Happy Convention Friday!

0927 - SS Express Convention copy

With the 27th Annual Hot Wheels Collector’s Convention in Garden Grove, California, today, we’re looking at a Convention Car from years past. 5 Years ago, at the 22nd Annual Hot Wheels Collector’s Convention, we were graced with an excellent rendition of the Hot Wheels casting, SS Express. Back when HotWheelsCollectors.com brought a car of their own (other than pink party cars) to the convention, this SS Express was offered as part of the Virtual Convention Sale at HWC.com. An online sale that sold convention pieces to the collectors who could not make it to the convention, while still having the vehicle for sale at the actual convention.

The SS Express is an interesting casting as it was designed by Phil Riehlman as if it were part of the Red Line Era Spoilers line–an early 1970s line that featured customized production cars with raked stances, spoilers and an exposed engine! While the SS Express lacks the actual spoiler on back, it has the raked-stance and exposed engine making this one mean car. This car is based off of the Hot Wheels ’70 Chevelle SS casting. While the ’70 Chevelle SS debuted in the 1999 First Editions, the SS Express didn’t roll off the assembly line until late 2007 as part of the Since ’68 line.

The level of detail on the version shown above is what truly makes the car special. Sure, its a convention car and it was limited to 10,000 pieces, but the graphics work coupled with the spectraflame paint really separates this car from even the other convention cars. The “gasser” style paint-job featuring retro-inspired Hot Wheels graphics is wild and crazy but does the trick. There are “REDLINE RACING ASSOCIATION” logos at the top of the front fenders, while the interior front seats are painted red. There is even a “40” graphic above the back fender. The Chrome Real-Rider 5-Spoke Wheels with Red Line black tires even contribute to that mean stance of this vehicle. To top it off, the headlights and Chevy “Bow Tie” are painted on the front of this version.

While the SS Express hasn’t surfaced since the black version in the 2010 4th of July line, its surely to show its wicked head in another Hot Wheels line in the not-so-distant future. Until then, try and track down the 9 variations of this “Neo-Spoilers” casting.

Ahead of Its Time

0926 - 81 DeLorean copy

The ’81 DeLorean DMC-12 is strongly considered as a car that was ahead of its time. This sport-tuned sports car with stainless steel body and gull-wing doors is one vehicle that still captures stares on the road. The Hot Wheels ’81 DeLorean DMC-12 is no different. Since the version shown above was released in the 2010 New Models Series, this casting has been a collector favorite.

As part of the 2010 New Models Series, the ’81 DeLorean DMC-12 was released in 3 versions; silver, gold & black. In 2011, this DeLorean received Hot Wheels Faster Than Ever Wheels as part of the series of the same name. In 2012, this casting received its first taste of being in a premium line while appearing with a zamac body in the Hot Wheels Boulevard line. Two brand new releases have just reached retail stores as well. A black version from the 2013 Hot Wheels Jukebox line and a dark silver version from the 2014 HW City Series.

A cool feature on this casting is that the rear louvers flip up revealing the DeLorean’s engine cover >>> SEEN HERE.

Two other DeLorean castings have been released by Hot Wheels as well. The all-too popular DeLorean Time Machine from the Back to the Future movie franchise, and another version of the ’81 DeLorean DMC-12, but this time with opening gull-wing doors.

Smoking Hot Custom Beetle

0925 - Custom VW RED1 copy

Today we look at the Hot Wheels Custom Volkswagen Beetle. Not to be confused with the Hot Wheels Custom Volkswagen from the Redline Era, this smoking hot California Custom screams SOCAL Beach Car. With its hot rod stance, open roof & split rear window, the Custom Volkswagen Beetle is not your ordinary VW Beetle.

The picture below shows what WAS a very cool feature on this casting. The rear “hood” flips up revealing a customized VW beetle engine. I say “WAS” because in its transition from the Ultra Hots Premium line to mainline this part of the casting was sealed shut in yet again, another cost-cutting move by Hot Wheels.

0925 - Custom VW RED2 copy

The cool thing about this Red Heat Fleet Series version from 2009 is that the change occurred somewhere midway through production. About half of the Custom VW Beetles feature this opening rear hood, while the other half feature the sealed hood >>> SEEN HERE.

As far as the Hot Wheels Custom Volkswagen Beetle casting itself, it was designed by the legendary Larry Wood and it first appeared in Magenta/Matte Black as part of the 2007 Ultra Hots line—a line that featured vehicles with Real Rider tires and an opening feature. Since then, it has appeared in several lines with multiple colorways in each. Another interesting tidbit is that this casting also lost by the narrowest of margins as 19 votes separated this casting having the “RLC Treatment” as part of the 2008 sELECTIONS Series.

