Hot Wheels - Car of the Day !!!

[Monster]

"Silver Chrome" Boss Hoss Collector's Club Car



This was IT !!! What every kid in 1970 wanted.
My Boss Hoss Collector's model.





Dave the Bartender's Club car.



My metal Collector's Button.

[Monster]

"Silver Chrome" Heavy Chevy Collector's Club Car





A Collector's Club Car decal sheet.

[Monster]

"Silver Chrome" King 'Kuda Collector's Club Car





My King took some damage, rubbing the wall along the turn 4 backstretch !

[Monster]

1971
The year 1971 would prove to be the last year of major growth in the Hot Wheels line during the Spectraflame era. Mattel continued several models issued from 1968 to 1970, including all cars in the Grand Prix, Heavyweights, and Spoilers series. Thirty-five new models were also introduced, the most at one time during the Spectraflame era.

The 1971 issue Blister Pack.



These new models included: 21 new regular line Hot Wheels cars, a new pair of Snake and Mongoose funny cars, a pair of Snake and Mongoose rail dragsters, seven new Heavyweights and the Spoilers lineup added two new models along with the "Boss Hoss" from last year's Club Kit, now available in Spectraflame colors. The metal collector buttons that had come with most Hot Wheels cars since their introduction in 1968 would be changed from metal to plastic this year.

1971 issue plastic Collector's Button.



New 1971 Models
AMX/2
Bugeye
Bye-Focal
Classic Cord
Cockney Cab
Crew Car
Grass Hopper
Hairy Hauler
The Hood
Ice 'T'
Jet Threat
Mutt Mobile
Noodle Head
Olds 442
Rocket-Bye-Baby
Short Order
Six Shooter
Special Delivery
Strip Teaser
T-4-2
What-4

Heavyweights
Fuel Tanker
Racer Rig (below)
S'Cool Bus
Scooper
Snorkel
Team Trailer
Waste Wagon



Spoilers
Boss Hoss
Evil Weevil (below)
Sugar Caddy



Snake & Mongoose
Mongoose II Funny Car
Snake II Funny Car
Mongoose Rail Dragster (below left in blue)
Snake Rail Dragster (below right in white)



Track Sets
Flyin' Circus
Zopter Pak
Strip Action Set (below)



"Crumblers"
Several models from this year share a common failure; some models' chassis (bases) were made with poor quality metal and as time passes, the base begins to develop fine cracks, that allow the metal to draw moisture and expand, which eventually causes the base to crumble apart. Collectors refer to models with this manufacturing defect as "crumblers". It is not always easy to tell if a model is a crumbler, although collectors have seen the condition often on certain models. For most 1971 models, it is recommended that the bases be carefully examined for hairline cracks, especially those that are no longer shiny. Once a model starts to crumble the deterioration cannot be stopped. The affected models will eventually be worthless.

This Tri-Baby has a normal base



This poor Tri-Baby has "Crumblers" Disease.

[Monster]

History Lesson
In 1945, Elliot Handler and his wife, Ruth, founded Mattel out of a garage workshop in Los Angeles with their friend Harold "Matt" Matson. They called it Mattel, a name fashioned from Matson and Elliot.

Ruth & Elliot Handler



The first products were picture frames, but Handler soon developed a side business making dollhouse furniture out of picture frame scraps. After the Handlers bought out Matson, they turned Mattel's focus to toys.

Handler's product development and design talents were complemented by his wife's marketing savvy. Early successes were musical toys, such as the Uke-A-Doodle, a child-size ukulele, and a cap gun called the Burp Gun, which the Handlers advertised on the new medium of television.

A nice unused example of the Mattel Thunder Burp Machine Gun toy, which is hard to find.



The original instructions sticker is still attached to the side, the cap compartment is clean and the gun has never fired caps. Both the trigger mechanism and the crank are working properly.



A photograph of an excited boy, receiving a Burp Gun for Christmas in December, 1957.



Nice rare 1966 Mattel Monkees toy ukulele with very nice graphics. It is approximately 14-inches long, has a winder on the side that goes around to make the sound. Note that this model was originally a Tom & Jerry guitar model that failed to sell, so Mattel re-covered it to make a Monkees model.



The back, showing the crank winder that produced the sounds.



The manufacturer's plate showing Music Maker Toys.



The company's biggest hit was Ruth's invention of Barbie, a teenage doll with a tiny waist, slender hips and impressive bust who debuted in 1959 wearing a black-and-white striped swimsuit. Ruth had been inspired by her daughter's fascination with cutout paper dolls and named Barbie after her.

