Hot Wheels Road Wars Liberty Base!

 If this isn't the coolest kids toy I don't know what is. Released in the mid 90's along with a whole set of vehicles this thing cost $60 brand new. I was in between jobs then and didn't get a chance to pick one up. Finally splurged for a used version on eBay. 

This one's not complete but it has enough intact features for me. I plan to use it as a set piece for Car Wars or Gaslands or as a base for Rifts.

More shots of the vehicles. These didn't come with the set, but were sold separately.

 

A few more close ups of the base. The face folds down and a gun pops out. Totally silly but kinda cool.

My First Hot Wheels and Early Childhood Collection

 

My first Hot Wheels was a Custom Cougar received in 1969.

I remember watching Hot Wheels commercials on my folks black and white TV. Seeing older kids race those slick cars down the track I knew these machines were way cooler than the small collection of Matchboxes I had.

I kept pestering my mom until she bought one for me. My parents didn’t have money for the orange track because they were keeping the family business going and building their dream house. I created my own track out of used popsicle sticks which the car straddled nicely.

As you can see, I wore the wheels on this Custom Cougar down considerably. The damage to the paint is battery acid from a Super Charger that had been left in the on position while in storage causing the batteries to explode. (This happened to several of my Super Chargers as it was too easy for the sliding switch to get bumped to the barely on position.)

Here’s the rest of my childhood collection. Maybe someday I will unpack my totes full of Hot Wheels to show off the rest.

Memorial Day Races at Grandmas

We took my daughters Hot Wheels collection and some of my old track back to my childhood home and set up a long raceway for the cars. I had done a similiar thing in my youth, racing my collection to see which one would go the farthest. The basement of the house is one long room about 30ft in length.

Here is my daughters collection. She started collecting around 6 years ago. She'd watch me buy Hot Wheels for myself and I felt guilty if I didn't get her one as well.

2/3 of my Hot Wheels track and accessories from the 70's.

The first qualifying run. Here you can see the full extent of the track. All the cars off to the side did not make it to the final round.

The winners of the first round.

We were going to do three rounds but ran out of time. Instead we added a few more bumps to the track and ran a final round. Above are the finishers with the Custom 69 Chevy Pickup and Prototype H-24 tying for first place.

Some day I will dig out all my old Hot Wheels and we'll go back and run this track with my cars. (I think I know which tote full of toys they are in....)

1/64 Scale Cars for Car Wars and Gaslands Part 3

Here is part 3 of my favorite toy cars for use with Car Wars or Gaslands. Many of these vehicles come battle ready right out of the package while others I tacked on a weapon using the Museum Gel technique discussed in a previous post. I still have more toys like this of varying scale in my collection and plan to show case them in future postings. All photos below include a figure that is roughly 28mm tall (about 1 1/2") for reference. Where possible I will list the toy manufacture.

First off, we have two of my favorite Hot Wheels. The car on the right is the original Sting Rod from the Action Command series. This is one of the first “out of the box car with weapons and armor” that I acquired when it was first released. It will always hold a special place in my collection. The truck on the left is also from the Action Command series that I acquired a few years ago.

Next on the left we have the Sting Rod 2. This version doesn’t feel as subtle as the original Sting Rod, but since I have many copies of it I am not concerned about using it in the arena. On the right is a Hot Wheels “Armored Batman” car. This was a recent series of vehicles designed as caricatures of superheroes. It’s armored nicely and dirtied up a bit. Just waiting for me to stick a gun or two on it.

Finally, my favorite vehicle of this type. Another Hot Wheels called Turbo Turret. This is the best battle-ready vehicle in this scale! The gun in the turret is a bit large, and I have chopped it back on several models. The turret even spins! I wish Mattel would do an entire series of these. (Note: The guns were red and I painted them black.)

1/64 Scale Cars for Car Wars and Gaslands Part 2

 

Here is part 2 of my favorite toy cars for use with Car Wars or Gaslands. Many of these vehicles come battle ready right out of the package while others I tacked on a weapon using the Museum Gel technique discussed in a previous post. I still have more toys like this of varying scale in my collection and hope to show case them in future postings. All photos below include a figure that is roughly 28mm tall (about 1 1/2") for reference. Where possible I will list the toy manufacture.

