Art & Inspiration Someone at Matchbox gets it...

Oh no! Now I can play "Highway Patrol" and chase myself around the house, the cats will go crazy! Good work Abe.

 

I always buy two of each if I can find them. That way when my 4 yr old opens them while I’m at work I don’t have to get too ticked. Lol. Plus it fun seeing him actually play with them.


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Hello,

@abe lugo has a pretty cool job. As hard as it is, that seems like working in a candy factory and it is in So Cal, too. All of our lives have been influenced in one way or another by Hot Wheels and Matchbox. Even my son and his family have various Hot Wheels/Matchbox cars still hanging around in boxes. (Our granddaughter still has her own Hot Wheels car, a purple Pontiac she played with, as a toddler, on the sands of Newport Beach, every time we went for a beach outing. (It did not matter what kind of car it was, it happened to be the one she drove through the gates and up the sandy hill to the top of a giant sand castle.)

They were at the El Segundo offices of Mattel a couple of years ago for an interview and toured the allowable factory displays. He said that it was outstanding at what goes into the design and completion of any toy product. This coming from a non car guy influenced by toy cars, that he grew up playing with everyday for hours. His collection is now in the hands of our niece's toddler for further adventures.

What we see is for the most part, a base product. Aren't we all hot rod influenced kids at heart? Those cool hot rods, trucks and station wagons are the starting point for further custom tricks, exchanging wheels, adding rubber tires instead of plastic ones and being real time, hot rod builders/customizers. We take motors from one and add them to another, chop the top or make the alterations for a cool hot rod that is our own design and build, using the original casting as a starting point.

Jnaki
Thanks, Abe for doing what he can, to get what can be, out to the public. Before Abe, there was a guy name Larry Wood that was the envy of all those that he met. He was/is a true hot rod guy and continues to this day.

 

Like you I buy two also. One for me, and one for my 3 year old grandson. The only difference is, we both tear them open and play with them. Lol I may be worse on mine than he is lol. I have the first sweet 16 Hot Wheels, and been collecting them ever since. But I still open them, sometimes as soon as I leave the store.

 

I have to say that I agree with the guys who commented that the wheels and tires are wrong.

Too bad because I probably wouldn’t buy one because of that.

Pretty good to see something like the Rolling Bones hot rod done that way in a little die cast car but some effort should have been made to get the wheels- tires right as we all know that can make or break the look of a car.

The guys who are saying that these are kids toys are right however I think you and they are also aware that plenty of adults collect them.

I have a small number of them about 20 and I’m doing my best to keep it under control.

 

Man, that is awesome!


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ABE! It's you? I was talking to my wife about you and your wife, cause I still have the Belly Tank from your wedding. Good to see you're still kicking around.

 

I have thousands of diecast! And as far as the wheels go, I change them out all the time. I buy anything Hotrod or Custom. Keeps me young at heart...

 

@abe lugo did you and @50Fraud cross paths in the land of orange track...and you gotta know that series of Matchbox must be competing against the fat tired Hotwheels cousins on the same track...you have an interesting career...

 

Great to see you still around! I was buying some cars yesterday and wondering what you were up to?!

 

Great to see you as well Miss! 59 Dodge? Hmmmm

 

Abe , that name sounds familiar and is probably the fellow. if you run into him some guy from Connecticut remembers talking with him.

 

Matchbox is where I started and really like what they are making now,I gave up on Hotwheels a couple years ago and now mainly collecting the new Matchboxes that I like.

 

Hopefully Matchbox will release a 2021 version of this Speed Shop Coupe. Missed out on the 2020 version......long sold out, everywhere I look! Fantastic job, Abe!

 

Got to meet Larry Wood when my brother won the Chicago Legends tour last year. Very nice guy.

 

1/43 scale

 

Mr Lugo. I live in Manhattan Beach. My experience is Supply Chain Management. I can order the papers, pens, and raw materials you need to build your prototype designs at Mattel.

 

don't mess with my Matchbox's.........!!!

 

I think Abe joined Mattel before I retired in 2003 (2004?), but we don't know each other.

 

The wheels on that 1st 3 window / Bones car...aint correct by a long shot!

 

I only look for the Hotrods and Customs, by HotWheels, Matchbox and M2 Machines. There's still some cool being made by all of them. You just have to be able to walk away! hahaha

 

Not Hot Wheels or Matchbox; this one is Maisto. I “bought it for my son...”


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@50Fraud we never got to cross paths. I was doing my hard time at another Die Cast Toy company Before joining Hot Wheels in 2008ish.
I have always checked your builds out here and Larry’s too.
We have crossed paths a few times and do have some mutual acquaintances.

I think Larry is more interested now in the cools cars I get to do, more than the blue teams stuff.

He is always telling me about his new projects. I’m always saying just have a nice one and drive it.

 

Hello,

Matchbox has been busy since 2018 when the first model came out as a chopped 3 window. The market has changed and the new version appeals to a different market. Old is new and the new version goes back farther into the chopped 3 window lore.

Nice job on the overall look. It does not look as off kilter as the 33 Ford coupe with funny side exhaust and tires. That one got painted immediately and real rubber tires and wheels replaced the odd Goodyears. But, who is to criticize, it gave me hours of fun time play and creativity. Now, once I finish it, it will look like how I see hot rods in miniature.


Jnaki
I just happen to get one of the 2020 models, when they were available. But, it has been sitting in my garage cabinet model drawer for a while. Now, I might get going in the new “old style” scallops from those early 50s. A nice new coat of paint, plus new rubber tires and different wheels from the tire box. No harm, no foul to @abe lugo, but they are marketable toys for all types of play and environments.

They just had to have the standard plastic wide front and rear tires, or they would not be from that company. We are old time hot rod guys/girls with plenty of free time to wander into the drawers for 1/64 models to come popping out for some changes. This one does need something. Maybe a version with the nice rubber tires with wheels and hubcaps from the cool drawing on the backer board packaging. If they can be found or made.

The small hubcaps could be made from spun aluminum like real moons or various plastic sources. Cabinet shelf hole plugs, license plate screw caps, or small circular plastic pieces. They are all rubber cemented to a drill and spun slowly to get the right size and shape. Then when finished, it pops right off of the drill heat. Early models of the process were successful, but needed adjustment. Then it was time for a nap. Have been taking one ever since as a means of putting off until we have more time, while “locked in place.”

For those that are wandering around and going places, there is a pandemic going on and we are doing our best to not be a part of it. Those “things” (restaurants, sports, beach, malls…) will still be there when it is absolutely safe to wander again. Be patient and safe.

Working on these 1/64 Matchbox/Hot Wheel designs are a wonderful way to get involved. Thanks for the basic models available. There are probably enough hot rods and trucks in the drawer to go out for a road trip, but they first need to be finished. These days, it is hard to find the time...

 

Some time ago I read an article (in Hemmings?) about the son (grandson?) of the Ertl die cast company talking about his models. He said he obviously had every model conceivable when he was growing up but his most favorite ones were the worn and used ones that he played with. His advice was that the models were to be played with not just to sit on a shelf. Or at least how I remember the article but it was a long time ago.