1971- The Next Chapter...

This time I give you the next three in my 1971 Hot Wheels collection! As I stated before, 1971 is a year in progress, but I still have quite a few. So....away we go!

First we have the Evil Weavil. It seems like after Hot Wheels came out with the Custom Volkwagen with an engine in the front, someone said, "Hey, the engine's supposed to be in the back!" So, they put one there too!

Next we have the Fuel Tanker. Since it's Hot Wheels fuel we're talking about, I guess it's filled with premium grade gravity!

Finally we have the Grass Hopper. If you look really closely, you can see a second engine in the back of this one too. I see a trend here!

So there you have it! Nine down and a bunch more to go! Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

Safe-ly Restored

Yesterday I was out and about and I stopped by a garage sale a couple of blocks from my house. On one of the tables I spotted a toy safe bank. It was almost like one I have, but much larger and red. At least I was pretty sure it was red. You see, it was pretty much covered in rust. Well, I fiddled around with it and finally figured out the combination (not hard to do on these banks). I guess I felt sorry for it, because I plunked down my money and it came home with me.

Now, I usually don't restore stuff I pick up. Usually it is in good enough shape that I don't have to. Plus, restoring an item can actually take value away from it. However, this safe was different because 1. It was in really sad shape and 2. It wasn't worth much to begin with. So, here are my restoration pictures!

My find as found. A very rusty Superior Toy Company Safe bank.

Let the sanding begin!!! Actually, the sanding went on for quite a while. I used my Dremel tool to clean up the metal around the dial a little.

Next I wiped all the dust off with a damp paper towel and masked off the area I didn't want painted.

The first coat. By the way, the inside of the safe showed me that this was, in fact, the original color. Also, this is a plug for Rust-Oleum paint. Please send me a check asap.

The second or third coat...I lost count.

After the fourth coat had dried, I added these little felt feet so it would be "safe" to set on furniture.

And the big reveal! I actually kind of like the dent in the top. Adds character.

Here she is among other "treasures." Not bad for a Saturday afternoon.

 So there you have it! It was a fun way to spend a laid back Saturday. By the way, I found that the large dial safes like this one go for a bit more...sometimes thirty bucks! I guess a restored one would go for about half that. It's not for sale, though.

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

1971...The Next Three

One reason that I haven't finished the 1971 set of Hot Wheels is that, for some reason, the prices are pretty high for that year. I, being cheap, tend to look and look until I find a good deal. Sometimes those deals are VERY hard to come by. Hence...I wait.

However, I do have over twenty from this year, so here are the next three...

The Bye-Focal features a see through hood that you would never see in real life. Still, this stretched Dodge Challenger is all kinds of cool!

The Classic Cord features a 1937 Cord with a blown engine sticking out of the hood. This one is usually very expensive. 

The Cockney Cab is based on an English Austin cab. It has no door on the passenger side. 

So there you go! Until next time, keep searching for treasure!