I love collecting Hot Wheels original designs like the #Mod Rod. No hype. No inflated prices. No collectors hoarding every single one off the pegs or raiding pallets. Besides the obvious, collecting #Unlicensed Hot Wheels has often exposed me to car genres I probably would have never dabbled in. For the Mod Rod, I find myself looking more and more into custom-built hot rods. The hot rods of today seem nothing like the “show rods” of 20 to 30 years ago where people were restoring and rodding out cars from the 1930s. As evidenced by the Hot Wheels Legends Tour, people are building hot rods from ..read more

There was a little purge in the OTD garage last weekend by getting rid of extras to make room for future purchases. In doing so — in going back through the collection — you can often find a treasured piece from years ago. I often do. The latest to be found? The 1999 #Hot Wheels Collectibles Smoke ‘N Water set featuring the #’59 Chevy Apache Fleetside with trailer and the #Crackerbox Racer boat. I picked it up for less than the set cost at retail 24 years ago over a year ago. As you can see below, the box was a bit tattered but that didn’t matter to me as I had plans to liberate the vehicles. 1 ..read more

2023 Hot Wheels Mainline List (by series) 23NM = 2023 New Model • TH = Treasure Hunt (regular) • $TH = $uper Treasure Hunt Baja Blazers ’87 Dodge D100 Dune Crusher ’73 Jeep J10 23NM ’20 Toyota Tacoma Porsche 928S Safari 23NM Jeep FC Custom 23NM Sand Burner Jeep Scrambler Volkswagen “Baja Bug” TH 1966 Land Rover Series IIA 88 23NM Batman Classic TV Series Batmobile (Tooned) $TH Batman Forever Batmobile 23NM ’89 Batmobile Batmobile Batmobile (Batman: The Animated Series) Brick Rides Bricking Trails Custom Small Block Brickin’ Delivery 23NM Brick and Motor 23NM Bricking Speed Experimotors ..read more

Feedback on the Amazon Black Boxes released earlier this year has been across the board. Some collectors love that you can simply order 16 of the latest assortment of Hot Wheels — with no duplicates — and still have a shot at a Regular and/or Super Treasure Hunt. Others have balked at the $24.99 price point and the fact that retail (in the US) has gotten the case assortments before Amazon has released each of the mixes thus far. Either way, I applaud the HW team for giving collectors easy access to collecting mainline cars by the case code via this new product. I have placed my order for Black ..read more

Welcome to the newest segment on OTD: #Power Ratings. This is something I’ve personally wanted to do for a long time as these ratings (and subsequent rankings) will be a cumulative list of Hot Wheels #Car Culture as the line progresses throughout 2023. The list will be fluid as the year progresses based on outside feedback I hear from the collecting world. Who knows … maybe you’ll see some familiar names commenting as well. I have partnered with 1 Stop Diecast to bring you this segment so make sure you pre-order your Car Culture cases via 1StopDiecast.com! In this first-ever Hot Wheels Power ..read more

Hot Wheels of the Day Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 EVO II Hot Wheels X Period Correct RELEASE YEAR: 2018 • CASTING DESIGNER: Mark Jones 2018 Hot Wheels, Collaborations, Hot Wheels, Mark Jones Designs, Mercedes, Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 EVO II, Period Correct, Real Riders, Real Riders Aero Wheels There are a handful of “holy grails” in modern Hot Wheels collecting and this #Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 EVO II is one of them. Referred affectionately as the 190E, this #Collaboration between Hot Wheels and #Period Correct — a clothing brand out of southern California — serves as Hot Wheels collectors ..read more

Hot Wheels of the Day ’07 Ford Shelby GT500 Speed Machines RELEASE YEAR: 2010 • CASTING DESIGNER: Phil Riehlman #5, '07 Ford Shelby GT500, 2010 Hot Wheels, Co-Mold Wheels, Ford, Hot Wheels, Mustang, Phil Riehlman Designs, Shelby, Speed Machines In a matter of weeks, the triumphant return of the Hot Wheels #Speed Machines will be upon us. This time, Speed Machines will be part of the much celebrated Hot Wheels #Car Culture line. Judging by the initial collector reaction, these will undoubtedly be a success as collectors have longed for the return of the Speed Machines since prices started to ri ..read more

Adding a #Toy Fair model is often the crowning achievement in any Hot Wheels casting collection. There is typically only one Hot Wheels Toy Fair release per year and, since this is an internal event at Mattel for vendors & employees, these can sell for quite a lot on the open market due to their scarcity. Add in the fact that the Hot Wheels team typically goes all-out on these models — full detail, #Real Riders, etc. — to showcase the brand, and you probably know how desirable these are from a Hot Wheels collector point of view. Hot Wheels Big-Air Bel-Air casting collection (family photo ..read more

Recently I was asked by the Mattel Creations team at Mattel to write an article that reflected back on the 20+ years of the Red Line Club and HotWheelsCollectors.com for the RLC 20th Anniversary. I was also asked to give my TOP 3 HWC/RLC releases of all-time. While my favorites often change on a week-to-week basis, I pick 3 of the most impactful releases of the last 20 years. You can view the article on HotWheelsCollectors.com (Mattel Creations) now: 20 Years of RLC by Brad Bannach. In the HWC article I cover how I initially found HotWheelsCollector.com and how it impacted my collecting as a ..read more

Hot Wheels of the Day ’70 Camaro Road Race Super Treasure Hunt / HW Performance Series RELEASE YEAR: 2012 • CASTING DESIGNER: Dave Weise #3, '70 Camaro Road Race, 2012 Treasure Hunts, Camaro, Champion, Chevrolet, Dave Weise Designs, Hot Wheels, HW Performance Series, Real Riders, Real Riders Exotic Wheels, Spectraflame Paint, Treasure Hunts There is a lot to love about the #’70 Camaro Road Race Super #Treasure Hunt from 2012. First things first: notice how it got the “tampo upgrade” with the additional graphics on the hood, roof, and trunk over its common variant counterpart? Those additional ..read more