This example is a 1950's vintage Barbie, in the original box with black & white striped swimsuit, original booklet, original "rare" wrist tag and the original, sealed accessories Pouch, that contained black open-toe heels and sunglasses.



At first, Handler and male toy buyers were skeptical of the doll's potential. He reportedly told his wife, "No mother is ever going to buy her daughter a doll with breasts."

He was wrong, and Barbie became the top-selling fashion doll in the world, beloved by young girls and collectors alike. The stylish and buxom doll also prompted controversy: Many critics attacked the doll for being anti-feminist and said Barbie — with her 39-21-33 proportions — promoted unattainable body expectations for young girls.

By 1965, sales topped $100 million and the company joined the Fortune 500, due largely to massive sales of Barbie.

In the late 1960s, Mattel was looking for a toy that would appeal to boys as Barbie had to girls. Handler came up with an idea for miniature die-cast vehicles that would incorporate speed, power and performance, as well as cool car designs.

Introduced in 1968, Hot Wheels featured customized designs and eye-catching paint jobs and went on to become a No. 1-selling toy brand.

The most widely recognized Hot Wheels car of all time, the "Silhouette" with a Spectraflame Lime paint job, called "Antifreeze", by collectors.



The Downside of Success
Daughter Barbara and her brother Kenneth were said to be teased incessantly because of their affiliation with the famous dolls (Ken, Barbie's longtime boy toy, was introduced in 1961). Kenneth died in 1994.

In 1975, Elliot and Ruth Handler were ousted from the company by new corporate managers. Today, Mattel is the world's largest toy maker and is headquartered in El Segundo.

[Monster]

Don't anybody give me crap about the Barbie doll stuff, actually, she's the "Mother" of Hot Wheels !!!

[bulletproof]

i still have all mine ..have a bunch of the early cars,,started collecting as an adult,, have well over 1200 in packages...

[Monster]

AMX/2
Mattel based this model on the American Motors AMX/2 concept car and it features two louvered panels in the back, which when opened reveal a detailed engine. This model was manufactured only in the United States and was only issued in 1971.

A Spectraflame Rose car in the Blister Pack with a plastic Collector's Button.



The backside of a 1971 Blister Pack card, showing the current line-up of cars.



A close-up of a Spectraflame Purple car in the original Blister Pack with a "rare" metal Collector's Button.



A close-up of a nice Spectraflame Purple car in the original Blister Pack.



A top view.



A Spectraflame Magenta in the original Blister Pack with the much more common plastic Collector's Button.



A very good example of a Spectraflame Magenta car.



This rear view shows the detail of the tail lights, which are like the real car.



A side view clearly outlines the two tabs used to lift the louvered panels in the back, which when opened reveals the engine compartment.





This top view shows the two louvered panels in the back.

[Monster]

Bugeye
This Mattel designed model borrows influences from Mattel's Mantis casting and features a split cockpit with windshields designed to resemble bug eyes. It has an engine in the rear, with a metal hood that comes with or without twin power bulges and was issued through 1972. The Bugeye was manufactured in both the United States and Hong Kong, with the only differences being interior color; the US model was white and the HK car was black.

A Spectraflame Yellow car in the Blister Pack with a plastic Collector's Button.



This Spectraflame Green car is a United States manufactured model, with a white interior.



A rear view showing a smooth hood, without the twin power bulges.



A top view of a played with Hong Kong Spectraflame Pink model, with black interior and the twin power bulges on the rear hood.



A plastic Collector's Button.

[Monster]

Bye-Focal
Mattel stretched out a Dodge Challenger for this model, which features a long blue or clear plastic hood which opens to reveal one of two style of engines. It comes with black and white decals that resemble a pair of glasses with red eyes and the words "BYE FOCAL" on each side of the frames. It was manufactured only in Hong Kong, was issued only in 1971 & 1972 and is one of the models with "Crumbler" bases.

This Spectraflame Pink (Hot Pink) shows the detail of the rear gas filler cap, tail lights and drag link bars.



This Spectraflame Yellow car (which some believe to be even more rare than the Purple) has engine style #1 and a clear plastic hood.



Both these Spectraflame Yellow cars in front have clear hoods with a Spectraflame Olive model with a Blue hood in the rear for color comparison purposes.



This Spectraflame Teal model has the Blue plastic hood.



