When Hot Wheels Sizzled!

By 1970, Hot Wheels was the hottest brand of toy car in the world. Still, Mattel was never one to take success for granted...or to leave any money making angle unexplored. So, they introduced the next step in the evolution of the small toy car...Sizzlers!

Sizzlers were motorized cars that were about the same size as other Hot Wheels cars, or HO scale slot cars. However, the huge jump in technology with Sizzlers was that their motors didn't need a track for power. They were fitted with tiny ni-cad cells that allowed them to be completely self powered! After a (relatively) quick minute and a half charge from the Juice Machine, they were ready to tear up the track!...or kitchen floor!...or driveway!...or whatever you put them down on!

Here are my three examples. By the way, none of them are running right now since the batteries have been removed. It seems the same technology that birthed Sizzlers also tends to kill them, as corrosion is a huge problem with older cars. There are replacement batteries that you can purchase, however, so all is not lost.

The Hot Head (1970) in its original case.

The back of the package, showing other accessories.

The Mustang Hoss (1970). I had this one as a kid.

The Dark Shadow (1978) is fairly rare since it was one of the last six Sizzlers Mattel made. It has working headlights. Note the mis-matched front wheel factory mistake.

I also have a Juice Machine, Power Pit, and a couple of track sets. In the 1990's Playing Mantis released some Sizzlers as well, and I have those examples too. Still, the ones that I really love are the originals.

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

Ghost in the Machine

Greetings from the attic!

This week we are going to look at a little item I picked up about 10 years ago. It's not in great shape. Heck, it doesn't even work, but it's still really cool! I'm talking about the Brumberger Mystery Haunted House Bank! Here are a few pictures for you...

And now for a little history. This bank was produced in the 1960's by Brumberger. It was sold in various retail outlets and even by mail order (think comic book ads) but it really took off when a rather large company decided to use it in a promotion. The company was Disney and the promotion was for The Haunted Mansion!

Now, never mind that the bank looks nothing like the Disneyland (or Walt Disney World) Haunted Mansion.  It was close enough in concept to be sold in the park as a tie-in item. Now a lot of people think it was a Disney produced item. It wasn't. It was kind of like how rather typical Japanese puzzle boxes became Haunted Mansion Secret Panel Chests...but that's another story.

Anyway, the bank is really a thing of beauty. It's a roughly seven and a half inch cube of wonderfully lithographed tin. The top and base (both of which are chipped on mine) are made of plastic. There are supposed to be two plastic front doors (which mine is missing) that hide the draped, plastic ghost. When a coin was placed on the front steps, the porch light came on and the ghost came out and stood over the coin. He then went back into the house and the coin was GONE!

Mine does none of that. Apparently before I got it, someone decided to "work" on it and now several parts are missing. Still, I got mine for five bucks, and a working model can set you back several hundred, so I'm not too upset. It sits in my display cabinet in the study and just looks cool. That's all I really need it to do!

So, if you happen across one of these houses in a thrift store or flea market, snatch it up! ...just like the ghost does with all that loose change!

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

Driving the Flying Dutchman!

1962 was a good year. Not only did I happen to be born then, but the baby boomer toy craze was kicking into high gear. Yep, it was a good time to be a kid!

I happened to pick up one of those 1962 toys a while back at a local auction. I didn't know much about this particular item, or even if it worked, but it looked so darn cool, I decided to put in a low-ball bid- and by golly I won!

Therefore, I present to you; the Remco Flying Dutchman!

After I won the car, I found out a bit more about it. It is a battery operated toy, that was U-line controlled. Now, I had seen gas powered U-line cars before, but not electric models! Apparently Remco also made a U-line controlled land speed car called The Shark. My car included all of the parts except for a card-stock driver that fit in a slot in the front seat.

Anyway, the Flying Dutchman is a big toy (about 16 inches long), has a working front headlamp (that can be turned on independently of the motor) and is just overall cool!

Now when I went to write this blog about it, I realized that I still didn't know if it worked. I never bought four D cell batteries to find out! So, I made a quick trip to the store, opened the hood, and plunked in the batteries.

I flipped a switch on the dashboard and the headlamp flickered on...but no motor. I was beginning to think that the motor had died due to age (which happens a lot in older toys). Then I pulled on the control rod on the side of the car to see the front wheels turn to the left. The motor stirred. I pulled more and nudged the back wheels with my fingers and slowly they started turning. Then they turned faster and faster and suddenly (in who knows how long) the Flying Dutchman was running at full speed! Now I just might have to take her out for a drive!

Here are some more pictures just for fun!

The functioning headlamp!

The adjustable U-line control arm

The U-line handle in place.

Running!!!

Big toys= big fun!

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

Going Where the Action Is!

Howdy folks! This week we're going to look at a fairly recent addition to my vintage Hot Wheels collection: Action City!

Action City was released in 1969 by Mattel to go with their smash hit Hot Wheels line. The idea was that it would be a play set and carrying case combined into one fun item! I happened to find an example at Main Street Mall in my home town of Denison, Tx,  and so I snatched it up as fast as I could!