A True California Custom

0924 - Switchback Yellow copy

Yesterday, we looked at the Hot Wheels Sho-Stopper/Seared Tuner casting which was also designed by former Hot Wheels Designer Eric Tscherne. Today, we look at the Hot Wheels Switchback. First released as part of the 2003 First Editions, the Switchback represents the Hot Wheels brand today just as much as it represents the early years.

The Switchback casting is a true “California Custom” as it is something you would probably see driving down the Pacific Coast Highway. Dropped & Lowered, with Surfboards on the back tonneau cover, this Switchback screams Surfin’ Safari. If there was ever a modern casting that encompassed that California Custom mentality, this is it! One can only imagine what the Switchback would look like with Real-Rider tires and a two-tone Spectraflame paint job…

Since 2003, the Switchback has come out in 9 versions with some very neat variations. The last version of the Switchback to appear was the one shown above which was released in 2011. The “Surf’s Up Rig” was part of what is commonly known as the Truckin’ Transporters–a line that features a hauler/rig/semi paired with a 1:64 scale Hot Wheels casting. This Switchback looks great in yellow with “fresh” blue waves on the sides and two racing stripes on the hood that resemble a surfboard. Only time will tell if this Neo-California-Custom will show up again.

A True Show-Stopper

0923 - Seared Tuner Jurassic copy

The Hot Wheels Seared Tuner is a special car for a variety of reasons. It is one of a few that has gone by multiple names for one. The Seared Tuner was originally released as the Sho-Stopper but the name changed in 2003 due to what is speculated as “legal challenges”. What really makes this casting special is that it was the first tuner car released by Hot Wheels ushering a new generation of diecast. That generation shift, coinciding with the new millennium, was so important in terms of branding Hot Wheels as a toy leader for future generations that Hot Wheels decided to have the Sho-Stopper on the packaging for ALL of its mainline releases from 2000-2003. Not many castings have signaled in a new era quite like this one.

This new style for diecast started when Hot Wheels saw the tuner trend starting to surface in the late 1990s and thats when they brought in Eric Tscherne, designer of the Sho-Stopper. Eric Tscherne designed many tuner models for the Hot Wheels brand from 1999-2004 and it was enough to get him inducted into the Diecast Hall of Fame in 2011.

The Seared Tuner itself has not showed up since 2009 when the version shown above was released exclusively as part of the Jurassic Starter Set–a Hot Wheels track system featuring dinosaurs. It could be found in various multi-packs as well. From 2000-2004 the Sho-Stopper/Seared Tuner casting had side vents cut out that were filled with inserts from the interior. The casting disappeared from 2005 to 2006 only to resurface in the 2007 Clover Cars with these “side vents” now sealed on the casting. If you’re into Hot Wheels and Tuner cars this one is where it all started!

Yellow Line Club

0921 - Deora II RLC copy

Today we look at the Hot Wheels Deora II and go back to the first year of the Red Line Club over at HotWheelsCollectors.com (HWC.com). HWC.com was launched on July 29, 2001 by Mattel/Hot Wheels as a place to have collectors share everything Hot Wheels and as a place to sell limited edition Hot Wheels directly to the collector. Creating a membership known as the “Red Line Club” in 2002, Hot Wheels gave collectors that were part of the Red Line Club priority in buying limited edition HWC.com Series vehicles. The 2002 Series was known as Series 1.

The first Series 1 online sale occurred on April 11, 2002. Through a bevy of server crashes, the Volkswagen Drag Bus offered that day sold 10,000 units in about an hour and a half. Five sales later, on June 25, 2002, the Deora II shown above was sold. A new spectraflame process was in development so the Deora II received a Yellow/Chrome VUM applied to its metal body.

For insight on the VUM process, please see the Toy Fair ’96 article featuring the Power Pistons.

In addition to this new high-end spectraflame paint being developed, a “neo-classic” red line wheel was being developed for the Red Line Club. Ultimately, it wasn’t until September 4, 2002 when the first car featuring neo-classic red line wheels was sold. So with the absence of this new wheel, all Red Line Club releases featured Real-Rider Tires–tires made of a synthetic plastic that have a rubbery look and feel. Until the Deora II was released, all preceding releases had Deep-Dish Real Riders with a red stripe (no, not the beer). So it was very strange when the Deora II was released with Yellow-Line Real Riders. The explanation that was given at the time was that it was done so the yellow stripe on the tires could match the body.

