Well, last week I shared a bank that I picked up at an estate sale a couple of weeks ago. As interesting as that may have been, it wasn't the real reason I went to that sale. What was? Well, let's take a look, shall we?
This was the picture I saw online. Now 99% of the time such pictures have nothing really interesting in them, but I spotted a certain green, flowered object that got me excited! You see, I recognized a 1969 Hot Wheels Custom Continental Mk III ! So, I decided to get there at opening (which was on a Thursday) and try to snag it!
When we got there that morning there were two people ahead of us! Still, when the doors opened, my lovely wife spotted the cars in a bag and called me over! We won!
Well, sort of. You see, they placed all the cars in one bag and had a pretty hefty price on them. Still, that price was less than top retail for the Mk III, so I went for it. (And I picked up the mailbox bank too). Let's take a look at my favorites out of the 20-odd cars, shall we?
Here is the best piece! The 1969 Mk III. This car is interesting because of the kid-applied flower power decals. Mattel sold these in accessory packs to dress up your cars, and this kid decided his Lincoln was a little boring, I guess. It makes this car unique and fun in my book!
Kind of reminds me of John Lennon's Rolls...
This kid numbered his cars in marker. (A lot of kids did this sort of thing) This is car 9!
Next we have a pretty much mint 1970 Hot Wheels Paddy Wagon! Well, it's mint except that it was missing it's top. Since I have a couple of other Paddy Wagons, I decided to order a repop top that would have only come in the Great Getaway action set. It's not original, but I think it looks good!
Next we have a 1968 Hot Wheels Deora. The paint is pretty scraped up and its missing the surf boards on the back, but its not a bad little car. I like it because its gold like the original show car. Fun fact: this was originally a plastic model before it was a Hot Wheel and there was a contest to name it. The winning kid came up with "Deora" because he thought it meant "gold" in Spanish!
Nice lines, but scraped paint...
Finally, we have the sad last of the Hot Wheels. This is a 1968 Custom Fleetside. This was based on a car actually driven by one of the original Hot Wheels designers. This one has seen better days, though. It's missing it's bed cover and window "glass." Those wheels don't have much chrome left either, and the paint may well have been touched up with a marker. Still, that just means that it was a favorite! It will go in my "to be restored one day" pile.
Car 17, you've had a rough life!
Now we move to some of the other cars! We actually have a couple of different makers, the most being Matchbox.
First, we have this Matchbox Mercury Wagon from 1969. You can tell it's from that year because it doesn't have "Superfast" wheels and has the curious "steering system" that allows the front wheels to move back and forth.
Matchbox, being British, made relatively few American cars, but the ones they did make were popular in the U.S. This one was very popular!
Mainly because of these guys! Two doggos sticking their heads out the back of the car!
Matchox are also easy to identify because they are marked with a "Series Number." Curiously this car is "No. 55 or 73."
It's also car number 14...
Next we have a car that I wish was in better shape, a Mercury Cougar from 1968! Alas, the paint is really rough on this one. Repaint? Maybe. I'll have to think about it...
This car features opening doors, which a lot of people associate with Hot Wheels. In reality, Hot Wheels had very few opening door models (hoods were their thing).
Series 62! (And kid car number 12)
I've included this one just because it's so frightfully British. The Unimog! It's not in terrible shape. A common issue with these cars is that the tires fall off. Why? Because the hubs shrink over the decades. You can get slightly smaller repop tires to fix them. Or you can put a spot of super glue on them.
Now we're shifting makers to Corgi! This Studebaker was released in two versions and under two divisions of Corgi. It was first released as a TV car, with a camera man sticking up in the back and a retractable roof. It was later released as an ambulance, which curiously, kept the retractable roof. It was released first as a Husky and then as a Corgi Junior. Here is another view...
The roof and tailgate closed...
And open!
Now the strangest thing about my car is simply that it apparently doesn't exist. You see, the Corgi Junior model is supposed to have "Whizzwheels." Mine are standard. It also is supposed to have a non working tailgate and roof. Mine clearly work. Mine is also clearly marked "Corgi Juniors."
The answer to the riddle? It's a transition piece. The line was switching from Husky to Corgi Junior and they made a few with the old features on the new base. Does this mean it's worth any more? Probably not, but I should check into it any way.
By the way, a transition piece like this would probably be from 1969.
Finally we have a really nice little Ford Thunderbird by Husky from about 1966.
This car just looks cool!
I can't make out the kid number...
I like that it's small! They kept it to scale rather than scaling it up slightly like Hot Wheels or Matchbox would have. Good show, guys!
Lastly, we have this nice Husky VW Police car from about 1966! I wish the paint were a little better, but it's still fun!
Coming after you with 70hp!
This is it next to the Matchbox VW of the same time frame. It's easy how people get these two cars confused.
There were other cars in the bag too, but these were my favs! All in all, I think I did ok! As I always say, it's all about the hunt!
Until next time, keep searching for treasure!
