Introduction to Hot Wheels

Hot Wheels is a brand of 1:64 scale die cast toy cars, introduced by American toy maker Mattel in 1968. It was the primary competitor of Matchbox until 1996, when Mattel bought Tyco, the then owner of Matchbox. Many automobile manufacturers have licensed Hot Wheels to make scale models of their cars, allowing the use of original design blueprints. Although originally marketed to children, they have become popular with adult collectors, to whom limited edition models are now made available.

2011 Treasure Hunt

Most believe the collecting craze started with the release of a series called Treasure Hunts (also known in the past by the green stripe on the card) in 1995.  Mattel estimates that the average collector has over 1,550 cars, and children between the ages of 5 and 15 have an average of 41 cars. There were 16 castings released in 1968, with the first one produced being a dark blue Custom Camaro. Between the first releases there were also Twin Mill and a Volkswagen with 2 surf crates (the pink variation it is believed to be one of the most expensive Hot Wheels casting to date). Along side the realistic models there are also produced fantasy models. Now Hot Wheels are split into many series with their own different castings , paint job, card artwork, wheels and of course prices.



Nostalgia series

Up to date there are thousands of collectors world-wide, conventions, events and sites made specifically for the Hot Wheels collectors. The primary market is USA, where they get all the Special Series and all the releases, store exclusives, mail-ins and all the products related, but Hot Wheels are available everywhere in the world, with a few differences and in most countries (especially in Europe) only with the regular releases also known as "mainlines"and mostly only on short cards. Also Hot Wheels has in the line many track sets , where everyone can play on them with most of the castings released. The track sets differ, from simple 5-6 pieces with no battery requirements but with a simple action and a launcher, to battery powered boosters or track sets to mount on the walls. All the track sets are inter connectable, all of them can be mounted together to make a one huge set.

In the present we are many part of this hobby of collecting these tiny toy cars, it makes us happy and it can also bring us together as friends and families. I'm glad to be part of this community and I wish everyone out there will have fun and enjoy the hobby. Happy collecting