OT: Hotwheels Display?

I want to make a display for my Hotwheels cars that I can put in my garage, office, gameroom, or someplace with a little traffic. Most are in the boxes, but I don't mind letting them free. I've got about 50 that I've bought in the last couple years. I don't collect, just buy ones that I think are cool. I'd probably want room to grow, maybe 80-100 cars. What ideas might you all have?

I thought about making a clear top desk, coffee table, bar top, or even a bathroom sink fixture and setting them in there. What else can you think of? I need to get these out of my closet. I knew this would be the best place to ask.

 

Mine are pinned to the wall with thumb tacks

 

my granson swipped all my cars , they are presently scattered about my daughters house , i like it

 

After discussing the cost of car themed Christmas ornaments with the guy that owns the local Hallmark store I plan on hot glueing hooks to the top of my hot wheels that are out of the packages and hanging them on my Christmas tree next year.

 

I made a wooden display for on the wall. 1 piece of finished plywood. made t strip out of 1/2 wood. spaced them so that the cards will slide in from the top.

 

There are companies that sell lexan display cases for your wall. They look awesome when filled with Hot Wheels as the display case does not distract from the cars. I used to be a big collector in the 90's and that's what I used. I think they were made by a company called Giovanni Plastics. Good quality.
Todd

 

I display mine in old wooden print shop or newspaper typeset drawers. They hang on the wall with a hook and have a number of nooks that a Hot Wheels car will fit in. I have found them at swap meets, flea markets, antique stores for $5-10 a piece.

 

http://shop.vendio.com/daredevil26/item/554975856/?s=1198582245

http://commerce.idmi.net/ecommerce/catalog_detail.asp?CID=123&CI=403&PI=7797

http://www.displaygifts.com/hotwheels_displaycases.html

just your standard wall display cases... but it may get the idea ball rolling.

 

I've did that with a few Hotwheels.

 

look at some of the posts by the meth here on the hamb. he has some great ideas.

 

A few years ago Dad found some "racks" for lack of a better term. They were metal, and were made to slide the whole packages in, they "stacked" on top of each other. He got them at Meijers ( a local department store) but I haven't seen em for a few years now.

Jay

 

Micheals sells one that's black and sounds just like the one you are discribing.

 

If you want to keep them in nice condition(especially if you plan to have them in the garage) is to find old glass display cases from a retail store. They will be dust free and won't be rolling all over the place. later shawn

 

My dad found an older retired gentleman to make custom wooden display shelves for our collections of open Hot Wheels, I'll take pics in a few, the kids stole all the AA batteries in the house for X-Mas gifts, including the two in my camera.
These shelves display 140 cars each, I have mine in my living room.

 

Those are plastic I believe?

 

Yep, black painted plastic and about $10 bucks and holds 40 cars still in their packages.

 

I have mine in an old printers drawer that I found at Hobby Lobby. It's hanging up sideways on the wall of the garage. All of the little shelves are different sizes and you can take out dividers to fit different size cars.

 

I usually buy these:

http://cgi.ebay.com/JL-Pro-Collecto...ageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem?_trksid=p1638.m118

They interlock to each other...so the display can just keep getting bigger and bigger as your collection grows. You can find them at Walmart, Target & Toys r Us.

 

Had to run by my office and take a couple pics today.
Love the plexi cases....



The lower right is all VW bugs etc, i have a 56 Oval Window driver as well as a hot rod. There i said it! I own a VW ! Trying to quit and have been to bugs AAA for a few meetings but they are still pretty cool??
My office desk is below , its a work bench cabinent from a service bay in a GM Dealer KM tool catalog in 1943....

 

Heres mine, it has a wood back on it, looks like the wall directly behind it, but there is a white wooden back...




My son has these in his room, the plastic one is an actual 'Hot Wheels' brand shelf, the wooden one is a yard sale find...

 

thats so cool ..

 

Who dusts all those open cases for you guys????

 

I try to keep all the 'new' ones in the boxes. Whether they are worth any more or not, but I have a couple thousand Hot Wheels and to display the ones in the blister packs, my dad and I took a 4x8 piece of plywood, cut it into two 4x4 pieces, and laid down the strips you would use for splicing paneling together the exact width of the blister pack. Nice, clean, easy and best of all, CHEAP! Keeps the edges and hanging holes from getting tattered, too.

 

Check your local freecycle message board or craigslist free section and see if you can find a glass top table or glass panes. I've been looking for an old glasstop table. If you find one do what I want to do. Build a box big as big as the glass is, make blocks so that the glass sits flush with the top of your box, put legs on the box and make a little diorama in it.

For now I've got some extras sitting in some old store cardboard displays.

And you think you need to get your Hotwheels out of your closet?

 

Wow chopdtop, you have mor cases than me!
Here is a small view into my storage devises.
The wood one is a great way to display hot wheels if ya don't want to open them.
I'll sell the '32 grill display if anyone wants it.

 

That 32 grill case is awesome!

Sadly, I've got more cases than that. That picture shows 4 stacks that high in the closet, then there are more cases under the stairs in the basement, some cases in a white freestanding closet, some cases against a wall and then there are some boxes of loose stuff under the bed and more loose/customized cars displayed in a tv stand.
That's why I've been busy trying to thin my collection out. I stopped opening my cars in 1982. In middle school I remember walking home and having to stop at K-Mart every week first to look for models and die cast cars. I still remember buying a 33 Willys Matchbox and my neighbors leaving me at the store because they didn't want to go inside with me.

I know, it's a sickness. But how else can I afford to own every hot rod I've ever wanted and some calssics as well?

 

Tell me how to sell my hotwheels. Ebay doesn't seem worth it by the time ya add on shipping. I can't see paying to setup at a show. I would love it if some one would come over or meet me some where and buy all or most of them. That would be great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I sold a bunch through an ad in my local paper, I also did well advertising on craigslist. Its frustrating digging through everything when someone calls or e-mails looking for that one particular car, and I thought I was pretty well organized!

 

It takes time to sell off Hotwheels right now. I do Craigslist and a few of the free auction sites. And I've been customized a lot of them lately.

There were a couple collectors around here that wanted to sell their entire collection in one shot and ended up getting like a quarter a car. The buyer than went through them, pulled everything he wanted to keep then went to the flea market in the next town and sold off as much as he could for a buck each. Near the end of the day he went down to 50 cents each and sold almost all of it by the time he left. But that was a few years ago and I'm sure it's harder now at the flea market. I'll just keep doing what I'm doing and little by little I'm able to get rid of cars here and there.

 

Here is another cool display shelving thing my old friend put together back in the 60's. He did it in such a way so as not to mess with the grill shell at all! Im not sure what year it is, anyone know? I'de sell it also to make some more hotrod money. This grill will shine up nice, I did it 2 or so years ago.