June

Each month I go through the most recent e-mails I've received and pick a few to share with you. I try to personally respond to every e-mail I receive, but I also post a few here in my Q&A column.

I was on your website looking at your Hot Wheels Batmobile collection. I have almost everything that you do. I do not have the 2 car sets that are out there. The first movie Batmobile with the shields up and the 3rd and 4th movie car sets. I do not have the Zamac Batmobile and the Crooze Batmobile. I have found the the Killer Croc set with the blue Batmobile. There are a lot of places selling it here in the Inland Empire. I live in Highland and the WalMart near me has it, the K-Mart in Redlands has it and the new Kohls in Redlands has it. I have just gotten the first set of Corgi Batmobiles. I ordered them from England. I also ordered another set of cars due this 3rd qtr. The new Corgi cars are really nice, bigger than the usual Hot Wheels but still small. I am sorry let me introduce my self. My name is Michael Cabrera, I live in Highland Ca. I have been to your website a couple of times and noticed your Batmobile collection. I collect comics and have been collecting the Hot Wheels collection and the models of the Batmobile and other Batman vehicles. If you cannot find the Killer Croc set let me know and maybe I can help you out, Good luck with your collection. Also the Matchbox Justice League collection is nice. I also have the 1:18 scale Batmobile from Hot Wheels. It cost me a pretty penny. I saw it one week later at the new Mattel store in San Bernardino. I paid $35 at a hobby shop and Mattel's warehouse store had it for $17. Did I look like a fool. Oh well.

Michael Cabrera

Thanks for writing Michael. I'm glad you enjoy my website. I'm really loving what Hot Wheels has been doing with the Batman license. I've been having fun chasing down the various Hot Wheels Batmobiles. I'm hoping to find the Killer Croc 2-Pack any day now, but if I have trouble, I may take you up on your offer to pick one up for me. Once I find the blue Batmobile, I'll post a pic of my display of all the Hot Wheels Batmobile variations.

Though I think the new Corgi Batmobiles look great, I'm not sure I want to begin collecting a new scale. I prefer to stick with 1:64 and 1:18 scale die-cast. If I see them in person and really like them, maybe I'll pick up one or two of my favorites.

Hey Joe,
I noticed the A-Team van in your display case. Which maker is that- ERTL?
I've never seen them with real rider type wheels.

Thanks
Darren

Sorry for the confusion Darren, but the van you see in my display case is a custom job. Years ago, I purchased a vintage ERTL A-Team van for my collection, but I hated the wheels. I found the perfect wheels on some NASCAR die-cast race car so I did a swap.

Hi

Just found your site, congratulations!

Have a question: I got on eBay a Corgi Junior Batmobile. The body and window are in good state, (I got it cheap because there where some spider webs in the car and the window looked chipped in the eBay photo), but the paint is in a sorry condition. I would like to repaint it. I am a good plastic modeler, but have no experience about disassembling and painting a die-cast car. Any place on the net to get some tips?

Thanks for your site. Just hope for more comments about how accurate is the
die-cast car to the original. (I hate some of the Matchbox stuff!)

Victor

Thanks for the kind words Victor. I've learned a little about customizing die-cast vehicles through the friendly folks at www.hobbytalk.com and various websites on the web. I'm not sure if you want to do this to your Corgi Jr. Batmobile, but to repaint it, you're going to have to disassemble it. I bought a Dremmel to drill out the rivets that hold a die-cast car together. Once those are carefully removed, the car comes apart easily. Then I strip the paint by soaking the body in a can of paint remover. (Use gloves!) After rinsing and drying the body, apply a very thin coat of primer from a spray can. Then you can apply thin coats of gloss black from a spray can. Never use a brush, it looks terrible. Always spray the paint and use very light coats. If you apply too much paint, the details will get lost and the paint may start to drip. Let the paint dry for a day or so. If you touch it while it's tacky, you'll leave permanent fingerprints. After the paint dries, you can apply decals using either white or clear decal paper. When I reassemble a car, I use a few drops of Superglue where the rivets were to hold it together. You may want to consider replacing the wheels before you glue it together. Johnny Lightning's Rader wheels look much better on the Batmobile.

By the way, I am considering adding comments or reviews to the gallery of cars on this site. It's definitely something that will appear in the Hollywood Die-Cast 2005 Resource Guide.

Congratulations! on the high traffic mark, the website is sure worth the visit. As a collector of 1/64 die-cast cars, your website is the best source I have found on the topic. The fact that you have an extensive list of die-cast cars has helped me tremendously to add to my collection ( I don’t know if to blame you for all the money I have spent buying these things or thank you for the information…Just kidding).