HWC DAVE, an administrator at HWC.com at the time, jokingly created artwork with the name of the Red Line Club changed to the Yellow Line Club. He tried to garner support for this release as it was his name that was literally on it. If you read the license plate on this Deora II, you’ll see that it says “HWC DAVE” on it. While HWC DAVE is lone gone from HWC.com, we salute you in your 1-car, Yellow Line Club.

Military Rods ’69 GTO

0920 - 69 GTO Military Rods copy

In 1969, Pontiac released its GTO with a new trim level called, “The Judge” which was oddly enough derived from a comedy routine. Make no mistake as the ’69 Pontiac GTO or “The Judge” was no laughing matter. This beast of raw power and pure muscle car strength in arguably the best year of muscle ever, 1969, lives up to “The Judge” name. The Hot Wheels ’69 Pontiac GTO was no different as there have been many savvy collectors picking up every version of it since it came out as a 2005 First Edition. There have been some very “mean” versions ever since, including some highly-desirable ones.

Three of the hardest versions to track down are the 2009 Military, Cop & Fire Rods versions. The ’69 Pontiac GTO shown above is from the Military Rods line. The Fire Rods version is the most rare of the group pulling anywhere from $25-$35 carded (when you can find it). The downfalls of the 2009 Military, Cop & Fire Rods were attributed to a variety of reasons.

First was the price point. These sold at retail between $2-3. At that price point collectors have come to expect something a little more than a basic mainline. While the Fire & Cop Rods featured authentic graphics from cities around the United States, this was overshadowed by the line’s basic wheels and lack-luster choice of castings. The line never really caught on and most cars were never released at the larger retail stores as they had originally intended to be. A few cases of the later releases were shipped to local hobby stores and national “overstock” stores such and Big Lots and Tuesday Morning.

Some of the more desirable castings such as the ’83 Chevy Silverado, ’69 GTO, Olds 442 & Rodger Dodger sell for close to 15x the original cost! So what started as a line the angered collectors in the “cheapness” of it (as some had stated in 2009), actually turned out to be quite collectible!

Talk-Like-A-Pirate Day!

0919 - Pirate Anglia Panel copy

Ahoy yar survey bilge rats! Today is International Talk-Like-A-Pirate Day and we’ve decided to celebrate here at Wheel Close with a Pirate-Themed Hot Wheels Anglia Panel. AVAST–we have another Hot Wheels mainline from 2003 but this time its from the Boulevard Buccaneers segment series. AYE, you guess it–featuring pirate-themed graphics. Go grab yer grog and tie up your dingy before you read the rest of ye ol’ blog.

Aye Aye! Welcome back ye scally-wag. What were you doing? Playing yar horn pipe in the bung hole? Blackbeard says, “Smartly, me lass, grab the rope and hold on”.

The Anglia Panel, a 2000 First Edition, was designed by Phil Riehlman. It seemed as though the Anglia Panel was designed for more mainline use than one of Phil’s other designs, the collector-favorite Volkswagen Drag Bus. Being in that is was smaller, lighter & still featured the panel for extreme graphics use, this made the Anglia very popular initially with the Hot Wheels Graphics Team and more importantly, collectors. Still, to this day, the Anglia Panel is used just about every year in a graphic-heavy segment. While not as popular as it first was in 2000, the Anglia Panel still has a group of collectors that love its drag-racing, graphic real estate toting, front-end flipping coolness. Unfortunately, the latter, the front-flipping hood no longer exists as part of a cost-cutting measure in 2011. Its always sad when a casting such as this loses a feature like that because the casting loses a little bit of its personality. Fortunately, the Anglia Panel had a lot to give.

This 2-seat drag racer has parachutes cast onto the closed back doors of the casting as well as a wheelie bar in back that is part of its base. You can see that HERE on the 2002 Halloween Highway Series version.

This gold Anglia Panel from the 2003 Boulevard Buccaneers Series shown above, features a sword-drawn pirate with a beard, bandana & earring–too bad there’s no eye-patch! There is also a rope-net behind him. Clearly, the most cool graphic on this version though, is the Treasure Map laid out on the roof of the vehicle. It features “The Isle of Hot Wheels” in the shape of the Hot Wheels Logo, along with a large “X” where we can only assume the Treasure Hunts are hidden–Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!

Now, you pilfering scum dog scally-wag, bilge rat, the tide is high so go hunting and let me know if you find the booty!