Archive for category: Hot Wheels

At last count, I have unearthed over 16,000 Original One Owner Redline Hot Wheels in the past 29 years and counting.  In 2021, I am on pace to eclipse over 1000+ Original Redline Hot Wheels brought to light.

So here we go with some of my most interesting and amazing cars that I’ve dug up since 1992.

The 31 Classic Woody Prototype?

Controversy has surrounded this piece since I brought it to light in the Spring of 2020.  The car looks like the old “Huckster” wagons of yesteryear.  The back was expertly cut off along with a beautiful oval window machined carefully out of the rear portion of the cab.  The thing that struck me as leaning towards the Prototype school of thought is how the transition is so incredibly crafted from the roof to the back bed.  There is no defined area where the two pieces join.  Smooth as silk.  There have been three other documented and identical pieces in different colors and condition that have been discovered over the years in original collections that also had ties to former Mattel employees from the sixties and seventies, as did this car.  The Redline community is still scratching its collective head over this one.  It is in Blister Pak fresh condition, as well.

Lite Blue OLDS 442

This beauty was found in an original one-owner childhood collection of around 80 total cars in southern New Jersey in the Fall of 2020.  There are two schools of thought when it comes to this casting and color.  Some say that Lite Blue was never produced as part of the rainbow of colors for the OLDS 442 and others disagree that this was truly a planned and produced color for the casting.  If you put a Lite Blue Olds 442 next to a regular blue Olds 442, the difference is very apparent.  I leave the argument alone for now, but I do believe the color was produced as part of the color palate for the Olds 442 way back in 1970.

Purple Non-Painted Roof White Interior 36 Ford Coupe

It’s certainly no secret that Purple is my favorite color when it comes to the REDLINE Hot Wheels.  This car is no exception.  However, this car was discovered in the Western Iowa collection in the Spring of 2020.  The amazing thing about this car is that not only is it the rare variation of having a white interior and the roof left naked from the black paint, but also the back part of the rumble seat was left light purple and unpainted.  In my almost three decades of collecting, I have never seen this combination on the 36 Ford Coupe.  Some in the hobby who have seen the car say that it is an early production car and some, like me, believe it to be a prototype.  See the pictures and decide for yourself.  Good luck finding another.

Orange Classic Cord

I wrote about this piece in my book, REDLINE ARCHEOLOGY, as part of the Tacony, Pennsylvania collection that I purchased around twenty years ago.  I’m not sure where this car ended up after I sold it as part of a larger grouping of cars around 15 years ago, but whoever has it, has one of the rarest cars in the hobby.  The story behind the car was that the original owner was buying Hot Wheels for his nephew after his father passed away, which was the gentleman’s brother.  He could not find a handful of cars in the local toy stores and department stores around Philadelphia like the Custom Mustang, Custom Cougar, Red Baron, Beach Bomb and, of course, the Classic Cord.  He went ahead and wrote Mattel Inc. in Hawthorne, California a detailed letter and expressed his plight.  He told me that it took a few months for Mattel to get back to him, but when they did, they sent him all of the 8 cars mentioned in his letter and in all kinds of crazy colors.  When I bought his entire collection, he presented me with the original box with the 8 cars still in it.  They were all loose and out of the package, but the Orange Classic Cord was one of them.  I literally almost fell off my chair.  I know that people do not believe that this car exists in this color, but myself, along with a handful of collectors have seen and held this car in our hands.  It was verified as original from everyone, including myself.  Maybe one day the car will surface again for the whole Hot Wheels collector world to see.

In an upcoming blog I will give everyone a private tour of my personal collection that has taken me 30 years to assemble.  Only the Best of the Best!  I hope you enjoyed this blog.  I encourage each of you to comment below and SHARE this website.  Let’s keep the hobby fun and interesting!  Happy collecting!!

Remember, it’s all about the “Hunt” and “Capture!”

 

If you have the old REDLINE Hot Wheels and are thinking of selling them, Look No Further!

You now ask yourself the age old question:  “How do I sell my old Hot Wheels?”

