Unusual find at they Toy Shoppe

"BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion" (pbs)
11/10/2013 at 07:39 • Filed to: None

I usually don't post my Hot Wheels finds because they're pretty much the same stuff other people have already posted months before, but this one's worth a mention:

I picked up this AMX at a local toy store thursday afternoon and, being a Red Line Club membership car, these things shouldn't be available in regular shops, let alone a shop located in a lost corner of Brazil. When I took it to the counter, the cashier told me that, even though only the car was hanging, it accompanied a box and a cap as part of some sort of set

But didn't have any more information as to how that set had ended up there. According to the manager, they received a single unit, already tagged and priced, from Mattel and were told to hold onto it as a "promotional item", but, since they were running a shop, not a storehouse, in sale it went.

The receipt, which also acts as a sort of SR20 that I didn't pick it up on eBay, I guess, gave a little more information by classifying the set as a "HW RLC BR TITULO SOCIO" or Hot Wheels Red Line Club Brazil Membership Title, in good old English (and if you look beside "tributos" you'll see I just paid 40% in taxes. Fuck you Brazil).

Anyways, I'm now assuming this set is a leftover from Mattel's ill-fated attempt at opening a Collector's Club in Brazil, way back in 2010. The club only lasted for one drama and grown men whining filled year, and the cars were supposedly sent back to Mattel's offices in the US. One of them made its way to Porto Alegre though, and I think it's safe to assume it wasn't the only one. Now we wait and see if any of the other club offerings have a similar fate or if this was an isolated incident.

DISCUSSION (11)

oldirtybootz > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion
11/10/2013 at 07:42

Wow that's a very interesting find. I love the RLC cars and this one has a great story behind it.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > oldirtybootz
11/10/2013 at 07:47

I know right, I couldn't believe what I was looking at or that it was actually for sale and at a lower price than back in 2010 when the club opened. Back then, membership was a full 60 reais for the same set, plus a membership card.

I was hoping to find a list with the other vehicles offered at the club at the time, but unfortunately the site seems to have been deleted from time-space continuum, though. :/

oldirtybootz > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion
11/10/2013 at 07:51

http://www.southtexasdiecast.com/hwguide/hwc.ht…

Try this one :)

Ghost Dog - For the kittens > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion
11/10/2013 at 07:53

Great find. A guide here that might interest you. Although there isn't a value listed for it now, it might give you an idea of what it'll be worth in the future by looking at the older ones.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > oldirtybootz
11/10/2013 at 07:59

Thanks man, I looked there already, but they only have the american RLC cars listed. They could be the same ones, but I'm not 100% sure on that...

EDIT: Oddly enough, some of the cars I remember seeing at the club at the time (Plymouth Superbird, 68 El Camino) were from as far back as 2007, so I guess "our" Club Cars were a mix of leftovers from previous years of the American RLC.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > Ghost Dog - For the kittens
11/10/2013 at 08:00

Yup, I know about South Texas... :p I'm just not sure the Club cars were the same for Brazil and the US, and only the american side is listed.

oldirtybootz > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion
11/10/2013 at 08:06

Ohhh I didn't realize you meant the Brazil list.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > oldirtybootz
11/10/2013 at 08:11

Yep, I figure the values will be about the same in the future as they're essentially the same cars, but I wanted to see what else I'd find in stores in case other cars start popping up.

This is almost as cool as finding a lost case from the 90's in a store that's closing down, haha...

oldirtybootz > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion
11/10/2013 at 08:39

I found a 2005 First Edition at Walmart last night, but this blows that away. And if I found 90s cars I'd be in heaven.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > oldirtybootz
11/10/2013 at 08:54

While I can't talk from personal experience, as I've never been in the US, I've heard stories about it happening already, in larger stores that get old stuff as return items and smaller stores that keep the shipments boxed simply because demand wasn't high enough when they came in. The ones I've found were always in small toy shops in even smaller towns.

oldirtybootz > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion
11/10/2013 at 08:58

Yeah I'm assuming the one I found was a return. It still rang up for 97 cents with the rest of my cars.