Wrapping Up 1970- Hot Wheels Style!

Well, today we finally get to the end of the 1970 run of new Hot Wheels! I kind of feel like we should drop the ball and sing "Auld Lang Syne." (Yes, I had to look up how to spell that...but I go to great lengths for this blog!) Anyway, here are the final five cars!

The Swingin' Wing features a large (and easily breakable) plastic wing...that does swing!

The TNT Bird is pretty much a Custom T-Bird with no hood and a spoiler on the back. My stickers aren't great, but they're original!

With the Tow Truck, the Heavyweights line completes its bland car name mission. Still, it's a pretty cool car that can actually tow other cars!

The Tri-Baby features three turbo jets under that funky, swoopy back hood. Groovy!

Finally, we have the Whip Creamer. The coolest thing about this car is the orange turbo spinner in the back that you can blow on to spin. I did it as a kid, and I did it when I took this picture!

So there you have it! Thanks to those of you who hung in there through the whole year. I have some different stuff coming up, so we'll let the Hot Wheels rest for a while.

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

1970, The Hot Wheels Year That Keeps On Giving!

Here we are with part four of our look at 1970 Hot Wheels! Believe it or not, there's one more post to go after this one before we can wrap this year up...So, here we go again!

The Porsche 917 in gray enamel is one of my favorite cars. I think the level of detailing sculpted into this model is fantastic!

The Power Pad is all about that 70's "mod" vibe!

Tom Daniel had another hit with the Red Baron! Intrestingly enough, he never actually worked on the Hot Wheels line. All of his Hot Wheels designs were borrowed from his Monogram plastic models.

The Sand Crab looks great in this spectra-flame magenta paint!

Sticking with the beach theme, we have the Seasider with its removable plastic boat.

Mattel released two action sets that featured cars that could launch airplanes from little ramps when they hit a trigger on the track. This is the Sky Show Deora. 

The other Sky Show car was the Sky Show Fleetside. This is it! Notice that the ramps are actually different on both cars...

Finally, we have the other half of the Hot Wheels drag racing team...The Snake!

Well, as I said, we have one more week (with five more cars) to go!

So, until then, keep searching for treasure!

1970 Hot Wheels...The Third Batch

You know, one thing you can say about the 1970 batch of Hot Wheels, is that there are a LOT of 'em! This week, I give you the next eight...Don't worry, there's more after these!!!

So let's jump right in, shall we?

The Mantis features a flip-up windshield and futuristic styling!

The Mighty Maverick has a huge hood bulge and wing on the back. This car just screams early '70s!

Hot Wheels had already done a car with two engines (the Twin Mill) so why not FOUR??? I give you, the Mod Quad!

1970 was the first year that the Mattel sponsored Mongoose and Snake racing teams were featured. Here is the first of several Mongoose cars...

The Heavyweights Moving Van once again shows that the person they payed for clever car names really just phoned it in on this series...

They made it up by calling this Mercury Cougar the "Nitty Gritty Kitty!" Cool, huh?

Some of the most iconic Hot Wheels were designed by Tom Daniel. The Paddy Wagon fits this description.

The Peeping Bomb has an intresting feature. You can pull a lever in the cockpit and the black covers over the headlights pull back. Very cool!

So that's it until next time! Keep searching for treasure!

1970 Hot Wheels...Part Two!

There's nothing too fancy about this week's post. I'm continuing highlighting Mattel's 1970 Hot Wheels offerings. That said, let's jump right in, shall we?

Based on a Plymouth Fury, the Fire Chief Cruiser is a handsome car. It only came in spectroflame red.

The Fire Engine continues the Heavyweights' tradition of witty car names...or not. This one is interesting because it has the red enamel cab (although it's a little rough). The spectroflame is much more common. 

The Heavy Chevy is a Spoilers Series take on a Camaro. These are fairly popular cars.

Ah, another club car. This is the Heavy Chevy all decked out in chrome!

The Jack "Rabbit" Special is very popular. In fact, it was the hero's car on the Hot Wheels Saturday morning cartoon! It's always been a favorite of mine. It only came in white enamel.

The King Kuda is still a good looking car. What could make it better?.....

How about doing it up in chrome as a Club Car??? Ok, I actually like the green a little better...

And finally, one of my favorites. The Light My Firebird is a great looking car only made cooler by that missing roof!

So there you go! We have quite a few more to go, but that does it for now. Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

A New Hot Wheel Decade...1970!!!

This week we're going back to the ol' display case to feature Hot Wheels from 1970! By this time Mattel was the king of die cast cars and they decided to expand their kingdom by including trucks (The Heavyweights) and stock dragsters (Spoilers). Also, they introduced the Hot Wheels Club (because everything is cooler when you're in a club!) complete with chrome cars to go with it! So, let's jump right in to the first groovy eight cars, shall we?