 Below are 3 Hot Wheels Star Wars “Spaceship” cars. These cars were modeled after the various spaceships in the Star Wars universe and often had guns sculpted on them. On the left is the Tie Fighter car with two gun like protrusions on the front. In the middle is the Millennium Falcon car with two guns on the front a turret on the top. On the right is Darth Vadar’s Tie car.

Next on the right is another Star Wars spaceship car. I forget which fighter it represents and I stuck the gun on it with Museum Gel. I also stuck the turret on the car on the right for this photo shoot. It’s also a Hot Wheels and part of a camo line from a few years back (as is the car I feature in my original Museum Gel post).

Finally, here are two more cars I stuck guns in the front and the camo car again showing up in the back. All the cars are Hot Wheels.

My 1/64 Scale Cars for Car Wars and Gaslands

 Here are some of my favorite toy cars for use with Car Wars or Gaslands. Many of these vehicles come battle ready right out of the package while others I tacked on a weapon using the Museum Gel technique discussed in a previous post. I have more toys like this in my collection and hope to show case them in future postings. All photos include a figure that is roughly 28mm tall (about 1 1/2") for reference. Where possible I will list the toy manufacture.

GI Joe Toys?

I believe the toy on the left is a GI Joe toy from Hasbro though I can't find any info on it. The toy on the right is a cheap knock off of another GI Joe toy (I have the nicer version in my collection somewhere). These vehicles have too many weapons and the weapons are way too large for my taste, but I am including them here for completeness.

Technical Truck

Next up is a Majorette brand technical truck. This truck can also be used for modern skirmish wargames.

Dual Guns on the Top

On the left is a Maisto brand Leadslinger and on the right is the Green Hornets car, possibly from a Happy Meal? The Leadslinger has obvious armor and while the guns are a little over the top it's still an awesome vehicle. I wish more toy companies would turn out this sort of thing. (I painted the guns as they were the same chrome as the engine.)

Invader

Here's a Hot Wheels car with an oversized gun. I cut the back of the gun off on the toy on the right.

Two More Hot Wheels

The Hot Wheels on the right is a Fast Attack Vehicle that has several different variants (I will post some others when I dig them out). The  El Camino on the left doesn't have any guns on it (yet) but I've seen some pretty good conversions on the web and feel it fits the theme.

That's all for now. Watch for my next post on this, coming soon!

The Wood Chuck

 Occasionally I find a toy car that inspires me to try my hand at painting and customizing. Below is one such car.

Here it is in it's original packaging. It is called Erikenstien Rod.

Here it is in its current state. Called the "Wood Chuck Truck" because it's Chuck's truck protected with old barn wood. I still want to do more to protect the wheels on the back, but haven't figured out what to do yet.

Museum Gel and miniature gaming

A few years back I was looking for a way to modify my toy cars for miniature gaming without permanently altering or destroying them.  I came across a product called Museum Gel and it meets my needs.

Museum Gel is a clear semi-sticky substance that is used by museums to hold fragile items to shelves so that they cannot easily be knocked off. I figured if it was good enough to work on antiques it was good enough for my toys.

Here is a Hot Wheels car. Beside it is a plastic turret from an Axis and Allies miniature. The turret is upside down and the bottom is coated with a small piece of Museum Gel.  

Here is what the car looks like with the turret in place.

After the Gel has set for about an hour you can pick up the vehicle by the turret and it will remain stuck to the vehicle.

Should you wish to remove the turret and place it on a different vehicle simply slip a fingernail between the two and pry up. Any excess Gel can be rubbed off with a finger and reused.

Here’s the same turret on another vehicle.

I have left Museum Gel on several different toys for years at a time and removed the Gel with no damage to the body or paint.  I recommend it to anyone who wants to kit bash their toys without destroying them in the process.   

Hot Wheels Super Treasure Hunt Score!

I've been collecting Hot Wheels since I was three and this is the first Super Treasure Hunt I have come across. It made my day.