As Hot Wheels designer, Phil Riehlman broke onto the scene in 1993 when he re-designed the Twin Mill and the Silhouette (along with Bruce Baur). His “big break” came in 1996 when his VW Bus casting became an instant hit with collectors and as a promotional piece. Phil continues to design Hot Wheels to this day.
A lot of Hot Wheels unlicensed cars are based off of real cars. To this collector, its always fun to discover which ones are based off of which ones. The Hot Wheels Fandango was designed by Hot Wheels designer, Phil Riehlman, and is based off of the 2000 […]
One of the most iconic racing cars of all-time would be the 1970 Plymouth Superbird driven by Richard Petty in the 1970 NASCAR Season. Known as “The King”, Richard Petty raced from 1958 to 1992. In a racing career that spanned 34 years, Richard Petty sure drove a […]
The Volkswagen Karmann Ghia was a very affordable European-style sports car that sold from 1955 to 1974. It featured the chassis and modified-engine from the Volkswagen Beetle along with the Euro-styling of Italian car designer, Luigi Segre. When Hot Wheels designer, Phil Riehlman did his take on the classic […]
Yesterday we looked at the Vairy 8, a casting whose rear 8-cylinder crate engine plays a huge role in the casting’s overall character. Today we look at another rear 8-cylinder crate engine casting that was originally introduced in the 2003 First Editions, the 8 Crate. While this version […]
Every-so-often, a Hot Wheels car receives a paint scheme that makes it jump off the pegs at you. This was one for me. The ZAMAC, Black & Red release of the Custom ’67 Ford Mustang Coupe was its initial release and in my humble opinion, still the best. […]
While shooting the Gulf Racing ’09 Corvette ZR1 from yesterday’s article, I remembered this version of the Corvette I had stashed away in one of my many “Jammers” cases. Its satin paint and detailed motor gave it a nice clean, sophisticated, high-end look. That coupled with the fact […]
Gulf Racing is represented once again in the Hot Wheels line as this ’09 Corvette ZR1 from the HW Performance Series wears the color scheme perfectly. This version of the ’09 Corvette ZR1 has just hit stores and collectors have already begun snatching these up. Can we blame […]
When castings are given HotWheelsCollectors.com’s “RLC Treatment” it is considered to be the pinnacle of quality in the Hot Wheels realm. Some castings become collectible and are given the treatment, some castings are resurrected from the redline days, and some castings are simply born into it. The latter […]
In 1969, Pontiac released its GTO with a new trim level called, “The Judge” which was oddly enough derived from a comedy routine. Make no mistake as the ’69 Pontiac GTO or “The Judge” was no laughing matter. This beast of raw power and pure muscle car strength […]
Some Hot Wheels collectors out there are called “Error Junkies” or “Variation Spotters”. They are in search of Mattel’s mistakes on the assembly line. This particular ’68 Chevy Nova is special in two ways. It is a variation of the 2009 Faster Than Ever Series release in that […]
ORANGE TRACK DIECAST 