The case is in really good shape for its age (vinyl tends to split as it ages). It features three 1968 Hot Wheels on the front; The Custom Camaro, The Silhouette, and the Custom T-Bird. I decided to use these cars in my pictures (mine are not the same colors, but it's still cool). So, for your enjoyment, here are some pictures!

The closed case is about 14X18 inches.

The case is dated "1968," but Mattel always dated the item for the year before it was actually released.

There are several buildings in the case, including a bank!

The Custom T-Bird is getting a little service while the Custom Camaro cruises up the street.

Wow! The Speed Shop specializes in Hot Wheels tune ups! What are the odds?

The Silhouette comes out of the car wash squeaky clean!

The Hot Wheels Rent-A-Car houses the collector case.

An overall view of the opened case shows all the many details.

The roof of the Rent-A-Car opens to store six cars. Note the vintage 1969 stickers in two of the compartments. These came with the cars and were usually stuck on the bottom of the car by the owner.

So there you have it! This item now has a proud place on the top of the glass case that houses all of my early cars. All in all it was a great find!

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

Re-Powered Powerline!

This week I have something a little different to share. A couple of weeks ago I bid on a Daisy BB gun in an auction. I lost. However, it reminded me of a gun I already had, so I went to my closet and dug out this:

This is an old Daisy Powerline 1200 that I purchased new over 25 years ago. It's a Co2 powered gun, and the cartridge was out, so I bought a new one at Walmart and plugged it in! All I heard was "sssssssssssssssssss..." and then I had an empty (and kind of frosty) useless gun. Every bit of the gas had escaped in about 10 seconds. Crud.

Did I give up???

Yes!

But then I remembered Google and went into 'fix-it mode." As it turns out, the seals on these old guns can give out, so I decided to tear into mine and see if that was the problem. After removing about seven screws, I had this:

Yup, that was a lot of parts, and I wasn't exactly sure where they all went (or even what they all did) but I was on a mission! Opening up the silver part that the Co2 canister screwed into (I don't know the name of it) I found this:

The rear seal was, indeed, shot! Now, I thought that this little o-ring looked pretty standard, so I ran up to Home Depot and found these:

I applied a little silicon oil, slapped in the new o-ring, put everything back together (ok, that actually took about three tries- who knew all those screws were different sizes???) and put in another Co2 cartridge.

I heard a "ssssss" but then....silence!

I won! I fixed the silly thing! I plinked off a few rounds in the back yard just to be sure and she shoots like a champ!

The moral to this story is.....uh.....Ok, there isn't really a moral, but I'm glad I didn't give up and toss the gun.

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

Tricky Tin Toy Tanker

Usually when I drag something out of the ol' attic to show you guys, I know at least enough about it to write a couple of good paragraphs. This week...not so much. You see, last weekend the wife and I took in a couple of sales and I picked this little beauty up:

Yep, it's a tin toy tanker truck (with box) that was made in China. I didn't pay much for it, so I was willing to take a bit of a chance. Also, I like the graphics and the style. For some reason, it just seems like a "happy" truck to me. I don't exactly know what that means, but I'm sticking with it.

Anyway, here is what I was able to find out. One site said this is a 1960's toy, but I'm leaning toward 1970's (mainly because of the box graphics and the fact that most 1960's tin was Japanese, not Chinese.) I don't think this is a later reproduction piece because those are usually covered with "Collectible, not for children" warnings on them. Also, there is no bar code on the box.

Also, there were apparently two versions of this truck. The friction drive one (that I have) and a battery powered one. I like that they put a popping motor sound into the friction drive, by the way!

The detailing on the toy is actually pretty good. It's about 14 inches long, which is a good size. Notice that they have the chain hanging from the back to ground the truck!

All in all, I don't really care much about where it came from. It's just one of those simple toys that makes you smile.

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

Disney Knives!

Wow, those are two words that don't often go together these days! However, there was a time not so long ago when one of the coolest Disney related items you could get was a pocket knife! I have a small collection, so I thought I'd share them with you! (Say this next line in your best Mickey voice) "Oh boy! Here we go!"

I think this is the oldest one in my collection. These came on a card that had a picture of Tinkerbell on it. It's tiny, and I think it was sold in Fantasyland in the early 1960's or late 1950's.

This was the Frontierland version! It's still tiny (about an inch and a half long) but it has a ton of features that a young Davy Crocket might need. I'm not sure how effective that tiny cork screw would be.... This probably dates from about the same time as the Fantasyland knife.

Ok, techically this isn't a Disney knife. It's actually from the New York World's Fair. But since Walt and company did so much for that fair that got transported back to Disneyland, I think it counts. So there.

This is how it looks open. It is much more of a "real knife" than the first two.

Now, this one has confused quite a few people over the years. The logo seems to indicate that it was some rare first day item! Alas, it isn't. In reality it was made in 1985 to celebrate Disneyland's 30th anniversary. Still, that's pretty cool!

Yep, those blades are way too shiny for 1955!

Of course now Disney is firmly out of the knife business (as far as I know). If you are looking for vintage Disney knives, eBay is a good place to check. They can be had for fairly good prices.

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!