The Road Goes Ever On and On

Finding myself in a bit of a lull in regards to Hot Wheels purchases, I decided to take some short road trips this month. Goodness knows I'm fortunate to live in a city like Fort Wayne, IN that has countless superstores, grocery stores and drug stores, but when you are on a quest to locate a particular model that has disappeared from store shelves or you're a new collector interested in finding older models that are still languishing on the pegs of a secondary display somewhere, a nice little road trip is just what the doctor ordered. And if you're like me -- someone who is woefully ignorant of the surrounding area -- it can be an exciting adventure to boot. One must first do a bit of research to determine where the stores in a given city are located and how best to reach them without getting lost of course, and it's a good idea to keep an eye on the weather as well. A warm sunny day is far better for exploring new places than a cold, rainy one. Even if you don't find any Hot Wheels to purchase, it can still be a pleasant day. I always keep that mind, even if in my case the problem is more likely to be not having enough money to buy all the cars I want to get. Here are a few of the Hot Wheels I have purchased on the road.

I was in Huntington, IN when I finally happened across the 2011 new model "Danicar" -- a car designed to the specifications of race car driver Danica Patrick. I have mixed feelings about Danica these days since she more or less abandoned the IRL to try her hand at NASCAR (yuck). But this car is kind of cool looking, and at least it looks more like an Indy car than a stock car. I have since seen it in at least one store locally, but that doesn't change the fact that I was thrilled to find it when I did in Huntington.

CVS charges an arm and a leg for their Hot Wheels, and is therefore an excellent place to find really cool older models that have gone untouched by other collectors due to sticker shock. That's where I found this 2008 model Double Vision with the always popular Hot Wheels tampo. I'm always especially pleased with myself when I find a 2008 car since that was the year of Hot Wheels 40th anniverary. I may have missed the celebration, but I can still purchase some small part of it when I'm lucky.

I found this 2010 Super Van in a Walgreens in Decatur, IN. Walgreens is another retailer that charges more than usual for their Hot Wheels, and because of that, can be a good place to find older cars, or in this case, sold out recent models. The funny thing is that I had recently been lamenting that the 2010 Super Van was one that I had simply missed -- end of story. It had obviously been released early in the season and looking for it now was like searching for a "Turbo-Man" doll on Christmas Eve. When my eyes fell upon it at that Walgreens, the additional 29 cents might as well have been chicken feed.

This 2008 version of the Greased Lightin' was another CVS find, this time in Decatur. And I got extra lucky at that particular store, because I also happened across a black Track-T and a black and white Ferrari FXX, also 2008 models that I had never seen anywhere else.

The Volkswagen Type 181 (a 2009 model) was a car that I had seen in Fort Wayne, usually in blue, though I did see the orange version a couple of times. It took a long time for me to decide to go ahead and buy it since it isn't a particularly cool or fast-looking vehicle. But I considered it anew each time I saw it because some part of me did find it appealing. I suppose it was inevitable that within a week of deciding to purchase the blue and orange versions, I happened across it in the original tan -- arguably the best color for it -- at a Scott's grocery in Kendallville, IN. Now I have three of the car I kept passing up time and time again, but that's okay. It's grown on me now.

Another rule broken. "No motorcycles". Eh, rules were made to be broken, right? This 2010 release (found on a half-card at the Kendalville Walmart) is probably the least interesting paint job the Scorchin' Scooter has ever had, though the redline tire is kind of flashy. The truth is that I decided to buy it after picking it up and feeling how heavy this model is. In recent weeks, I've started paying much more attention to weight, since the more a casting weighs, the more metal it contains. Needless to say, heavy cars in the mainline $1 releases are becoming rarer and rarer. This "scooter" weighed more than a lot of full size cars do and certainly more than any of the other motorbikes I've seen. In my research after the fact, I discovered that this casting had been Hot Wheels' first mainline motorcycle, which came as little surprise. They would never design such a substantial motorcycle now.