Here at REDLINE ARCHEOLOGY, we will appraise your collection, at NO COST and NO OBLIGATION, and make the highest offer in the hobby for your cars, if they are from the years we are looking for, 1967 – 1977.

With almost 30 years of diggin’ up original one owner childhood Hot Wheels collections from the sixties and seventies, REDLINE ARCHEOLOGY is the only place to have your old Hot Wheels appraised by one of the most successful collectors in the hobby, Bob Young.  Bob has recently authored a book titled:

“REDLINE ARCHEOLOGY:

A History of Diggin’ Up Original Hot Wheels Collections”

Available on AMAZON, Barnes & Noble and now WALMART!

Call us anytime @ 856.912.2463 or visit us @ www.RedlineArcheology.com

I always seem to reflect back on certain collections that have really left an indelible mark on me over the past, almost three decades of searching for original Redline Era Hot Wheels collections that haven’t seen the light of day in over fifty years.  It’s funny how some collections, if it weren’t for my cataloging over the years, would be lost forever, but then there are other collections that you remember like it was yesterday.  I’ve decided to write about the TOP 5 collections I’ve had the honor and privilege of bringing to light and placing in the hands of many collectors over the years.  Chances are, that you have one, if not many cars, in your personal collection that I have personally unearthed over the years.  At last count, I have unearthed over 15,000 Original One Owner Redline Hot Wheels in the past 28 years.  In 2020, I am on pace to eclipse over 1000 Redline Hot Wheels brought to light.

So here we go with one of my most memorable finds since 1992.

The TUCSON ARIZONA COLLECTION

Ahh, I remember that day well…. It was on a Tuesday in May….. May 2, 2017 to be exact.  The call came in at approximately 3pm that glorious day.  The nice gentleman on the other end of the line introduced himself and went on to explain that he and his wife had recently picked up five cases of old Hot Wheels at a yard sale in Tucson, AZ.  He said that he had went to a couple local collectors who had only offered him $1000 for all five cases.  He said that he just felt that they were worth more in his mind.  Something didn’t feel right to him when one of the collectors became very angry when he would not accept the offer.  He stated that it raised a huge red flag for him.  He then said that he found me on the internet and loved the website www.RedlineArcheology.com and decided to call me.  Boy am I glad he did!

Our conversation went on for at least 30 minutes talking about everything from what he did for a living, to his grandchildren that lived close to where I was working at the time in Orange County California.  Towards the end of the conversation, we discussed how he came upon this amazing collection and how he and his wife acquired the old Redline Hot Wheels.  He explained that he and his wife were out doing their yard sales as they’ve always done on weekends for the past thirty plus years, and stumbled upon these five cases of Hot Wheels.  There was an elderly woman who was selling them for $10 per case.  The gentleman said that he only had forty dollars on them and offered her $8 per case.  The woman didn’t hesitate and took the money.  Unbelievable to say the least.  Well, this is where I got involved after he and his wife shopped the collection for a couple of weeks with zero luck.  That part, as a passionate collector, still boggles my mind.  How anyone that knows and understands the rarity and value of a collection like this, could let it slip through their fingers.  Lucky for me, I guess.

I asked the gentleman, as I always do, to either email or text message me pictures of each car from both sides, top, bottom, front and back.  I didn’t realize the amount of work that I just placed on him but he kindly obliged.  I always instruct people to make sure the pictures of the Hot Wheels are in focus, hi-resolution, and well lit.  His pictures were amazing.  Incredibly, the first picture that appeared in my email was a HOT PINK Classic Cord with seven more Cords to follow.  This was a sign of things to come.  REALLY GOOD THINGS TO COME.  I almost passed out, and this was only the first time getting lightheaded as I navigated the 1000 + pictures of 283 Redline Hot Wheels.  Yes, I just said 283 Redline Hot Wheels.  If you are as passionate as I am when it comes to these gems, you certainly have laid your head on a pillow at night and have dreamt of a collection just like this.  I can almost guarantee it.  Additionally, and most definitely, we, as collectors, dream of going back in time with lots of cash and buying case after case of Redline Hot Wheels from our favorite department store of the sixties.  Come on, admit it.

