Hot Wheels Collector Set

[Assunta Gergely]

Wheelcollectorsis a small crew of people that absolutely LOVE LOVE to collect. We collect with you! We take pride and care into packing your orders and making sure you are happy. WE humbly look forward to serving you and having fun in the hobby! Thank you for being a patron of wheelcollectors.

Hot Wheels and Matchbox are both diecast car brands owned by Mattel, they are roughly the same size around two and a half to three inches long at a nominative 1:64 scale. Matchbox is older having begun in England in the fifties, Hot Wheels came onto the scene in 1968 from the USA, with their fast wheels on piano wire axles. I prefer Matchbox because of That Nostalgia Buzz they were the toy cars I grew up with. However, I have more Hot Wheels in my collection because they are far more numerous and have a better distribution network. Matchbox tends to be more focused on realism being copies of the cars and lorries (Matchbox has far more lorries than Hot Wheels) that can be seen on the roads. Hot Wheels has more fantasy elements and the cars tend to be slightly modded or hot rodded from the base car.

I think the difference between the two brands is nicely illustrated by these two Minis, the Hot Wheels model (left) has a lot of graphics, a bump on the bonnet and is shorter and wider. The Matchbox model is more like a Mini you would see on the road with simple graphics and more realistic proportions.

Below are two Mustang Coupes, on the left is the Hot Wheels model, which has larger rear wheels and a slightly more custom look than the Matchbox model to the right.

The Premium Collector Set assortment is an adult collector-focused premium set consisting of 4 vehicles in diorama-style packaging. All vehicles feature Real Riders wheels, diecast bodies and chassis.

The D Series Wire Strippers from the Eraser company cover many applications for stripping magnet, enamel, and film-insulated wire. These machines use high speed rotating stripping wheels to remove the insulation from round, rectangular, and square wires. The D1 twin wheel stripper is the standard bench unit in the series and features a length stop to ensure consistent strip lengths.

The PD9 is a portable air operated unit, which uses stripping wheels on only one side. This lightweight unit can be easily moved around work pieces, such as transformers, stator motors, and armatures. It can also achieve unlimited strip lengths.

The D series can use either fiberglass or wire brush stripping wheels. Fiberglass wheels leave a clean polished surface with no risk of nicking. Wire wheels are more abrasive and are recommended for larger wires and can also remove glass and fabric installation. Also available are nylon wheels, which are used for braid combing.

The selection of the correct grade of stripping wheel is critical. Use the Eraser certification program to send in sample material and let our technical experts determine the correct wheels for your application.

Yesterday, I put a post up on Instagram, mentioning a chat I had with a Walmart Toy Department manager. There was a large response to the post, and I even heard from Mattel, so I thought I would take my thoughts to the blog.

A little background. I visited a local Walmart yesterday, and while I was standing in the toy car aisle, the manager came up to me and asked if I was a collector. I told him I was, and he asked what I was looking for. I told him nothing in particular, just perusing the pegs. I asked why, and he said he was trying to figure out what Hot Wheels had released lately that had turned collectors into frenzied vampires.

I have found myself talking to toy managers and employees at several stores, and these stories seem to be getting more and more common. It is too bad, because these folks are creating a bad name for the common collector who enjoys a good Hot Wheels hunt.

We think the hunt for Supers is great. That is one of the reasons I enjoy documenting my middle-of-the-day Super finds. And if you can get to the pegs first thing in the morning, or overnight, or even right when a bin is being brought to the floor, more power to you. But for those of you harassing employees, we hope you can stop.

We pay 1.50 for our model here which is THRICE (3 times) what you pay in the US, so you get huge bins, many pegs, massive stores and millions of models, we get begger all, and have to pay through the nose for what we do get, no specials, no new stuff for months, and no way of getting them either.

WHY cant Mattel offer to sell models via an online shop, we can then pick and chose what we want, when we want it, it takes out the middle man, keeps the buyers happy, and means we get teh new stuff sooner, rather than later or not at all. surely that cant be that hard to fathom out ?

