Posted on 11/01/2017 7:45:47 PM PDT by Impala64ssa
On January 4, 1968, the first Hot Wheels car rolled off a Mattel production line. It was a 1/64-scale, dark blue 1968 Camaro RS with black roof and redline tires. 15 other models would soon join the Camaro, and the lineup became known as known as the “Original Sweet 16.” The rest, as they say, is history. These tiny cars with wide wheels and low-friction axles flying around on orange tracks soon became omnipresent in the bedrooms and dens of kids around the world. Since 1968, well over four billion Hot Wheels have been built, far exceeding the production of any other vehicle—real or scale model. The 50th anniversary milestone was celebrated on the eve of the 2017 Specialty Equipment Market Association in Las Vegas, the world’s largest automotive trade show. Because the first Hot Wheels car was a Camaro, Chevrolet is celebrating by bringing out a full-scale 2018 Camaro Hot-Wheels 50th Anniversary edition, available on coupe and convertible models in 2LT or 2SS trim. Introduced at SEMA by Jeff Gordon, Todd Christensen, and Chris Down, the Camaro features special orange paint, Hot Wheels badging, and 20-inch forged wheels that resemble its scale-model counterparts. Also included are some Satin Graphire ground effects, stripes, orange brake calipers, and details like embossed interior headrests.
Just like its full-scale counterparts, Hot Wheels cars have become hot collectibles over the years. According to Mattel, more than 40 million children grew up playing with the little metal cars, and the average serious collector has over 1,500 cars. The Holy Grail for Hot Wheels collectors is a 1969 Volkswagen van prototype known as the Beach Bomb, according to an December 2016 article in the New York Daily News. “It featured a bright pink body with two surf boards hanging out the back,” thus gaining the nickname as “the back loader.” However, the prototype was top-heavy and would not function with an available Power Booster track assembly that propelled the cars. So the prototype was widened with the surfboards relocated to the side of the van before going back into production as the “side loader.” Despite the change, some 41 versions of the prototype were mistakenly released, which accounts for their value. “According to eBay, one of the back-loader prototypes was reportedly bought by a collector named Bruce Pascal for $72,000,” the Daily News reported. If you’re ever curious about the value of the Hot Wheels cars that you may still own, Tomart’s Price Guide to Hot Wheels Collectibles is a respected source. If you’re ready to live out your childhood fantasy, the full-size Hot Wheels Camaro goes on sale in early 2018, with the package tacking on $4,995. Just steer clear of the loop-the-loops.
It went airborne well before it ran out of track. Never did find it. :-)
All of which met their explosive demise in the drainage ditch after being shot up by BB guns.
I got most of my Matchbox cars at Meijer's Thrifty Acres (now just called Meijer's). They were four for $1 in the early to mid 60s and my parents would let me have $1 worth of cars if I had behaved.
I did the Estes rockets when I was a teen. When I got bored with a rocket model I would use one of the first stage engines that had the ability to ignite a second stage engine and pack black powder above the engine. When the first stage engine fired the top portion there would be a cool explosion.
We would take our plastic ship models out to a tiny pond on my Uncle's dairy farm and put glue all over them then light them on fire. As they floated on the pond we would blow the heck out of them with the BB guns just like you and yours did.
A lot of great fun as a kid!
I think some of the models I got when I was real young in the early 60s were the Lesney brand.
I remember before I was a young teen some magazine had an article about a man who was placed in the Guinness Book of World Records as having the largest collection of Matchbox cars so I went and counted mine and had over 300 more than he. The guy was a piker compared to me but I was only about 11 years old and my parents would never have let me contact the Guinness people as they didn't think much for people who bragged or tried for fame (something to which I agree).
You may have some “nuggets” mixed in among the rest. The Lesney ones will have the name molded right into them. But you already knew that. Good luck.
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