Articles on Toys | Topics: toys, toy
by Julien Britt
More than thirty-five years ago, Mattel announced the production of a new toy, Hot Wheels. These cars were the smaller versions of the muscle cars found on the West Coast of Southern California. These miniature Hot Wheels, were and still are today, an enormous success with the young and older kids of today. Along with the Hot Wheels, Mattel produced the elaborate tracks with tight turns, flips, loops, and jumps much to the immense delight of young children everywhere. Today there are many avid collectors of the classic Hot Wheels.
Buying the full size hot rod is quite costly and today the collector's edition of Hot Wheels will cost you more than if you were to buy a brand new car. Through the on-line auction of eBay, these collectors edition Hot Wheels will sell for more than seventy-thousand dollars for one classic Hot Wheel!
The joy that comes to kids who are enthralled with Hot Wheels is not limited to the excitement of watching these cars race up, down, around, over, and through the hundreds of cool tracks available, it is also the fact that many of the cars come with removable wheels and other parts. Remember that Hot Wheels is not limited to cars alone. There are a wide variety of trucks and motorcycles as well. The list is quite long and to the parent may be confusing. The child does not find them confusing at all, they know exactly what they want and can walk into any toy store go directly to the Hot Wheels and pick out their favorites.
Several collectors prefer the Redline series of Hot Wheels that represent the years of 1968 through 1972, which are classics. This series of cars came with red stripes on the wheels and bearings for low friction suspension. The thin axles are used to make them go faster. The color and paint of the car made it clear that it was for speed; for example, the paint was a metallic sheen and this served to excite young enthusiasts the world over. Soon you could get your favorite car in as many colors with as many different types of racing stripes as you wanted since Mattel began producing the same car with a variety of looks. As the cars continued to improve, the tracks became more elaborate.
To race an electric-powered car became a new thrill for kids. Slot Car Racing has the cars on a track with grooves that guide them. The kids use a hand-held remote control to move the cars along the track at various speeds to the delight of kids everywhere. Many of them tried to see how fast they could take those curves without wiping out; we all know of course that the "wipe-out" is the best part of racing cars.
| Bit of History |
For should your hands drop white and empty
All the toys of the world would break.
| —John Frederick Nims (b. 1913) |
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If the kids wanted to, they could build a racetrack that resembled real life with foliage, buildings, obstacles, and more. Miniature slot cars where designed after the full-size counterpart and allowed kids to build, create, take apart, and make the slot car of their dreams. There are common scale sizes for the slot car; for example, 1:24, 1:32, and the collector of these models have their preferences.
During the 1960s, the slot cars built 1:87 to scale and their intended use was for accessories for model trains. Slot car enthusiasts wanted the cars also for use with indoor tracks. This led to the development of larger versions that are not built to scale but that has not lessen the enjoyment of the younger crowd.
In conclusion, miniature racecars in any form will always be a success with the younger and older crowds who enjoy collecting and racing. The parents with children interested in these cars know all too well how exciting they can be as they have tracks of every shape, size, and color all over the house, yards, and garages. The kids often will have their friends over who will bring their favorite Hot Wheels and sometimes even track pieces with them and the fun begins and will last for hours on end. One advantage to these cars is that they never go out of style.
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Please note: All personal opinions expressed in the "Hot Rods - Toy Cars and Fun Race Tracks" article belong to the contributing author and are not necessarily shared by ToysGiftsPresents.com. |
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