Needless to say, I was so excited to see all the pictures as they came through one email at a time.  It took the gentleman about 3 days to get all the pictures over to me.  It was one of the most memorable experiences I’ve had as a collector in over 28 years.  I began the appraisal process and made sure I put in the time and effort to do it right like I always do.  I called the gentleman back a couple days later and made him the offer.  He said, and I quote, “If you are going to pay me that amount, I will drive the cars out to you in California.”  True story.  He had his family close by where my office was located in Irvine, CA.  I met him at a local Starbucks and met him and his wife.  My heart was beating out of my chest.  I asked them if they’d like anything to eat or drink and kindly obliged to their wishes.  Something amazing happened after we exchanged Benjamins and the five cases of some of the cleanest, rarest, and most amazing Redline Hot Wheels that I’ve seen in one place in my entire career of collecting up until that point.

As we said our goodbyes, I rounded up the five heavy cases of Hot Wheels and started walking to my car when I heard the gentleman yelling to me….”Hey, Bob, not sure if you want this little bag of trash or not, but it was in one of the cases when I bought them.”  I said sure, why not.  It was a plastic little baggie that looked like it had some wheels, axles, sticker sheets and parts of the interiors to some cars.  I didn’t give it another thought as I was on Cloud Nine the entire hour ride home to my house in San Diego.  I floated home.  When I got home, I immediately started to go through the collection and laid them all out by casting in the dozens trays from the stack cases.  I proceeded to take some pictures to catalog this amazing, once in a lifetime collection.  Once I finished taking all the pictures, I was sitting down at the counter in the kitchen where I had all 283 cars laid out.  The most amazing part of the collection was the tray of eight Classic Cords and four OLDS 442s.

I glanced to my right and I saw the little plastic baggie of “trash” and decided to go through it as I opened a bottle of red wine to celebrate this discovery.  Well, this was certainly not only the icing on the cake, but it was the whole bakery.   As I started going through the contents, I noticed sticker sheet after sticker sheet.  There were over one hundred “Flower” sticker Sheets, one hundred “Spoiler” sticker sheers, fifty “Grand Prix” sticker sheets, AND drumroll please….. twenty two OLDS 442 sticker sheets.

I was left speechless.  How in the world did this gentleman who had this collection, first of all amass the quality and amount of cars and secondly, where did all the sticker sheets come from.

After some research, it was discovered that the gentleman who owned the collection had passed away and was a former Mattel employee back in the sixties and seventies.  His wife was the one who sold the cars to the gentleman who sold them to me.  The rest, as they say, is REDLINE ARCHEOLOGY History…

I would be remiss if I didn’t share the highlights of this incredible collection with all of you, so here goes:

8 Classic Cord, 4 OLDS 442, 2 OHS Mustangs, Zamac Custom VW, 2 Pink Skyshow Fleetside, 3 Custom Camaro, 6 Custom Barracudas, 5 Custom Cougar, 3 Custom Corvette, 5 Custom Mustang, Four Custom Charger, 6 P917, Prototype C-111, 11 73’s including  a Snake and Mongoose.  ALL BP Fresh cars!

So, as you can see, the stuff is still out there waiting to be discovered.  A collection and more importantly, an experience I will never forget.

In an upcoming BLOG I will give everyone a Private Tour of my personal collection that has taken me 30 years to assemble.  Only the Best of the Best!  I hope you enjoyed this BLOG.  I encourage each of you to comment below and SHARE this website.  Let’s keep the hobby fun and interesting!  Happy collecting!!

Remember, it’s all about the “Hunt” and “Capture!”

If you have the old REDLINE Hot Wheels and are thinking of selling them, Look No Further!

You now ask yourself the age old question:  “How do I sell my old Hot Wheels?”

Here at REDLINE ARCHEOLOGY, we will appraise your collection, at NO COST and NO OBLIGATION, and make the highest offer in the hobby for your cars, if they are from the years we are looking for, 1967 – 1977.

