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  • El Rey Special
    Mattel based this model on '70s Grand Prix race cars. Its design does not appear to be based on a single car, but a combination of styles that were being built at the time. It features exposed tail pipes in front of each back wheel and a ribbed, metal seat. The El Ray Special was issued in Green, Light Green, Light Blue and Dark Blue enamel paint.

    A Green El Ray Special.



    The tampo design for this model features yellow interlocking shapes that form panels on the sides, hood, and on top of the air intake manifold. The number "1" appears in red once on each side, on the hood, and on top of the air intake manifold.



    A yellow circle with the word "Pennzoil" inside is printed on the hood, beside each wheel. The word Pennzoil is the color of the car and is unreadable on most models. The word "Dunlop" appears in yellow on top of the back wing. In front of each front wheel on the front wing is a yellow circle with "76" in red printed inside. This tampo resembles the "Union 76" logo.

    This picture shows the exposed tail pipes in front of the back wheel.



    An El Ray Special in Light Green enamel paint.





    This top view clearly shows the metal ribbed seat.



    A reproduction model of the El Rey Special from the Hot Ones Series, still in the Blister Pack.



    Comment


    • Rodger Dodger
      Mattel based this all new 1974 casting on the 1973 Dodge Challenger Special Edition two-door coupe. It features a very large exposed engine with side exhaust pipes and was issued in Plum (with both black and white interiors) and Blue enamel paint.



      The tampo design features an orange stripe across the nose of the car. This stripe extends into orange flames that run down the center of the hood, over the roof, and onto the trunk. Yellow flames wrap around the engine and trim the orange flames, branching out over the sides of the hood, roof, and trunk.



      A nice collector piece, a Plum Rodger Dodger in the original 1974 Blister Pack.



      A close-up of a mint Plum car in the original packaging.



      The back of the 1974 Blister Pack, listing the other models available.



      Comment


      • Sir Rodney Roadster
        Mattel based this all-new 1974 casting on the 1970s Lotus Seven S4 roadster. It features a large, exposed engine in the front and a brown removeable plastic roof. The interior is made of metal and is part of the base. The Sir Rodney Roadster model this year was released in Lemon Yellow, Yellow, Orange and Light Green enamel paint.



        The tampo design features orange flames painted under, beside, and behind the exposed engine. Additional flames are printed on the trunk.



        A front view shows the classic design of the Lotus Seven S4 roadster.



        This rear view shows the flames that continue over the vehicle and are printed on the trunk too.



        An aftermarket reproduction decal sheet.



        Comment


        • Steam Roller
          This new casting is based on Cam-Am racers from the early '70s and features an exposed metal engine behind the cockpit. The Steam Roller was issued only in White enamel paint with a tampo design, but one version was released with only three stars in the front stripe and another was issued with seven stars (like the model show below).



          The tampo design features a blue stripe that wraps around the cockpit and a red "Hot Wheels" logo printed on the hood. A red stripe wraps around the front of the hood. On each headlight cover is a white number "3." Three white stars appear in the stripe on the nose of the car. A blue star with a white number "3" inside is printed behind the engine.



          There are four additional automotive logos - two printed over each fender. "Firestone" and "AC" logos are over one fender, printed in red. The other fender sports "Champion" and "Gulf" logos that appear in red, white, and blue.





          A mint car in the original first version of the 1974 Blister Pack, with a 67-cent price sticker.



          The back of the original packaging, listing the models available.



          A close-up view of the top of the vehicle in the blister pack, which clearly shows it to be a 3-star car.



          Comment


          • 1975
            The Hot Wheels line doubled in size in 1975. All 24 models from 1974 were continued and were joined by 24 additional models, most of which were new castings (Mattel recycled three more castings from previous years for this year's "new" models).

            The blisterpack changed again this year, but only slightly. The size of the blister was reduced from 4-1/2" x 7" to 4-1/4" x 6-1/2". The blister has been the same size ever since, although its artwork has changed several times throughout the years.

            An example of the 1975 Blister Pack, with a Porsche Carrera model in White enamel, with a 79-cent price sticker from Target.



