To Hot Wheels Collectors Here

"Walfisch" (walfisch05) 03/28/2014 at 12:03 • Filed to: Hot Wheels

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So, I recently bought and moved in my new home. It's looking a little sparse at the moment, so I'm wondering what kind of interesting stuff I can show off in it, and I remembered there are a few Hot Wheels enthusiasts here. I'm thinking of starting my own collection as well, and using this collection to show off in my new space. I have a couple of questions for the collectors here.

1) Is there currently a catalog available listing all of the released Hot Wheels?

2) How do you guys store your cars? Are they left in their original packaging, or do you open them and on a display case?

3) What should I look out for as far as build quality goes in these cars? I used to own some Matchboxes when I was a kid, and I remember those being made of die-cast metal, and some of them have doors and hood that can be opened.

Any other advice you can throw my way will be appreciated. And here's a nice looking car for your troubles.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Walfisch 03/28/2014 at 12:05

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Hot Wheels in packages (outside of stores) make me sad.

RazoE > Walfisch 03/28/2014 at 12:06

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1) Good place for reference (user contributed):

hotwheels.wikia.com

2) I used to have about 4 drawers full of hotwheels, I displayed a few (only opened if the package was destroyed), but when I moved in with my (now) wife, I had to put them in big plastic bins under the bed/closet, etc. I currently have a wall in the hall with a bunch displayed.

3) Build materials are pretty random. Some castings are in metal, some have plastic bodies with metal bases, some are plastic/plastic, and some are changed half-way through. Some cars have lifting hoods, some are 2 piece (like the mini cooper), etc etc.

philipilihp > Walfisch 03/28/2014 at 12:08

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I don't know about an "official" guide, but I did find this: http://www.southtexasdiecast.com/hwguide.html

It seems to list them all, including values, if you are so inclined.

As for display, I personally open all my hot wheels, since I like to look at them from different angles and use them in photography/stop motion animations. But I always think a nice floating wallshelf with a few of the best/favorite pieces can be really nice. But you can also make dioramas and shit if you are into that!

CPT Speedbump > Walfisch 03/28/2014 at 12:18

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I display mine open, lined up with eachother on a bunnchh of thin shelves over and under eachtoehr, with the hotwheels emblem painted on the wall behind the shelves

Roundbadge > Walfisch 03/28/2014 at 12:20

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I open the majority of mine. The ones I don't open are generally more expensive cars like collectors' editions or Greenlights or whatever. I have a display case that will be going in a hallway, but it'll have to show a rotating portion of my collection as there are way more than what fit in the case. Currently my older cars are in the storage cases I used as a child...the newer ones are in 2-sided plastic thread cases my gf got from JoAnn Fabrics, and lined with felt inside the covers to provide some cushioning when they are turned over.

ddavidn > Walfisch 03/28/2014 at 12:21

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I can never figure out if I like in-package or out better, so for my favorite cars I try to buy two copies, and take one out and play with it. I only have a few out-of-package cars at my work desk. Almost all my cars are in their packages at home, some on a shelf and some in my office closet. I'm looking for some shelving that makes a nice happy home for my favorites, since I have many favorites.

Walfisch > philipilihp 03/28/2014 at 12:24

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I'm actually entertaining the idea of creating a diorama of sorts to display some of the cars, but that's still in the far future. Thanks for the link~!

Walfisch > Roundbadge 03/28/2014 at 12:25

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Do you have a website link showing where I can get these rotating cases?

mycarneverruns87 > Walfisch 03/28/2014 at 12:26

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Rule 1: buy what you like and not what everyone else says to...except to buy what you like lol Be open to anything as there are many cool cars made by all different brands.

If you want Hot Wheels, there are many options. Like RazoE said.... www.hotwheels.com is the place to go for entire car production. Also www.southtexasdiecast.com is a great place to look. Check out the Hot Wheels guide.

I display both carded and not. Carded is easier as you can build a rack to display a ton of cars per square foot. This is how I do mine:

Also, I came up with this recently for some old lose cars:

Taking the cars out of the package is much more fun as you can take cool pics of them in all their glory!