And finally, a CVS find from Kendalville -- this 40's Ford convertible from 2008. Granted that it had been available in several more interesting colors that year. Maybe I'll happen across one of them in my future travels. As it is, this color variation has a certain warmth to it. My parents were still young when the real version of this car was tooling around, yet something about it feels comfortable and familiar. This is a car to bring the Thanksgiving turkey home in. In style.

Will my next road trip, wherever that leads me, be as productive as these were? Who knows, but I look forward to the journey.

Two For One

Last Saturday, I was perusing the Hot Wheels display of a local superstore, looking for something -- anything -- to catch my eye. In recent days, I haven't been finding much that is unique or different and new 2011 cars are sometimes there, sometimes not. I have all the ones that have been there. But you never know when an amazing find might materialize. I especially like finding older models since I am new to all of this and missed them the first time around. But it was difficult to muster the enthusiasm to dig all the way to the wall on each peg on this particular night. It was obvious halfway up the display that I wasn't going to find anything. What was the point? I paused to rearrange some of the two car packs that were in my way when... Gasp! Be still my beating heart. What is THAT?!!! There before me, packaged with a 2010 model '07 green and gold basic Ford Shelby GT-500, was the car shown above. I recognized it's model name -- "Cul8r" -- from looking at lists of Hot Wheels past. One look at the checkerboard stripe and ice blue detailing against a stunning gray metalflake paint atop a real metal base, and I was hooked. I wasn't sure what year it was from, but I knew it wasn't a 2010 or 2011 casting. That wasn't shocking in itself. While I had never seriously considered buying a two-pack before, I had glanced at enough of them to know that sometimes a car from the previous model year is packaged with a current one. The problem was always that if I did find a car I wanted in a two-pack, the other vehicle was inevitably something I already had or didn't want. That was the case here as well. I already had a green and gold '07 Shelby, though the one I bought had "Faster than Ever" wheels. Goodness knows I didn't want or need a basic version too. But oh mama, did I want that Cul8r! I went round and round about it, with the fact that the two packs were on sale finally convincing me just to go ahead and buy the darn thing. Once I was safely home with my treasure, I looked it up online. Holy smoke! It's a 2006 model! What the heck is a 2006 car doing packaged with a 2010? Suddenly I was envisioning a treasure trove of loose older model cars that had fallen off the conveyor belt at the Hot Wheels factory and somehow gone unnoticed for 4 years. I suppose I'll have to pay more attention to those two packs in the future. As it is, I'm happy. I have a great car (from 2006!) to add to my collection. Making unexpected finds like that is what it is all about.

Death of a Mystery Series

My dad found the loose car pictured above -- a Custom '64 Ford Galaxie -- at a street vendor's booth during the Ohio Swiss Festival in Sugarcreek, OH recently and gave it to me upon his return home. He thought it must have been a special release, considering its fancy paint job and shiny red wheels, and he was quite pleased with himself for only paying 50 cents for it. But beyond all that, he also bought it because he and my mom once owned a '64 Ford Galaxie. No, it wasn't custom or decorated with flames. I'm pretty sure that my dad could have been voted least likely to ever own a car of that sort. But his buying it for me was a very kind gesture, and I know I will cherish this car always because of it.

As it turned out he was both right and wrong about the car being special in some way. Obviously he isn't very familiar with Hot Wheels. If he was, he'd know that the flashy detailing isn't that unusual. This car wasn't part of some rare, hard to find series. It was, in fact, a 2009 Mystery Car. But looking down the list of every version this casting has produced, this is by far the flashiest. And the best news of all is that because it is a Mystery Car, no one would expect it to be in an unopened package. In 2009, Mystery Cars didn't have so much as a peep hole in the back, so you really had to open them to see what they were. Other than the fact that it is loose, it is in mint condition, so there should be no strikes against it in that department in the future.

