Harry Bradley's Hot Wheels....

I do still have my Hot Wheels waste paper can I got for Christmas as a kid.

 

I still find the early HWs cars at some local antique stores, obviously more $ now, but I have snagged a few at bargain prices if you look hard enough...

I went through my boys plastic containers a few years back and found survivors which I separated out ...so when they are 56 yo like me they can do what they want with them...

 

My Ol man beat my ass a couple times , using a section from one of myhot wheels tracks ...... Just had to get that out man ..... thanks guys

 

I went to work at Mattel in 1968, while Hot Wheels were in their first season. Harry Bradley had already left the company, and Ira Gilford was the guy who did the Vicky, the A Woody, Twinmill, Splittin' Image, and several more. He, too, left after a couple of years, and Larry Wood came on board in '69 for a 40-year run. There have probably been about 75 designers who've worked on Hot Wheels since they were introduced, but Harry set the bar and Larry was the soul of the product line for decades.

Harry used to come to Hot Wheels conventions (I had never seen those convention posters before, Rik; thanks for posting those) and sign autographs, but a few years ago he got mad at Hot Wheels and cars generally, and left the whole scene for good. To this day he will not sign autographs or do anything that has to do with cars. I have no idea what set him off.

edit: I still buy an occasional Hot Wheels model at retail -- the line is 42 years old, and I'm 70!!

 

When i was a kid, i loved Hot Wheels! So, my dad took me to my grandparents attic and bestowed the greatest gift I could have imagined... his original hot wheels redline wheel shaped case and all of his complete orange track set! It was awesome!!!

I am 26, now. and I still have all of it....and someday my kids will, too

 

I sold my Orignal Redlines (96 of them) on Ebay in 2005/6 for a grand total of $12,317... And now I could buy them off of Ebay for probably $300

 

I am a recovering addict.... Hot Wheels rule.. my fondest memory is going to the Sagus swapment in Ca.with my mother, I would sometiming have enough allowance to buy a hotwheel. the first one I bought there an in the blister redline vw bus, still have it today sitting in my toy cabinet next to my woodies... my collection of in the blister cars grew to be a few thousand and I finally had to stop.. no room and to much money tied up into it. Occassionally I will buy a Hotwheel but I now only collect redline woodies preferably in the blister as part of my Woodie Toy collection.

I am always looking for a color I do not have..

 

My Deora is floating down the Milwaukee River on a frigate belonging to my buddy.We lost sight of it and if anybody has seen it,let me know

 

It always blows me away when i hear how much passion there is for hotwheels out there in the "adult" world. I'm lucky enough to be the current VP of design for the brand, following in Tony"s (40Fraud) footsteps and counting the great Larry Wood as one of my (part time now) staff.

I meet people all the time who are big names in the hot rod industry and when i tell them what i do they almost all have the same reaction......

"if it wasn't for Hotwheels i wouldnt be doing what i do now...it all started with my first Hotwheels...."

I'm very proud of my guys and our brand and the generations of hot rodders it has inspired.....I still cant believe i sit at this desk to be honest, I'm one of those guys who's life changes the first time a rolled a Hotwheels car down a track......

Felix

 

I was more of a Matchbox guy for some reason, but once when my folks took me to the Salvation Army, I scored a 1969 Hot Wheels track set for pretty much nothing.

Think it's still in my dad's attic.

 

I remember the first one I got. I got it at jack in the box, I think it was called the jack rablbit. I wish I still had it. I had a lot of Matchbox and Hot wheels. I would buy them all the time ,my buddies would sell them. I had some really old ones. I could buy them used from 10 cents up. I got a really old matchbox wrecker I think that was based on a 50s truck. I had hundreds of them. Back in the 70s I use to buy every matchbox that came out. I think they had 100 in production each year. there for a while I had every one. I would save every penny I found. I probably had beetween 500 and 1000 hot wheels and matchbox cars. When I got older my nephews would steal everyone I had. I wanted to keep them but they found them. I still have about 100 of them. Ialso remember a big thing in the late 60s or 70s I always wanted but never got. If I remember it was a carrying case shaped like a indy car. Maybe Johny Rutherfords car or something the best I remember. I think it was a promotion by sprite maybe? I always wanted one but never was able to get it. I think I was like 5 or 6 then.Does anyone remember it?

 

I'm 48, and still buy 'em regularly. They're still cheap as dirt, too-- at least, the "plain" ones are. The "Dragstrip Demons" are around 5 bucks, but are damn fine replicas of actual cars.

 

I bought seven more HotWheels today! Ha-ha! I'm 37 and a guy about ten years older than me was standing behind me itching to get to them. He looked like he was starting to sweat, so I stepped aside. Funny thing: I never noticed for the last ten years or so, I always seem to look for pre-64 cars. Weird... I would walk right past the Matchbox. Still don't like them. One of my favorites was the white and blue tow truck. I bet I had five of them over the years. I would tow all my cars around with them.

 

hot wheels killed slot cars ... there i said it ...

it was tuff to push a slot car around on your school desk...
wonder if the nun's still have my early redlines in her desk drawer...

