Tag: Unlicensed Hot Wheels

Unlicensed Hot Wheels are Hot Wheels castings that don’t require licensing agreements with automobile manufacturers. These can be fantasy vehicles and/or realistically proportioned vehicles. These are designed in-house by Hot Wheels designers.

Diecast Motorsports

1998 First Editions: HOT SEAT

The Hot Seat lives in Hot Wheels infamy due to its absurd concept and grotesque nature. Some collectors hate it, some collectors love it, some collectors just love to hate it. Whatever your idea is of it now, I actually remember this being quite a hot casting back in […]

Diecast Motorsports

Gleam Team: SHERIFF PATROL

Before the modern-day Hot Wheels segment series came about in 1995, subsets such as the Gleam Team were groupings of special mainline vehicles. The Gleam Team of 1992, featured 5 cars with colored-chrome, textured bodies (made of plastic). This 3D patterns molded into the bodies were pretty unique […]

Diecast Motorsports

2004 First Editions: RAPID TRANSIT

Sometimes designers of an unlicensed casting are the best suited when it comes to overall execution of that casting. Back in 2004, the Hot Wheels casting, Rapid Transit, seemed to jump right off the pegs and into my hands. I thought this Phil Riehlman designed car was super cool given […]

Diecast Motorsports

Hot Wheels Workhorses: AIRPORT RESCUE

Its been 30 years since the Airport Rescue last appeared, and a behemoth of this nature will never see the Hot Wheels mainline again. Sporting a metal body and metal chassis, the Airport Rescue you see below was released as part of the Hot Wheels Workhorses in 1981. It is […]

Diecast Motorsports

Heat Fleet Series: RIG WRECKER

Known as the Ramblin’ Wrecker for this release, the Rig Wrecker was a semi-popular Hot Wheels casting until it was retired in 2002 2003. Originally slated to be “final run’d” in 2002, the line was dropped by Toys R Us early in the year and it ended up appearing […]

Diecast Motorsports

AcceleRacers: ROLLIN’ THUNDER

Yesterday we looked at the world of the AcceleRacers and how they brought us some rather “imaginative” castings that eventually found their way into the Hot Wheels mainline. Today, we look at another casting released in that same Metal Maniacs series from within the AcceleRacers line. The AcceleRacers line […]

Diecast Motorsports

AcceleRacers: HOLLOWBACK

10 years ago, the AcceleRacers debuted much to the dismay of the Hot Wheels collecting community as it was a followup to the Highway 35 World Race of 2003 that featured a lineup of first edition unlicensed fantasy castings. Where the HWY 35 World Race succeeded in telling a […]