There are only four Spectraflame Purple Bye-Focal cars known to exist and this collector owns two of them. His two Purple Bye-Focals are the upper two cars and the lower one is Dark Magenta, called "tweeners" by collectors (caused when the paint cans were changed on the spray-paint production line and shot out a "mix" of two colors, which explains the variations of color on some models.



This extremely rare Spectraflame Purple car is listed on FeeBay for only $500,000 !!!
Get it now, in time for Christmas !



The Bye-Focal is one of the models know to have the "crumbler" bases. Some collectors attempt to slow down the rate of decay, by painting over the hairline cracks with markers, paint or fingernail polish as seen in this photo.



This Spectraflame Magenta side view shows the decal detail.



The decal sheet.

[Monster]

Classic Cord
This model from Mattel's 1971 - 1972 line-up is based on the rare 1937 Cord 812, designed by Gordon Buehrig and has a partially exposed engine showing through the hood, an opening hood and a black plastic removable roof. This model was manufactured only in Hong Kong.

This Spectraflame "Hot" Pink car shows all the feature details of the model.







A Spectraflame "Ice" Blue car with the roof removed.



A Spectraflame Green car with the plastic Collector's Button.



A reproduction black plastic roof.

[Monster]

Cockney Cab
Mattel customized an Austin Taxi Cab for this model, which featured an exposed engine with exhaust pipes extending above each front fender, an open door on the passenger side, twin suitcases molded into the interior (which are visible throught the open door). It has a red, white and blue British flag sticker on the trunk, with "COCKNEY CAB" written below the flag in Blue. It was manufactured in both the United States and Hong Kong, with casting differences. The HK car has the trunk outlined and the US model does not have the trunk outlined.

A US made Spectraflame Light Green taxi (note the smooth trunk).



This Spectraflame Red model clearly shows the two suitcases inside the interior of the open passenger door.



A Hong Kong manufactured Spectraflame Olive car, showing an outlined trunk, with a sticker trying it's hardest to stay attached.



A very hard to find Spectraflame color ... "Emerald" Green.





A reproduction decal sheet.



A (very patheticly poor picture of a) plastic Collector's Button

[Monster]

Crew Car
Commonly reffered to as the "Pit Crew Car" by collectors, this concept racing utility van features an opening trunk which reveals a slide out tool box. It has white stickers on each side with a red Hot Wheels logo and the words "PIT CREW" . It also has blue striped stickers with yellow stars on the hood, roof and trunk. It was manufactured only in Hong Kong, in white enamel paint.



Many collectors often mistake this car as being part of the Heavyweights series, since the Fuel Tanker, Racer Rig and Team Trailer are all part of that series, all four models were issued in white enamel and the Team Trailer's stickers are virtually identical to the ones found on the Crew Car.



This close-up of the front of the car's driver compartment, shows the racing inspired "butterfly" steering wheel.



This rear view, shows the trunk open with the slide out tool box.



A plastic Collector's Button

[Monster]

Grass Hopper
This model borrows styling from Jeep vehicles and features an exposed engine in the front and has a large white plastic roof, which when removed, reveals a second exposed engine in the truck bed. It was manufactured only in the United States and issued only in 1971.

This Spectraflame Rose car clearly shows the canteen and hand-pick that are molded on the drivers side.



This rear view of a Spectraflame Red model has the top removed, to see the rear engine and passenger compartment. Notice the shovel, pry bar and tool bag molded to the right side of the vehicle and gas can attached in back.



A mint Spectraflame Light Green car in the original Blister Pack.



Close-up view of the car.



A reproduction white plastic top.



A plastic Collector's Button

[Monster]

Hairy Hauler
This Mattel designed concept car has a forward opening passenger compartment, which reveals a detailed white plastic interior and a rear-mounted exposed engine with twin exhaust pipes. This model was manufactured only in Hong Kong and was available only in 1971.

This Spectraflame Magenta car is in the original Blister Pack with an "unpunched" card.



A mint Spectraflame Light Green car has a metal Collector's Button, as do the other two examples.



This Spectraflame Yellow car is in the original Blister Pack with an "unpunched" card and a metal Collector's Button.



This Spectraflame Green car has the passenger compartment tilted forward in the open position.



A close-up view of this open Spectraflame Magenta car, shows the white interior.



This top shot of a rare Spectraflame "Salmon" Pink car shows the detail of the rear-mounted engine and twin exhaust pipes.



A metal Collector's Button