A Tribute to Heroes

12 years ago, a calm September morning turned into one of the most devastating days in American history, and once again we learned what heroes are made of. We learned once again that loving one another is the best way to overcome the bad deeds of others. On September 11, 2001, many heroes and heroines became just that, heroes through their love for each other.

Firefighters, police officers and first-responders in New York rushed back and forth before the World Trade Center went down and stayed long hours into the night rescuing people from the rubble after the towers had collapsed. Passengers on Flight 93 stood up to the terrorists face-to-face and laid down their lives for the greater good, protecting more people than they would never know. Officials in Washington DC fought hard to save the lives of those injured in and around the Pentagon.

It doesn’t take much to see the amount of heroism displayed 12 years ago. We will never forget those who lost their lives that day. Heroism did not start and end on 9/11 though. Heroes are born and serve every day. We are lucky to have quite a few in our small diecast community as well.

We have quite an array of men and women who serve and have served in the armed forces, protecting countries all over the world and allowing us to have the silly little luxury of collecting diecast cars. We have doctors/nurses who keep us all healthy. We have teachers who educate our children and even a few of us grown ups from time to time. We have everyday, average collectors, who do the right thing on a daily basis for nothing other than to do the right thing.

I challenge you, the collecting community to BE A HERO. Help out others in need and look out for more than yourself. While its not always the easiest thing to do and others have been taken advantage of, take the higher road and live the life of an everyday, unnoticed hero.

For those that are the heroes in the crowd, I salute you with the Hot Wheels Fire Eater. This classic Fire Engine was designed in 1977 by the one and only, legendary Hot Wheels Designer Larry Wood. This particular Fire Eater shown above was released in the 2009 Treasure Hunts Series and is considered the “regular” Treasure Hunts version while the “$uper” version had Spectraflame Red paint and real rider tires. Detailed on the outside of this beauty are an ax, oxygen tank, shovel and fire hose. Consider yourself lucky if you found one of these 2 versions in the store as they were hard to come by. Still, with that said, the regular version can be had for around $5 and the super version can be had for around $15 on the secondary market. Enjoy this fantastic piece for yourself and remember to be that hero, even when no one is looking.

Get out of town!

…this weekend with the Hot Wheels GMC Motorhome. Its labor day weekend and people everywhere are traveling across this great nation of ours. If you’re one of those people, great! Get out and enjoy your vacation. If you’re stuck at home this weekend like I am here’s an interesting read for you.

I bring to you the GMC Motorhome from the 2009 Treasure Hunt Series. Yes, I know its just the regular version but we aren’t here to talk about $upers or Trea$ure Hunts. We are here to look at a tiny (hidden, if not overlooked) graphic on this beauty. On the drivers side (side that normally faces the blister card) is a map of the continental United States. This white map is highlighted with six states in orange—California, Utah, Kansas, Indiana, Michigan & New York. These were the six stops that the 2008 Hot Wheels 40th Anniversary Road Trip went through.

If you were fortunate, you were able to meet up with the Hot Wheels gang at one of these stops and receive an exclusive Hot Wheels Custom Otto for each city. A chrome Custom Otto on Super Chromes card was given out (I believe only to Mattel employees) at the start of the road trip in El Segundo, California, home of Hot Wheels. The 2nd stop was in Wendover, Utah, home of the Bonneville Salt Flats. At this stop a dark red Custom Otto on a Since ’68 card was given out. Then it was onto the tiny town of Speed, Kansas where the mayor declared the town an official Hot Wheels town (I think there may even be a Hot Wheels logo on the watertower!). Attendees were given a Spectraflame Brown Custom Otto on a Classics card. The 4th stop was at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana. Event goers here received a blue Custom Otto on a Treasure Hunt card. The last two stops on the road trip were the Automobile Hall of Fame in Detroit Michigan and Watkins Glen International Speedway in Watkins Glen, New York respectively. A spectraflame black Custom Otto on Modern Classics card was given out in Detroit and a white Custom Otto on special Watkins Glen card was given out at “The Glen”.

Whew! That was a lot of details. If you’re still with me, the motorhome featured above represents the motorhome the Hot Wheels gang drove across country. It was confirmed that the gang was trying to enjoy a bevy of beverages one night across state lines in the back of the motorhome when it was discovered that the motorhome did not have a bottle opener in it. The Hot Wheels gang, quick on their feet, realized that the recently released Hot Wheels Carbonator was in a box of Hot Wheels they were giving to children at the stops. They used this to open their beverages and it was rumored that the gang happily made it across the nation the rest of the way!