volkswagen Rear Loader Beach Bomb (the asking price was $72,000).
The Beach Bomb is a VW microbus with a pair of surfboards poking out the rear window. This design failed initial testing, proving to be top-heavy and not functional with the Power Booster track accessory. A widened version with the surfboards mounted in side slots was designed and released for the 1969 model year, making the "rear loader" version a rarity and very sought-after piece. As of 2018, there are about 50 "rear loaders" known to exist.
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