First, we have the Heavyweights Ambulance. I guess Mattel saw how kids played with their cars and they figured this was really needed for those tiny imaginary drivers...

The Boss Hoss Club Car in all of its chrome glory! You could only get a club car by joining the Hot Wheels Club, and you had no way of knowing which car you were going to get! If you wanted a Boss Hoss in 1970, this was the only way to get it. The regular car wasn't offered until 1971.

Although not my favorite, the Carabo was actually pretty cool with its operating gull-wing doors.

The Heavyweights Cement Mixer was exactly that. They didn't go all out on clever names for the Heavyweights for some reason...

The Classic Nomad modeled a 1955 model quite well. It's such a classic car that it seems a little weird that it took Mattel three years to get around to it.

The Demon was modeled after a real show car called the "Lil' Coffin." You could (and I think still can) get a plastic model version of it. I kind of like that name better that "The Demon," but nobody asked me...Hey, I was seven.

One guess as to what this Heavyweights was called. Yep, it's the "Dump Truck." Come on Mattel, you aren't even trying!

The Ferrari 312P in dark blue is actually a handsome car. I have more appreciation for it as an adult than I did as a kid. 

So there are our first eight! Of course there will be more to come, so keep those bell-bottoms handy and we'll see you next time!

And until next time, keep searching for treasure!

Coincidence in Denison

I have shared this story on Facebook before, but I thought I would put it in my blog, so here goes...

A number of years ago I was looking around in an antique mall in Denison when I found this:

It was a little grubby and worn, but it held a very special meaning for me. You see, my family went here! In fact, here we are!

Here are my folks again:

Yep, my dad was the music director, and my mom played the piano! By the way, this is where we lived:

1223 Woodlawn Circle. We were the first family to live in that house. It actually looks pretty much the same as it did when lived there...on the outside anyway. I have a feeling the inside might have been updated over the years. By the way, my phone number isn't HO5-3879 any more...

So, I was pretty excited to find this little item! I didn't notice the coincidence until a little later. You see, Dick and Marian Ringgold and their kids were our next door neighbors and good friends. They also went to church with us. That's why it was a shock to see this on the inside cover:

Yep, Richard T. Ringgold. After about 45 years, the directory found it's next door neighbor. Pretty wild, huh?

They say that once you've lived in Denison, Denison will always remember you. I think this kind of makes that point.

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

Bottled History- Part Two

Last week I shared a bottle from my collection from the Waldron Drug Store in Denison, Tx (owned by J. F. Tinsman). Denison historian, Jim Sears, was able to answer many questions about the store and it's owner. Mr. Sears states,

     "When John F. Tinsman bought the Waldron Drug Store in 1906, it was at 223 W. Main Street. He had been working there as a clerk. T. B. Waldron and F. R. Guiteau arrived at the Alamo Hotel from Freeport, Illinois, in February of 1878. The following month they opened the Guiteau & Waldron Drug Store at 309 W. Main. Guiteau sold his interest in the business a few years before Waldron sold out to Tinsman. For more on the store's history:
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~txgrayso/ANewLand/Towns/Denison/WaldonDrugStore/WaldronDrugStore.html"

He also shared an article that shows that Mr. Tinsman passed away in 1935, and was a illustrious member of the Denison community. Thank you for the help, Jim!

     This week, I have another Denison bottle. Here it is!

The text reads, "Red River Mfg Bottling Denison Tex"

The bottom features a big "R."

I think I picked this one up at Main Street Mall a few years ago. If you're downtown, be sure to drop in and say "hi" to Jay and Cindy!

     Anyway, using Google I found an article from the Herald Democrat about the Red River Bottling Company by Donna Hunt. Here is some of it;

     "The Red River Bottling Works opened in 1901 by Cass Cameron and possibly is the most remembered early day soda company. It was located in a historic site at the northeast corner of East Woodard Street and Houston Avenue. That site later became the location for the Southern Ice Company.

John Clark bought the Red River in the early 19-teen years and moved it into the old City Bottling building at 209 West Woodard. Denison Crystal Ice that owned the entire block of East Woodard, decided to expand operations and needed the Red River building for that project. The old original Red River Bottling building was kept intact with new structures built up around it. That structure survived until 1993 when Ready Ice demolished the old ice company." 

She also stated that the company lasted until 1928, when it merged with other companies to become the Dr. Pepper Bottling Company. 

This fact was actually a little surprising to me, as I thought this bottle was newer than the drug store bottle. As it turns out, they were contemporaries! 

The bottle is a good, heavy example and it sits proudly on my kitchen window sill with the drug store bottle.

So there you go! Denison is always a good place to keep searching for treasure!