With almost 30 years of diggin’ up original one owner childhood Hot Wheels collections from the sixties and seventies, REDLINE ARCHEOLOGY is the only place to have your old Hot Wheels appraised by one of the most successful collectors in the hobby, Bob Young.  Bob has recently authored a book titled:

“REDLINE ARCHEOLOGY:

A History of Diggin’ Up Original Hot Wheels Collections”

Available on AMAZON, Barnes & Noble and now WALMART!

Call us anytime @ 856.912.2463 or visit us @ www.RedlineArcheology.com

Excerpted from the August 1, 2020 issue of “The Hustle” by Zachary Crockett

 

The Indiana Jones of Hot Wheels

Rare Hot Wheels can be tough to find, so super collectors sometimes have to rely on the scavengings of expert dealers like Bob Young.

Based outside of Philadelphia, Young is a man of many talents. He spent years directing physician’s assistant courses while simultaneously launching a geese-removal franchise with a team of Border Collies. Now 60 and semi-retired, he runs the website Redline Archeology in between joy rides in his Ferrari California.

Young is something of a Hot Wheels broker: He specializes in hunting down vintage, one-owner collections that have been sitting around for decades in basements, attics, closets, garages, and storage units.

“Basically, I’m like the Indiana Jones of Hot Wheels,” he says.

Young got his start in the mid-90s by running ads in local papers. Then a struggling high school athletic trainer, he netted so much cash reselling Hot Wheels that he was able to pay off his school loans and install a backyard pool.

Today, most of his leads come through SEO traffic to his website.

Once in touch with a seller, he’ll appraise the collection and offer 50% to 70% of its market value. He’ll then contact his buddy Woody Itson, a retired BMX stunt rider and Hot Wheels collector in Dallas, who buys his items in bulk for 75% of the market value and sells the cars individually.

In one recent deal, Itson bought a collection from Young for $32.5k. Young doubled his investment and Itson was able to net a $9k profit.

Young prefers to incubate himself from serious collectors, who he says can sometimes be pretentious, demanding, and aggressive.

“It’s hard to find people to trust in the Hot Wheels world,” he says. “You’ve got a bunch of charlatans out there, people who will slit your throat to get their hands on these cars.”

Young is less than convinced about the valuations some collectors put on their personal collections.

“A lot of these guys pay way too much money, then have a real surprise when they find out what they go for on the market,” he says. “Hot Wheels are like stocks: The price fluctuates constantly, based on what other people are paying.”

If you have the old REDLINE Hot Wheels and are thinking of selling them, Look No Further!

You now ask yourself the age old question:  “How do I sell my old Hot Wheels?”

Here at REDLINE ARCHEOLOGY, we will appraise your collection, at NO COST and NO OBLIGATION, and make the highest offer in the hobby for your cars, if they are from the years we are looking for 1967 – 1977.

With almost 30 years of diggin’ up original one owner childhood Hot Wheels collections from the sixties and seventies, REDLINE ARCHEOLOGY is the only place to have your old Hot Wheels appraised by one of the most successful collectors in the hobby, Bob Young.  Bob has recently authored a book titled “REDLINE ARCHEOLOGY” “A History of Diggin’ Up Original Hot Wheels Collections” now available on AMAZON + Barnes & Noble. 

Call us anytime @ 856.912.2463 or visit us @ www.RedlineArcheology.com

If you’ve read my book, REDLINE ARCHEOLOGY – “A History of Diggin’ Up Original Hot Wheels Collections”, you would already know my secrets to finding the old original Hot Wheels collections from the sixties and seventies.  If you haven’t, then this BLOG is for you!

When I began collecting as an adult back in the early nineties, I came up with an approach to attempting to locate these beauties in the wild, per se.  By saying “In the Wild”, I truly mean finding original one-owner childhood collections in people’s basements, attics, closets, garages, storage units, etc.  The approach that I came up with back in the day was to place a simple two- line classified ad in the “WANTED TO BUY” section of a local newspaper called the Courier-Post.  I almost threw in the towel after spending $111.00 on the first weeklong ad that I placed, when, it finally happened: the phone rang on a Sunday morning, and on the other end was a woman from Woodbury, NJ who asked if I was the guy who buys “Hot Wheels.”  I replied with a nervous, excited, and resounding “YES”.