Just have fun with it!

Walfisch > mycarneverruns87 03/28/2014 at 12:30

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That's one hefty collection, kudos! And yeah, if I do take this route, I already have a theme at least for which cars to look out for.

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > Walfisch 03/28/2014 at 12:42

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Ive got a mix going on. Some really cool ones I lesve in pacakge and hang on my walls with pushpins. But they sell little shelfs that you put one screw in and they hold like 20 cars. Heres a pic of my wall, sorry its a mess.
The open ones I put on my desk.

Roundbadge > Walfisch 03/28/2014 at 12:44

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Not really rotating...it's a 2 sided case. I'm pretty sure it's this (warning: arts & crafts link...you may need to drink a beer and punch someone in the face after viewing):

http://www.joann.com/creative-optio…

She got them with a coupon or on sale or something...they didn't cost $15 each. As I mentioned earlier, she also cut out some felt and stuck it inside the lids with spray adhesive to cushion the cars when the case was turned over.

Walfisch > Roundbadge 03/28/2014 at 12:45

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I'm at my work place now, so no alcohol and face bashing allowed. I'll definitely look into this later, thanks!

Roundbadge > Walfisch 03/28/2014 at 12:46

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Don't worry...perfectly safe for work. People may ask questions though.

McLarry > Walfisch 03/28/2014 at 13:02

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I don't really consider myself a collector, but I do enjoy Hotwheels (and other brands) :P I give a bunch to my nephews, but the ones I keep for myself I generally keep at work (my wife doesn't like them at home) and display a few at a time on my desk. I've got about 2 dozen here now, so some are going to have to make their way home eventually :P I say I'm not a 'collector' per se because I don't keep the packaging and I don't look for rare cars or special colors or whatever... I generally only buy 'real world' cars that I appreciate (and hopefully pass that appreciation on to the nephews - I usually have to offer some 'why this car is cool' explanation on models they don't recognize :P). I'm sure none of this is actually helpful, but hey...that's the internet for you :P

Also, (in my opinion of course) 1:18 models generally display better than Hot Wheels and other 1:64 models if you're looking to fill some shelf space.

McLarry > mycarneverruns87 03/28/2014 at 13:04

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Looks like you're missing the red DeLorean. I might know where to find one...

mycarneverruns87 > McLarry 03/28/2014 at 14:21

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lol I have seen it but am not interested in it. I just wanted the regular and BTTF version as i am a huge BTTF nut

McLarry > mycarneverruns87 03/28/2014 at 14:32

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Fair enough. I figured from the size of your collection you might be going for multiple colors. I generally don't, but I have all 3 DeLoreans :P

mycarneverruns87 > McLarry 03/28/2014 at 15:23

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I most certainly do that for some vehicles but not the Delorean in this case.

GRawesome > Walfisch 03/28/2014 at 20:06

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Definitely open the cards. Unopened cards stashed away in boxes always seemed weird to me. As for displaying, I have a few shallow shelves around the house that I put them on.

Carnage717 > Walfisch 03/28/2014 at 20:52

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Like the other said, just buy what you like, I mostly collect muscle cars, some of the newer exotic cars and anything Dodge Viper. I tend to stay away from the corny vehicle that Hot Wheels come up with, but if I ever run across a Homer or some of the Cartoon and movie cars I'll start picking those up as well. If you have plenty of room I would also consider picking up some 1:18 scale. Hot Wheels even has some some pretty cool 1:18 vehicles that no one else seems to make. My favorite Hot Wheels 1:18 is my Dodge Viper Concept.

Here it is

XJDano > Walfisch 04/14/2014 at 23:46

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IT depends on what you want with them. I stopped opening the cars around 1999, I worked at a grocery store that sold them and bought them from time to time, what I thought might be rare, cool, or a collector item in the future. I also had some of my old ones to play with so I decided I wasn't 5 anymore and didn't need to open them.

I am teaching my 3 & 1 year Old girl & boy how to open and try to keep them away from the ones I don't want them to open. I stopped buying around 2001 when I got a better job and put money to jeep parts.

Enjoy.