Catching Up a Bit

 Welll, in the time since I last wrote, some good things have happened. Probably the most exciting is that I finished my 1968 through 1972 Hot Wheels collection! All of them! I got 'em! 

Now, you might think that you would feel great about that accomplishment...and you do; except now you have to figure out what to do next. You see, I've worked on that collection since about 1995. Now what? 

Well, I think I'm going to work on upgrading some of the cars. While a collection can be complete, it won't ever really be "finished." 

Here are some pictures of the Powley Collection!

                                    1968

                                  1969

                                 1970

                                 1971

1972

By the way, yes that Olds 442 is in the 1971 line up. Patience pays off! I paid a lot more for it than the others, but still much less than they usually go for!

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

A Quick Check In...

I think I might start doing this blogging thing again. It's been a rough (and busy) couple of years, but it might just be time...

But Wait- There's More!

Today we have three more 1971 Hot Wheels! So let's jump right in, shall we?

I really like the Sugar Caddy (a takeoff on the Sugar Daddy candy name) The door numbers look a little too clean on this one, so I'm pretty sure they're repops, but I don't mind!

The T-4-2 is what happens when you have too many fronts and no backs. This is actually my second one. The first had repop wheel caps and roof and perfect paint. The problem was it doesn't roll. I found this one at an estate sale for under a buck. It has an original top and just slightly worse paint (same color). It also rolls straight and fast! A quick wheel cap switch and into the display case it went!

The Team Trailer is a Heavyweight that can be kind of expensive. I got a good deal on this one because the rear wheels didn't roll. Fortunately, the top pops off easily on these, and I was able to fix it quickly and easily with a dab of epoxy on the rear axle. All good!

So there you go! We only have three more and 1971 will be finished!

Until next time  keep searching for treasure!

Still More '71...

Our next three from 1971! Believe it or not, we're almost done with the year....but nooooot quite! So, here you go!

First, we have The Heavyweights Snorkel. This car is often hard to find with all the parts of the crane. 

But here it is, in all its glory! Interestingly enough, The Heavyweights mainly used two basic trucks- the all in one model here, and a cab and trailer model. Therefore these two do not have the name of the model on the chassis like all the other cars of this era. Now you know!

Next, we have the Special Delivery! I'm not sure what the logistics would look like with a supercharged mail truck, but here it is. 

The "special feature" of this car is an opening mail box. It really doesn't work very well, since you just bend the plastic back to open it. 

Finally, we have the Strip Teaser. I'm kind of hot and cold on the complete fantasy designs, but this one is kind of cool.

The canopy opens so the driver can get in and out. I assume he would bring his own periscope to see over that huge engine. 

So there you go! I hope everyone had a great Christmas and here are hopes for a happy and prosperous 2019! Cheers!

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

1971 Hot Wheels- The Gift That Keeps On Giving

I'm pretty comfortable in saying that 1971 was the high water mark for number of redlines released by Hot Wheels. 1970 was close, with 33, but 1971 gave us 35! What that means in my case is that I can milk this year for months with the ol' blog! Yay!

Our next three cars are:

The Six Shooter! What's better than one engine and four wheels? Well, here's your answer! It looks like the hatch might open on this one, but it doesn't.

The Snake II! The Mongoose and Snake line was a money making machine for Mattel, and they exploited it every chance they got. Interestingly, I remember having this one as a kid...until a friend stole it. Life lesson learned. Don't loan out your Hot Wheels!

The Snake II in service mode. I still think it looks cool with the body lifted...

Speaking of exploiting the property, here we have the Snake Rail, because...why not? The Mongoose and Snake Rails were identical, except for paint and stickers. 

And the Snake Rail in "wheelie mode." The set came with a trigger in the track that would trip the counter weight used for wheelies. Oh...here it is!

That's about it for this time! Believe it or not, we still have a few more to go! Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

Disneyland, 1961 Style!

You don't often find vintage Disneyland stuff around North Texas; at least not as much as you would in Southern California. So, I was a little surprised to find the following items at an estate sale last weekend. This is what I found...

First, we have these tickets from March 18, 1961! Now these aren't typical tickets, but, rather, "Magic Kingdom Club" tickets that included all the attractions for one price! What a crazy idea! 5 bucks in 1961 is $42.21 now, so it's still a great deal even today.

 Next, we have "Walt Disney's Guide to Disneyland," 1960 edition! This book is in great condition, and it really sets the mood for the early '60s version of the park!

Here we have Walt's personal introduction inside the front cover. As a kid, I really thought Walt wrote everything attributed to him. As an adult, it makes sense that he would sign off on his professional writers' work.

The table of contents gives a glance at all the wonders covered in the text!

The photography in the book is fantastic and really shows how special the park was. Do they even still have "Pablum?"

Interestingly, the only attraction that made it out of the "dreaming" phase at Disneyland was the "Haunted House," which, of course, became the "Haunted Mansion." I didn't even know "Chinatown" and "Adventures in Science" were being considered. "Liberty Street" became "Liberty Square" at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.

Finally, we have a land by land rundown of the whole park!

There were many more pages that I didn't photograph, but these give you an idea of the book. All in all, not a bad find!

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

1971 Keeps Rolling Along!

Hey, campers! This week we have the next three 1971 Hot Wheels in my collection! 1971 was kind of a high mark in Hot Wheels history, in that they produced a LOT of new car models! So, hang on...here we go!

The S'Cool bus was based on the Monogram model of the same name. Tom Daniels never worked for Hot Wheels directly, but his plastic model designs were borrowed for some of the most iconic Hot Wheels ever produced. Mattel owned Monogram models, by the way.

Under the hood (body?) we see two blown engines to motivate this beast down the track! This model was released in a bright yellow version and in this slightly yellow/ green version. 

1971 was a big year for the Heavyweights line of Hot Wheels, and they made about every kind of truck you can imagine. I used to think that the Scooper was a trash truck, but it's actually more of a gravel hauler...

When ya just gotta dump your gravel....

The Short Order is based on a stretched 50s style pickup. This is one of the few cars I found "in the wild," meaning not through another collector or on eBay. I got it at an estate sale this summer for under a buck...

The Short Order can become a Slightly Longer Order by pulling out the orange plastic bed.

So there you go! There are more to come! Until next time, keep searching for treasure!