Unfortunately, the outlook isn't as sunny for Mystery Cars in general. Hot wheels recently announced that they will be discontinuing the series after 2010. This may come as a surprise to parents of children who love Mystery Cars. Yes, kids loved them. Not only have I heard people say that Mystery Cars are their child's favorites, but I've witnessed it as well. A few weeks ago I was in a Walmart, going through the pegs of cars as usual when a mom walked up with her young son. Apparently she had promised to let him pick out a car. Without a second glance at the other vehicles, she grabbed the lone Mystery package from the display. "Ooooo! Look! A Mystery Car! It's the only one, too. Would you like this one?" The boy immediately signaled his approval. She handed him the car, and off they went. As they rounded the corner, I heard him coo, "It's YELLOW!" to which the mom quickly chided, "Don't peek!" I felt sorry for that little boy, knowing that this would be one of the last Mystery Cars his mom will ever be able to buy him. Ironically, I'm pretty sure it's that "peeking" part that did them in. Before 2010, Mystery Cars came in a sealed package with few clues to indicate what was inside beyond overall weight and how large the car appeared to be when rolled back and forth. Needless to say, people took to tearing them open to see what was inside. Buy one, and it isn't a problem. Buy five, and you begin to get annoyed if three or four of them turn out to be exactly the same car. In 2010, Hot Wheels came up with a solution that should have worked -- the peep hole in back. Unfortunately, no place on the package was the peep hole mentioned, and let's face it, even with the tiny preview, most people still didn't know for sure what they were buying. So they continued to tear them open. I seriously doubt that the stores appreciated that, and I'd bet the Sweet 16 in mint condition that they complained about it. So now the Mystery Series is no more, and all we have left to remember it by are some really cool, loose cars like the one shown above.

Hot Wheels Hard at Play

One of the things that really frustrates me is when I pass something up, later decide that I do want it after all, only to discover when I go back to the store that it is already gone. And of course, none of the others stores I proceed to check will have it either, making me want it even more because of the weird way human nature works. Such was the case with the GMC Motorhome pictured above, except that thankfully I did eventually find one. But I was really kicking myself for a while there. When I first happend across one, I did consider buying it. I liked the colors and the "shuttle" motif since I'd been on a few at airports, not to mention my love of traveling. But at the time I was still clinging to my original philosophy of only purchasing cars of the sort I would have raced as a little girl. A motorhome was, as the British say, right out. In part because of this model, I now buy anything that I find appealing. But it isn't always easy to tell what is just passing infactuation that I'll regret in the morning and what is real love. And if I pass something up, I just have to accept the fact that I may never happen across it again. That's life, but at least it's fair.
Another car that I initially passed up -- more than once actually -- and then had a devil of a time finding after I eventually changed my mind was the Dodge Charger SRT8 decorated as a police car. I liked the model, but I had no interest in getting a police car. Was I supposed to race it or put it on the track after other cars to chase them down and give them tickets? But then on two or three occasions I noticed a County Sheriff's car parked outside a nearby Burger King during lunch hour. It was brown and tan, but it was a new model Dodge Charger. Suddenly the thought of having a little Dodge Charger police car in my collection was much more appealing. Needless to say, the store in which I had seen it on several occasions was sold out. But once again, I was fortunate to find it elsewhere soon after.
One car I did not make that mistake with was the '77 Custom Dodge Van painted to look like a news van. I knew I had to get this one the first time I saw its image online, but I was beginning to wonder if I was ever going to see one. When I finally found it last Sunday (the only one Target had, by the way), I pounced on it. I'll probably see a few more of them in the next month or two, but even if I don't, Bang Bang, I've got mine!
The casting called Bread Box is another one I passed up repeatedly, but fortunately I came to my senses just in time. Target had a boatload of these red ones for the longest time. Only after all their Hot Wheels went on sale for 79 cents did I think to get one, and it was the last one on the racks. Sure, I would have preferred to get the white version since I've never seen a red postal truck, but the white ones were long since gone by the time I started collecting Hot Wheels in August. I understand there is also a blue version out there, though I haven't stumbled across one of those yet either. For what it's worth, the check-out lady did coo over it and say, "How cuuuuuute! A little van!"
I also decided to buy this yellow Rescue Ranger, not for myself, but for my brother who is an electrician. I thought he might find it interesting. Personally, I think the massive engines on it look ridiculous. On the bright side, if the electric company really used trucks like this, the power would probably never be out for more than, like, 30 seconds.