            New 1975 Models
            American Victory
            Backwoods Bomb
            Chevy Monza 2+2
            Emergency Squad
            Gremlin Grinder
            Gun Slinger
            Large Charge
            Monte Carlo Stocker
            Motocross I
            Paramedic
            Porsche Carrera / P-911
            Ramblin' Wrecker
            Ranger Rig
            Sand Drifter
            Street Eater
            Super Van
            Torino Stocker
            Tough Customer
            Vega Bomb

            The Tough Customer was only issued in Olive enamel and is the first tank to appear in the Hot Wheels line-up.



            "Old Casting" Models Re-issued
            Alive '55 (Classic Nomad)
            Baja Bruiser
            Breakaway Bucket
            Buzz Off (TriBaby)
            Carabo
            Chief's Special (Police Cruiser)
            Dune Daddy (Sand Crab)
            El Ray Special
            Ferrari 312P
            Funny Money
            Grass Hopper
            Heavy Chevy
            Ice 'T'
            Mercedes-Benz C111
            Mightly Maverick (Street Snorter)
            Mustang Stocker (Boss Hoss)
            Paddy Wagon
            Police Cruiser (Olds 442)
            Porsche 917
            Prowler (The Demon)
            Rash T (Brabham-Repco F1)
            Red Baron
            Rodger Dodger
            Sir Rodney Roadster
            Steam Roller
            Top Eliminator (Mongoose & Snake)
            Volkswagen (Custom Volkswagen)
            Warpath (Xploder)
            Winnipeg (Chaparral 2G)

            The Mustang Stocker was the Boss Hoss casting with new paint (issued in White or Yellow enamel only), with a racing tampo design, but different color sets for each car color.



            Mattel introduced plastic bases for the cars this year and in a brilliant cost-cutting move, created several castings that shared one common base. The bodies from some of these models were reused for other cars with the addition of a camper shell, truck bed, or new interior. Sometimes, it just took a new paint scheme to make the casting "new." Mattel managed to create the appearance that the line was made up of more new models than it really was. In reality, nine of the new models issued this year were made up of these assorted pieces (Backwoods Bomb, Emergency Squad, Gun Slinger, Motocross I, Paramedic, Ramblin' Wrecker, Ranger Rig, Street Eater, and Super Van).

            The bottom of this Super Van, shows the new plastic base and the lack of a model name, since this base was shared with the Paramedic.



            There was another very noticeable change to the lineup this year. Most of the muscle cars and concept designs were gone. These were replaced with normal looking cars, including a van, two rescue vehicles, and two pickup trucks. America was not buying the flashy muscle cars anymore since gas was now a dollar a gallon, and the Hot Wheels line reflected these changes. This meant little to kids, however. Cars were selling well enough to keep the line going, but kids were still not collecting them with the passion they had just a few years earlier.

            The Super Van was issued in Dark Blue, White, Plum and Black enamel paint, but each color used a different tampo design.



            This year, Mattel introduced the first two motorcycles to appear in the official Hot Wheels lineup, the Motocross I and the Street Eater. Mattel had previously issued diecast motorcycles in a separate series called RRRumblers, but those models were never part of the Hot Wheels line. Mattel would not issue another motorcycle in the Hot Wheels lineup until 1997, when the Scorchin' Scooter was introduced.

            A Street Eater model in Yellow.



            Comment


            • American Victory
              Mattel based this model on a McLaren-style race car. It features a metal interior and an exposed metal engine behind the cockpit. In another cost-cutting move for Mattel, some models such as this one came with plastic rather than metal bases. The tampo design resembles a stylized American flag, The tampo has a blue field with five white stars. Red and white stripes flow behind the blue field and turn into flames over the back wheel. The number "9" is centered in the field of stripes and is the color of the car.
              It was issued only in Light Blue enamel.














              Comment


              • During my "Hot wheels wars" of the 70s, the leader of one of the hot wheels gang was kid napped and his appearance changed so he couldn't be found. I found him. Hes in my possession still today along with most of my 70s collection.
                Most in real good shape.

                Last edited by skullbucket; January 6, 2012, 11:12 AM. Reason: Fixed IMG code problem.

                Comment


                • Originally posted by skullbucket View Post
                  During my "Hot wheels wars" of the 70s, the leader of one of the hot wheels gang was kid napped and his appearance changed so he couldn't be found. I found him. Hes in my possession still today along with most of my 70s collection.
                  Most in real good shape.
                  Cool, we would like to see some more of them.
                  When you copy a photo link from Photobucket, you do not need to use the Photo icon above, it will double the code and mess up your picture display. Fixed it for you.



