Happy Convention Friday!

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.

Pink Poison Pinto Party!

Ever since 2004, Hot Wheels has held a party for its Red Line Club members at the Hot Wheels Collectors Convention and the Hot Wheels Nationals Convention. The Hot Wheels Collectors Convention is held in the fall in Southern California, while the Hot Wheels Nationals Convention has been held in a multitude of cities including Dearborn, Michigan; Chicago, Illinois; Cincinnati, Ohio; Indianapolis, Indiana & Atlanta, Georgia. The RLC Party itself is an event at conventions where collectors gather over snacks on the Friday night of the convention.

It wasn’t until the 5th Annual Collectors Nationals Convention in Chicago (2005) that a trend started. These “RLC Party” cars began being painted in Spectraflame Pink and have Neo-Classic Redline Wheels. This began as a nod to Spectraflame Pink cars in the Redline era which are considered some of the most rare Hot Wheels cars because most boys did not buy these since it was perceived these were for the girls. Those boys eventually grew up and became collectors seeking these pink cars they did not buy originally. The RLC Party cars were originally given to attendees of the RLC Party but they are now sold to attendees for $10.

This RLC Party Spectraflame Pink Poison Pinto was given to attendees at the RLC Party at the 21st Annual Hot Wheels Collectors Convention in Garden Grove, California (2007). It features the same “ghosted” graphics as the 2003 HWC Series 2 version and the 2006 RLC sELECTIONS Series version.