The woman went on to describe the orange 24 “car” Hot Wheels carrying case to me, and I knew that this was exactly what I envisioned and was hoping for: an original one-owner collection of the most amazing toy car line ever created, in my humble opinion.  I proceeded to ask her to turn a few cars upside down and tell me the names of the models of the cars.  She proceeded to do so and described a Heavyweight and two other redlines that I knew very well from my childhood.  We agreed upon a time to meet up, and the rest, as they say, is REDLINE History!

 

Fast Forward almost thirty years later and you can safely assume that I no longer place hundred dollar classified ads in the local paper to find these original collections.  This is true.  I’m asked all the time by other collectors, “How the ____ do you do it?”  It’s really never been a secret, but I guess, with all my success over the years, people think that I’m hiding something.  Well, I can assure you that I’ve never hid how I find collections, and do not to this day.

 

The evolution of the way I collect the original Hot Wheels has brought me to this point.  I have always had to adjust to the changing world and the advancements in technology.  I know this sounds a little crazy, but it has impacted the way I go about finding these amazing original collections that I always share with the Redline Hot Wheels collector world.  I’m sure that with all the cars that I’ve been responsible for diggin’ up over the years, that you may actually own one or many of the cars that have passed through my hands originally.  I’ve literally discovered over 15,000 cars conservatively in my career as a collector, and the number continues to grow with each passing year.

My approach continues to evolve, even to this day.  Currently, I am, with the help of my website designer and SEO consultants, overhauling and converting my very cool and informative website www.RedlineArcheology.com to the latest and greatest format, while adding some really cool new features as well.  This is all being done to drive more individuals to my site for information about the original Hot Wheels as well as people who may be looking to sell their childhood collections.

It is a constant battle to keep up on search engine optimization, plus other new things added all the time.  It can get very time consuming and expensive, but to me, it’s always been worth it.  This go around I am adding a “Comment” feature to this BLOG section along with a new interactive CHAT feature.  Needless to say, the internet presence, frequent SEO analysis, Social Media marketing, are the main cogs in the wheel of uncovering original collections that haven’t seen the light of day in over five decades.

The cost can be quite restrictive for a lot of people who’d like to get into finding these original collections.  Don’t get down because you may not have the funds to do something like this.  It’s truly not for most collectors.  There is hope and there are other ways of finding original collections that don’t require anything except your time and sweat.  I will cover this topic in a future BLOG.

I would love to hear your comments below.  Please take the time and let’s keep this hobby fun and exciting.  The Redline Hot Wheels certainly deserve it!

Next time I will discuss my personal collection and why I have kept the cars I have from so many that have passed through my hands over the last thirty years.  Thanks for stopping by and Happy Hunting!  Remember, it’s all about the “Hunt” and “Capture!”

If you have the old REDLINE Hot Wheels and are thinking of selling them, Look No Further!

You now ask yourself the age old question:  “How do I sell my old Hot Wheels?”

Here at REDLINE ARCHEOLOGY, we will appraise your collection, at NO COST and NO OBLIGATION, and make the highest offer in the hobby for your cars, if they are from the years we are looking for 1967 – 1977.

With almost 30 years of diggin’ up original one owner childhood Hot Wheels collections from the sixties and seventies, REDLINE ARCHEOLOGY is the only place to have your old Hot Wheels appraised by one of the most successful collectors in the hobby, Bob Young.  Bob has recently authored a book titled “REDLINE ARCHEOLOGY” “A History of Diggin’ Up Original Hot Wheels Collections” now available on AMAZON + Barnes & Noble. 

Call us anytime @ 856.912.2463 or visit us @ www.RedlineArcheology.com

The age-old question in any collector hobby is “What are the rarest and most desirable pieces?” In the world of Hot Wheels, it’s no different. I get asked this same question on a fairly regular basis from other passionate collectors and friends of mine. Everyone wants to know.