Another car that I am NOT adding to my collection is the Armored Truck. Sometimes Hot Wheels just goes a little too far in slapping labels on things, in my opinion. If I could figure out for the life of me why any paramedics crew would need an armored truck, I'd consider it.
A perfect example of an absurd car is the Hummer H2 SUT, except in this case, I've decided I want one. And no, there are none to be found, even though I know for a fact that the store had two or three of them on the rack the day before I decided to buy it. I had passed it up because it was so ridiculous. No Parks Department could afford to have its employees tooling around in a Hummer, not to mention that the Hummer has long been considered the embodiment of all that is evil by anyone who actually cares about the environment (as I would hope the Parks Department does). But I eventually decided that I needed to get one just because it is so utterly absurd. And with the Hummer now going the way of the dodo, I thought it might make for an amusing little footnote down the road. So yeah, this is my "unicorn" at the moment. And the only "bang bang" going on is me hitting my head against the wall for letting it get away.

Dragons and Fangsters and Demons, Oh My!

I'm dedicating today's post to some of the clever creature-inspired cars that Hot Wheels has put out this year. Maybe it's my love of the outrageous or just my empathy for animals, but these kinds of cars wow me every time. I mentioned the Sharkruiser and Hammer Down in a previous post, but I had really looked forward to the release of the above pictured Road Cannibal without even knowing what colors it was going to be. As it turned out, this is by far the best looking incarnation of this casting, which has also gone by the names Grizzlor and Cargoyle in the past. The latter name didn't make much sense to me since it doesn't have wings, but what the heck. I think it looks like a black panther, and the semi-transparent body shines with an unearthly, golden glow thanks to the metallic parts within. It's a real stunner that has to be seen in person to be fully appreciated.
On the same day that I found the Road Cannibal, I also found the Double Demon. This one has clearly mechanical joints, so it isn't purely bestial, but thanks to the navy blue, gold and unpainted metal composing it, it is a very sharp car. The dark blue was an especially good choice, as it makes the plastic look less plastic-like. The gold, as above, always lends a touch of class. Once again, this is by far the best-looking incarnation of this vehicle.

This is Fangster, a representation of some sort of lizard-creature. I was disappointed in the overall coloring. The red works, but it wouldn't have been my first choice, in part because the only real red lizard I could find when I did an image search was half red, half royal blue. Don't even get me started on the turquoise pipes and base. It's like they were trying to make it look as silly as possible. But there is one thing I love about this particular release -- the haunting amber eyes. Look into them long enough and you'll begin to see Gollum from Lord of the Rings fame. Previous releases of this car had even worse colors, so I'm hopeful that Hot Wheels will eventually get it right in the future. Might I suggest a dark frog-green with metallic base and pipes?

One of the first animal-like cars I purchased was Howlin' Heat. It was a break-through for me because prior to buying it, I had only planned to add models to my collection that were representative of real cars and concept vehicles. It was my love of dogs and wolves that drove me to get this disembodied head of a car, even though I initially passed it up and had to go back to the store the next day to buy it.

It was also my lifelong love of canines that convinced me to buy the Color Shifters creature car known as Rig Dog. I had no particular interest in Semi-trucks, but one look at those floppy ears and I had to consider it. I especially like the way it looks as if it's chewing on the front tires. I did seek out the version that is red at room temperature rather than yellow. The contrast looks better, but there's also the fact that my first dog was a red poodle and I loved Clifford the Big Red Dog books as a child.
On the topic of Color Shifters, it takes a very special car to make me want to fork over enough money to buy three regular cars. The only other model that achieved this was the Dragon Blaster. Once again, it has to do with my love of fantasy literature and the special place dragons hold in my heart. That and the fact that this is the first time the Dragon Blaster and Rig Dog have been made available in any form (so far). I selected a dragon that is honey gold with green tones at room temperature accented by yellow wings because I thought it looked the most realistic.
And finally, here's a better look at Rodzilla from Target's Halloween 5-packs that I mentioned recently. Like Double Demon, it has what are clearly mechanical joints, but it is still seriously cool. As for the color, the red is acceptable as it was with Fangster, though I still think black would have been a better choice. Of course it is hard to beat the chrome versions that were available a few years ago. Those suckers were sharp.