This is not news in mexico, and feel its a worldwide problem, All here collect hotwheels, the manager of the convenience store, the toy manager store , mattel promoters, and even Mr cleaning the hallway collects, so which is practically impossible find a normal customer $ uper, because even people no longer see it as collection but as a business, this change if Mattel change his strategy of putting all wheels with rubber tires and only ONE plastic jejeje greetings

I think its more of a money thing. Since the JDM Hot Wheels have been in the Mainlines collecting has become very popular again. I haven't seen collecting like this since the early 2000's. I say it's money thing because I have walked into a store and see people with carts grabbing all the new and hot Mainlines. Granted, I grabbed 4 Xmas Civic Type Rs (Some for customizing), but then someone came after me while I was looking at another dump bin and bought them all. Then they proceeded to grab all the regular TH's and popular Mainlines. Who needs 20+ '70 Chevelle SS's? Or 20+ `71 Dodge Challengers? Or all the Classic Batmobiles from a Batman dump bin? I know more collectors means more options as Mattel sees the rise in popularity, but it also means I have to put in more hours hunting just to get the Mainlines.

All the walmarts I go in have signs that say 'Employees Only'.Self explanatory. If a customer is caught in the back or harrsing an employee call the cops and have him or her banned not only from that walmart but all walmarts.Once the word get around I am willing to bet the problem will stop.

I haven't been collecting as long as a lot of folks, but as MGG said, it seems like this was common 10-15 years ago. I watch Racegrooves videos and he talks about door warmers and people trashing the aisle on Saturday mornings at TRU.

It comes down, simply, to greed. Whether or not someone turns the cars into cash, finding the HTF item is the driver. We all have that drive, but some people take it too far.

I will empty a fresh dump bin, but I always put everything back and I won't inconvenience the workers or other shoppers to do it. It's not a hard concept to be polite and treat other people's stuff like you would want them to treat yours. Though I worked in retail so I have an understanding of how hard you work and how little you are rewarded for it. I suppose people rationalize their behavior by figuring it's someone's job to clean up after them, but they fail to realize there are probably 50 other things they need to do without having to clean up your mess. Or maybe they just don't care, some people are just jerks and there's nothing you can do to fix them.

One thing to remember, for as much driving as you likely do hunting between Supers, you probably spend more in gas than the Super is worth and could just buy the dang thing on eBay.

leave the aisle cleaner than you found it. I always hang up loose care and face the tracks when I go in. Sometimes it helps you find things, and also makes employees more inclined to bring stuff out for you if the pegs are empty.

Hotwheels should bring out a line that is just supers that they charge 3$ for each, and keep it stocked. If they did this the hype would dye down. Why because it is not about people getting a couple for themselves or for trading, its about inflated value by them hoarding as much as possible to increase scalping prices.

Imagine going to a reservoir or lake that is stocked with fish and someone stops the truck before they put the fish in and buys all the fish, then offers to sell each fish to any fisherman at the lake? That is how it has become, sure a few slip by the scalpers but it is much less than Mattel was hoping would hit store shelves and get dispersed.

i live in Vietnam and i have first hand experience of people selling $upers, lose, coming straight from Malaysia, weeks, sometimes even months before they actually hit the pegs. Just a few days ago i was offered a choice of 4 D Case Ferrari FXX, lose, for 21 dollars a pop. I know for a fact these cars never saw the light of a store. So it seems like that collector problem is getting out of hand on a global scale and that Mattel, as far as i know, has been doing absolutely nothing about it.

If i were them, i would stop producing the $upers and focus on more desirable mainlines (they have been doing so lately with all the new JDM and European castings and they should continue), or make the $upers part of a premium line. That's what the heritage line sounds like on paper, with the mix of regular and real riders wheels.

Anyway, great article, even if i do not agree on everything.

I forgot I wanted to address to store employee. Some not all reap what they sew. I've seen first hand how some will take care of their regulars. I've only seen Target crack down on this. I've had a manager in Montgomeryville Pa store come right up to my check out line and remove a TH that I plucked from the pegs and his employee tell me he takes them for himself. So lets not feel bad for all of them. It's a corrupt system with no way to enforce it. As long as you have suckers that will pay this will continue. Just to make clear to these suckers most Supers and main lines tend to fall eventually in price. Happy hunting. Hope you keep this topic in the lime light. My opinion $THs should be a mail in for the collector who can prove at the end of the year what they have spent on the hobby. Where they can get the entire set at cost a dollar each. There are ways.

Why overseas are screwed I have no idea other than shipping costs. Feel for you guys.

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