Rare pieces in any hobby are truly a matter of opinion, and this holds true for the old REDLINE Hot Wheels. Over the past thirty years, I’ve purchased literally hundreds of original one owner REDLINE Hot Wheels collections that has equated into thousands of cars. In all those years, I’ve come across some amazingly rare pieces like the Orange Peeping Bomb with painted head-lights, unpainted ZAMAC Custom VW and Classic Nomad, Blue Power Pad, Purple Short Order, Orange Classic Cord, Hot Pink Classic Cord, Rear Louvered Custom Mustang, Open Hood Scoop Custom Mustangs, Chocolate Brown Nitty Gritty Kitty, and many more. As rare as some of these are, they still pale in comparison to the rarest of the rare REDLINE Hot Wheels.

Some collectors over the years have ranked the rarest Hot Wheels, but I’m gonna resist that temptation and base it on my over three decades of experience collecting these little gems. So let’s get started with what, in my opinion, are the rarest REDLINE Hot Wheels in no particular order, prototypes included. Keep in mind that this list is not an exhaustive list by any means. Next month I will cover what I think are the toughest cars to find in the original one owner childhood collections that most of us had as kids.

The Rarest!

OLDS 442

Probably the most desirable and rarest of the regular production cars is the OLDS 442. What makes some of this casting extremely rare are a few of the colors that it was released in. This casting had a very brief run in the stores prior to it being pulled by Mattel for legal reasons. The OLDS 442 is rare period, but especially rare in Purple, Lite Blue, Hot Pink, and Lite Green. There is also an extremely rare OLDS 442 prototype that was produced in Red with a Black Interior. Even the collectors buttons (Plastic & Metal) that came with the car back in the day are going for $100+ each on any given day. The “STAR”sticker Sheets that also came with the car are now fetching over $300 a piece. Needless to say, this is the car every REDLINE collector wants as a centerpiece in their collection.

Rear Loading Beach Bomb

Another extremely rare and desirable piece is the Rear Loading Beach Bomb Prototype. I only mention this casting because of the desirability of the piece both as a prototype and as a full pro-duction as the Side Loading model. About 50 examples of the Rear Loader prototype in all colors are known to exist, in all different types of condition. Hot Pink, Lite Blue, and Antifreeze tend to bring the biggest bucks when one does trade hands which rarely happens. The Rear Loading Beach Bomb was only produced as a test car and was pulled from the line due to its inability to hold the track through the Super Charger (Top Heavy), in lieu of the Side Loading Beach Bomb. Pictures of the Rear Loading Beach Bomb showed up late in 1969 and early in 1970 as a car that was part of the new line of Hot Wheels for that year, but never made it to the production line due to its issue of not being able to hold the track. One example actually made it to the Antiques Road Show recently on PBS and was valued by their resident Toy Expert at $100,000.00 – $150,000.00.

In my opinion, all the original REDLINE Hot Wheels are rare and only becoming more so as time goes on. Finding these beauties in near mint to mint condition is becoming more difficult with every passing year. First produced in 1967 and released in 1968, a lot of the cars are now over 50 years old. Time is not kind to the spectra flame paint depending on how they are stored and in what climate.

You now ask yourself the age old question: “How do I sell my old Hot Wheels?”

LOOK NO FURTHER!

Here at REDLINE ARCHEOLOGY, we will appraise your collection, at NO COST and NO OBLIGATION, and make the highest offer in the hobby for your cars, if they are from the years we are looking for 1967 – 1977.

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With over 30 years of diggin’ up original one owner Hot Wheels collections, REDLINE ARCHEOLOGY is the only place to have your old Hot Wheels appraised by one of the most successful collectors in the hobby, Bob Young. Bob has recently authored a book titled “REDLINE ARCHEOLOGY: A History of Diggin’ Up Original Hot Wheels Collections” now available on AMAZON and Barnes & Noble. Call us anytime at 856.912.2463 or complete our contact form.