I just recently got through eBay two items that are not precisely die-cast (they are resin models), but are the only licensed items that I have found, that are approximately within the same scale that I collect. I got the Seaview submarine from Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and one of the space ships from the novel War of the Worlds. I sent some pictures just in case you would like to include them in your site.

Also for your wish list I think It would be cool to have in 3” the Hunter Killer ships from The Terminator movies and other cars and apparatus used in them.

Thanks for sharing the info Luis. I've posted the photos above for anyone interested. I haven't decided if I'm going to include them in the Hollywood Die-Cast gallery 1) because they're not die-cast and 2) they're not 1:64 scale. (Though I made an exception with the Aliens APC from Konami.)

And I agree with you. I would LOVE to see die-cast vehicles from The Terminator movies.

THANKS FOR THE SITE. HAVE BEEN COLLECTING FOR MOST OF MY LIFE. I AM 45 AND HAVE HAD SOME REALLY EXCITING TIMES LOOKING FOR AND COLLECTING CARS AND STUFF. DO YOU THINK THAT IF WE DID A LETTER WRITING CAMPAIGN TO MATTEL THAT THEY WOULD CONSIDER DOING THE 60'S TV BATMOBILE IN BOTH 1/64TH AND ALSO IN THE LARGER 100% HOTWHEELS LINE?

THANKS AGAIN, PATRICK BENNETT, SNOWFLAKE, AZ

I think Mattel is well aware of the fact that a 1966 Batmobile would be a HUGE seller. I can only imagine what they would do with it. (Sigh). But I really don't think it's in their hands. We will only see a die-cast 1966 Batmobile if several parties come together and agree to it. Those parties involve DC Comics, George Barris, Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox. I'm told so many parties want a piece of the pie, that producing a die-cast '66 Batmobile just wouldn't be profitable for anyone. Believe me, if I hear any news it'll be posted here.

Joe,
Where/how did you obtain your Charawheels Knight Rider? I'm interested in obtaining one for my collection. I have yet to encounter one at a hobby store or toy show, and I can't seem to find any online vendors who are selling it.

Thanks for your time.

Sean Sullivan

P.S. Thanks for putting the info on your site re: the Aliens APC being included with Konami's Alien PVC figures. It may not be 1:64 scale, but from your picture, it's close enough! I'll be on the lookout for it. Aliens is one of my top 10 favorite movies!

I believe I got mine on eBay Sean. It is one of my favorite pieces in my collection. The wheels really make this piece what it is. Hot Wheels did such an amazing job on this car, the Back to the Future Delorean, Speed Racer's Mach 5 and others as part of its Japanese Charawheels line, I'm stunned they were never sold at retail here in the states. I recently received an e-mail from Collectors Net USA telling me they received a shipment of Charawheels. If they're sold out, your best bet is eBay.

Hi,
Some time ago I posted about new Airwolf and Taxi 3 by Bandai/HotWheels.

I already ordered a package of Taxi 3 because its quite a famous movie...not that great...but famous. It's really nice packaged...but if you look close to box pictures, it differs from the toys inside...esspecially the wheel-caps. I write emails to Bandai, maybe they answer my question.

So, maybe u know the movie, too or would like to include the picture to your movie section.

Bye,
Volker

Thanks for the pics and info Volker. I've never heard of Taxi 3 (2003), but according to the IMDB:

A gang of thieves calling themselves the Santa Claus Gang are wreaking havoc, and the police can't keep up. Police Captain Gilbert is distracted by a Chinese reporter writing a story on his squad, detective Emilien's wife has just announced that she's pregnant, and taxi driver Daniel is in the midst of a relationship crisis. After a string of mistakes in which the thieves outsmart the police time and time again with a reporter there to record it all, Daniel and his super-taxi pitch in.

Sounds like fun.

Good Morning:

I have been searching websites to find The Partridge Family Bus that I have in my collection...every one I've found prior to this has red wheels on both front and back...until I saw yours, which (like mine) has red wheels on front and blue wheels on the back...is there a difference in the manufacturer or does this signify something? I thought you might be able to enlighten me? Any assistance you can give would be appreciated.

Sincerely,

Tammy

The Partridge Family bus was released by Johnny Lightning twice. As part of the first Hollywood on Wheels series in 1998, the bus came with four red rims. Then it was released in a later assortment of Hollywood on Wheels in 2001 with red rims in front and blue rims in the rear. I don't believe either version is more valuable, but I do believe the red/blue rims version is more accurate. The bus in one of my favorite vehicles in my collection and one of the most recognized by friends and family.

Your e-mails really make my day. Please keep them coming. Click on the e-mail link in the left column and I'll do my best to find the answer for you.

Q&A Archive:

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