Oh well. You know, gold metallic hasn't been done yet...

Tricked Out Treats

It's that time of year again. A chill is in the air, and green leaves are slowing turning to shades of red, gold and orange. The stores are filled with bags of mini-candies (did Dr. Evil zap them with a shrink ray or something? When I was a kid, we got full size candy!). And it's that time when Walmart and Target slug it out over who has the best Hot Wheels Halloween cars. Not that avid collectors care. They just buy both. I'm not quite an avid collector, in part because I don't have the money to buy every single release, so I have to discriminate. But first I had to find the Halloween cars in the first place. As soon as images started hitting the internet, I had my eyes open, but I wasn't finding them. I had expected them to show up in the Hot Wheels aisle alongside all the leftover cars from holidays past. No such luck. Finally, I began to wonder if I might find them in the seasonal section of the store. That made more sense, I supposed, but I couldn't seem to find Target's seasonal section. Walmart had theirs right up front, so I did a quick walk through. Sure enough, there they were. I later found Target's 5-packs too, but I had to go to the back corner of the store to do it. Nice placement, guys (sarcasm intended).

So who has the best cars this year? I think the clear winner for 2010 is Target. For example, take the Torpedo Jones car. Walmart's version varies, but is generally meant to be orange with light torquoise metalic and a gray driver. These colors look a bit cheesy in my opinion. I bought it, but wound up selecting one that has so much black added to the engine area that it looks all black. Even the pipework is black on the bottom. This makes for a better contrast with the orange. But there is no help for the gray driver who doesn't look nearly ghost-like enough once you've seen Target's version.

What' the deal? Did Walmart lose a coin toss or something? Why couldn't both stores have used a transparent driver since the cars colors are different? Speaking of which, the dark blue, yellow, slime green and chrome looks much crisper and classier. Well done, Target! From there, the news just gets worse for Walmart. Target's Phantasm is an appropriately eerie transparent slime green. And Walmart's? Well...

Just doesn't have the same impact, does it? Though kudos are in order for picking reasonably attractive colors (even if tropical blue just doesn't say "Halloween" to me) and for placing the cool, extra-large ghost on the hood. The Gov'ner looks cheesy no matter which store it comes from, but at least Target's version is orange with red windows, not the far less Halloween-y green with blue windows.

Target's Cadillac Funny Car is flat black with orange and yellow while Walmart's is purple with green and yellow. Those colors work well for Halloween, but they just don't work as well as those of the Target version. Maybe they could have tried a midnight purple or something. And don't even get me started on the Urban Agent, a Walmart exclusive. I just can't make myself like that car. And then there is Rodzilla, which I wanted desperately to go along with my other creature-inspired cars. I hadn't been around for it's earlier incarnations, and I refused to drop $3 for the color-change version. I had hoped that Walmart would have a version of it in something more impressive than red -- maybe black with red eyes and shiny chrome teeth. But it turned out to be exclusive to Target, and the red, though very plastic-looking, is acceptable. Walmart does hit one home run with the very creepy Low Flow which resembles the Aliens that Sigourney Weaver repeatedly fought crossed with some sort of prehistoric slug from hell. And it's a Walmart exclusive. Well done, Walmart! That said, Walmart's holiday cars run $2 apiece. Target's 5-pack is $5. Victory Target. At that price, you could give out Hot Wheels cars to all the trick or treaters who come to your door and eat all the candy yourself. That's what happens to most of the candy being sold 4 weeks before Halloween anyway, right?