 

Wow, what great memories
I was 8 when they came out and I remember it like it was last week.
I had them all and passed along my (banged and scratched) collection to my Son, including the Boss Hoss and Jack Rabbit specials, and my original Hot Wheels club certificate and catalog.
I recall shouting "lets stop and look for Hot Wheels" any time we were out for a drive in a different part of town (Detroit) back in the day and I spotted a KMart, Kresge, etc.

We'd pass hours away in the basement during Winter with tons of track and "Superchargers" to get the cars through a longer run.

I'd bring extras to school for trade. Even back then, Mattel did randow distribution. I recall when we moved to Socal in '70, I mailed back a slew of Police cars to my cousin in trade for Paddy Wagons because neither of us could find them in our regions.

 

Todays Hot Wheels in general look like shit, once in a while they come out with a near car look .
Maybe I'm just getting old . Anyone else feel me?

 

Still have most of mine along with my Double SuperCharger race set, when my son was little I set it up for him, he loved how the cars shot around the track, not sure who was having more fun him or me, one thing about the Harry Bradley story, Ed Roth was the designer and builder of Beatnik Bandit.

 

Still have most of mine along with my Double SuperCharger race set, when my son was little I set it up for him, he Loved how the cars shot around the track, not sure who was having more fun him or me, one thing about the Harry Bradley story, Ed Roth was the designer and builder the Beatnik Bandit.

 

X-mas 1969....my mom bought me every car in every color! I still have all of them!!!
AND about 9500 more,hahaha! I was hooked and still am! Don't buy as many as I used to,but always have room for Customs and Hot Rods. 250+ Mercs of all brands and scales. Yep....it's a disease......!

 

I still have my metal Hot Wheels badge, with unbroken tab. I think it's an orange '33 Vicky. Wish I still had all the cars though

 

Geez, I'm surprised how many still have cars from when they were young!

Every Christmas I would ask for another Hot Wheels set up of one kind or another.
My Mother would roll her eyes and say, "Oh no! Not more track!"

 

My first Hot Wheels car was the Python (Cheetah) in purple. I got it for Christmas 1968 when I was 5 years old. The one I really wanted was the Hot Heap. Over the next few years I got all the hotrod models plus a bunch of others. I know for a fact that Hot Wheels were the basis for my love of hotrods. All my original ones were played with till they died but I've since bought replacements for most of them.

 

Many of us that have been on here for a while knew you were involved but as an almost 41 year old kid I want to personally thank YOU and all teh other UNHERALDED designers that still bring a smile to our faces to this day! LilT is pushing 4 and thanks to my dad brother has a larger collection than ANY of us two ever had. Kid keeps trying to get my Bruce Meyer collection of of teh display case tho! DOH!?<>#&^

 

Four boys in my family. We have no surviving original hot wheels, or any of the cool accessories. We wore all that stuff out LOL.

When I was a kid, I think in 69 or 70, I drew up a design for a couple of cars and some ideas for track designs. No I wasnt any kind of artist ... they looked like a kid drew em =) My mom mailed em to Mattel for me. I actually got a very cool letter back from them on either Mattel or Hot Wheel logo letter head paper (Too long ago to remember lol). They thanked me for my designs and said they would be put into consideration.

Unfortunately, like our old hot wheels the letter is long gone. Sure would be cool to still have it. I wonder who's signature was on it?

 

"Todays Hot Wheels in general look like shit, once in a while they come out with a near car look .
Maybe I'm just getting old . Anyone else feel me?"

I agree.

I do love the premium line they did with the Willy Gassers and such,though.

Back in the day I got my first Hot Wheels at Christmas. I believe they came from the Sears Catalog in 4 car sets. I got the Hot Heap and that Purple El Camino,a Metallic Blue Vette,etc.
Every kid I knew collected them back then. I was right around the age where you were kind of supposed to be too old for that stuff,11-12 but I didn`t care. I loved those cars!
I was a Matchbox collector before that,but never bought another one after the Hot Wheels hit the scene.

 

I used to get all those redlines for free because my Aunt worked at the Mattel plant in Industry/Puente. I had the tracks and those superchargers. I had a big set up but I wore the hell out of them and I don't have a single one now. By the way tcpglobal sells that chrome color paint by the gallon.

 

HahaHa. had to laugh cause we had tons of that orange track laying all over the house, when we were bad one of us 3 boys would get the track
it was flexable and soft enough not to do any major damage but would sting like the dickens and leave a double edge red mark.

 

Love this thread. . .Born in `68 and HotWheels were a part of my life for the whole time.

When I was 3 or 4, I got the Snake/Mongoose F/C set. That one went missing during a move. We moved a bunch of times when I was that age.

Favorite one as a kid was Heavy Chevy, had a yellow redline one just like the pic. My kid cousin stole it and lost it. My uncle felt bad, and replaced it for me, but by that time, the car was chrome, and no longer redline .

In `76 my kid brother and I got Thundershift 500 for Christmas. That set actually required a little bit of timing/skill Played the snot out of it, until the blue sections of track eventually broke. In the late 90s, I picked up a new Thundershift 500, and today, my 8 and 6 year old boys play with it for hours. They try out (qualify) their different cars, to see which work best (flat back and short wheelbase is best. . .was when I was a kid and is now).

Last pic is my sons' Twinmill next to my old one.

 

Two pictures I had of Hotwheel in my woodie toy cabinet