                  UPDATE: well, I tried, but the link is no good.
                  Last edited by Monster; January 6, 2012, 06:36 AM.

                  Comment


                  • Backwoods Bomb
                    This model is a generically styled pickup truck and has a white plastic removable camper shell. The base is made of chromed plastic and in another cost-cutting move, this base was designed to be used with other castings in the lineup, such as the Super Van and Emergency Squad.



                    The tampo design features a yellow stripe that runs the length of the car along the top over each side. In the portion of the stripe under the camper shell, the words "KEEP ON CAMPING" are cut out of the stripe and are the color of the car. A green stripe runs the length of the car along the bottom on each side. A green panel, trimmed in blue with a yellow block insert fills in the space between the two stripes and the front and back wheels.



                    The Backwoods Bomb was issued only in Light Blue enamel paint this year.



                    A close-up view of the white plastic removable camper shell.



                    The new base this year is made of chromed plastic and was designed to be used with other castings, which is why the model name is not molded into the casting.



                    A Backwoods Bomb in a Blister Pack.



                    Comment


                    • Look at this 1996, its got the wrong car in the package, wish it was worth something???

                      Last edited by skullbucket; January 7, 2012, 07:05 AM.

                      Comment


                      • Thanks White Monster for posting. Lots of good info here!

                        Comment


                        • Chevy Monza 2+2
                          This model is based on the 1975 two-door Monza 2+2 hatch-back from Chevrolet. The Chevy Monza 2+2 this year was only released in Orange and Light Green enamel paint, although Mattel issued this model in special Silver Chrome with a Winter Ball tampo design, as a Christmas gift to members of management.



                          The tampo design features two black stripes that run the length of the car from head-light to taillight over the hood, roof, and trunk. On the hood portion of each stripe, the word "MONZA" appears in black and a distinct black pinstripe block appears between the two stripes on the hood, roof, and trunk.



                          A French only blackwall model, still in the Blister.



                          A Chrome Monza, with a Yellow trimmed stripe.







                          A later issued Monza in Yellow enamel paint shows the tampo design, which stayed the same, just using a different color scheme.



                          The later released Yellow Monza, still in the Blister Pack.



                          Comment


                          • Here is my old ones.










                            I hear the motor home is worth something?
                            Last edited by skullbucket; January 7, 2012, 08:12 AM.

                            Comment


                            • Emergency Squad
                              Mattel based this model on a fire department first aid vehicle, which features two blue plastic lights, molded fire hose and oxygen tanks that extend through openings in the roof and bed of the vehicle. This model was issued only in Red enamel paint and has a chrome plastic base that is also used with the Ranger Rig and Ramblin' Wrecker.



                              The tampo design features a yellow stripe on each side that runs the length of the vehicle. A white shield with a red diagonal stripe and three red stars is printed on each door panel. The words "EMERGENCY UNIT" are printed in white below the shield. The number "50" is printed in yellow on the rear quarter panel. The words "OXYGEN" and "FIRST AID" are printed in white trimmed by white box outlines that are printed on doors cast into the sides of the vehicle.



                              The top view shows the blue plastic lights, fire hose and oxygen tanks that extend through openings in the roof and bed.



                              An Emergency Squad in original Blister Pack.



                              Close-up of a mint model in the original packaging.



                              This bottom view shows the chrome plastic base, that does not have the model name cast into it, because it was used on more than one model.



                              An example of a later issue "Blackwall" Emergency Squad in original packaging.



                              Comment


                              • Gremlin Grinder
                                Mattel based this model on the 1974 Gremlin two-door sedan from the American Motors Corporation (AMC). Mattel's designer stretched the hood so it would accommodate a large, exposed engine.





                                The tampo design features a yellow stripe that surrounds the engine on the hood and continues around the roof. A yellow X trimmed in black is printed in the center of the roof. A drawing of a gremlin is centered in the X and is printed in orange and black.



                                This model was issued only in Dark Green enamel paint, but there was one variation. Herfy's restaurant partnered with Mattel for an in-store promotion - on this model, the tampo remains the same as described above, but with the Herfy's restaurant logo, printed in yellow, on the sides and was issued in a plastic bag with a cardboard header.

                                Front view, showing the classic Gremlin grill.



                                A rear view.



                                The chrome plastic base, with Gremlin Grinder molded into the casting.



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