October Q

It's that time again. Time for another round of Q&A. Let's get right to it. The first one isn't so much a question, but an e-mail I'd like to share with you:

Hello Joe,
1st of all. What a nice idea, creating such a page in the www ! Congratulations !
Ahem, btw. I'm from Germany and 25 years old. Because of you, I entered eBay and lost all my money... ;-) It started like this...

I remembered my very old ERTL Airwolf, which broke in primary school. :-( (How nice would it be to get a new one...) A Japanese Hot Wheels Airwolf got my attention on eBay.com and I ordered it from USA/Japan at once. Because that guy offered things like "Delorean 1-3 and a Mach 5 !!!,
(everything was Hot Wheels) I went totally mad ;).

"I must have'em all!"

Through a Google search, there was your page. Which enlisted such a mass of die cast toys...good heavens... Because of your page I found "Hardcastle & McCormick" die cast.
Once again I ordered from USA... meanwhile I searched eBay for all of your enlisted toys.

So I got one "Herbie-LoveBug"..."Flintmobile"..."Ghostbusters by Johnny Lightning"... God bless you, because I did not know about "Johnny Lightning"! ;-)

I can't say it in words (but I`ll try): Getting a Mach5 by Hot Wheels and purchasing a Coyote Toy, made me feeling so...err...you know ! :-)

Thank You !!
Volker

Thanks for the e-mail Volker. It's e-mails like this that make my efforts seem worthwhile. It is so rewarding to know that because of my little website, people are discovering TV and movie die-cast they didn't know existed. Welcome to my obsession.

Q: I was wondering where you can buy the more affordable Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car. My nephew who is 5 keeps asking for one. If you could help, please let me know.

A: Ah, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. One of my favorite movies. When I first began putting my collection together, I HAD to have a Chitty Chitty. The problem was that the only Chitty available at that time was the vintage Corgi Jr./Husky version (pictured top left). Carded, it was selling for WELL over $100. I came so close to biting the bullet and plunking down $100 for a Chitty on a non-mint card. All of a sudden, I discovered that Corgi was releasing a NEW 1:64 version of Chitty Chitty. It was released in conjunction with the stage musical that opened in England (pictured top right). So, instead of paying $100 for a vintage Chitty, I paid $5 plus shipping for a brand new car. Needless to say I was pretty happy. There are some differences though. The vintage 1:64 Chitty featured 4 characters from the film. The new version comes without figures. You can find this new version on eBay or practically any online store that sells die-cast. Corgi has also re-released the 1:32 scale version of Chitty Chitty a few years ago. Unlike the vintage version, the re-release only includes Caractatus Potts (Dick Van Dyke) and comes without front and rear wings. This version is also very affordable and can be easily found online.

Q: Joe, I was just wondering if you heard of the new Batman movie that starts shooting in Feb. 2004. Christian Bale is the new Batman. I'm excited because hopefully this means a new movie Batmobile. Although, what I've been reading, sounds like this new movie is about Batman in his early career as well as before he becomes Batman. Let's keep out fingers crossed and pray that there is a new Batmobile. - Jim Carson

A: Yes Jim, I've heard about the new movie and I'm pretty excited about it. I've known that a Batman 5 film has been planned for a few years (thanks to www.hsx.com ). When I heard that Christian Bale was cast as the Caped Crusader, I was pretty happy. Physically, he'll make a great young Bruce Wayne. I can't wait to see him wearing the cowl. As for the Batmobile, I can't imagine a Batman film WITHOUT a Batmobile. I'm fairly certain we'll see one at some point in the movie. As soon as I hear anything or see any photos, you can be sure I will post them on this site. One of the best sources for this type of info is www.aintitcoolnews.com, check it out.

Have a nice day, Metro Privratsky

Hi Metro,
Thanks for the info. I haven't decided if I'm going to add these to the gallery yet. I don't consider reality shows REAL TV shows...LOL. I'll probably add them eventually, but begrudgingly. For those of you who are fans of the show, click on the above link to see pics of the cars.

Hi, I just read your Matchbox Blue Thunder page:

"I'm told the above photo shows the first version of this casting released in 1985. The same casting has subsequently been released in a variety of colors. The color scheme of the "mission helicopter" shown below most closely resembles the black helicopter featured in the film and TV show (minus the tampos)."

The Blue Thunder chopper is not black, it is blue. Why else do you think it is called BLUE Thunder? You've just happened to use a photo of the Blue Thunder chopper where it looks darker than normal.... The first version of the toy, from 1985, is the one which most resembles Blue Thunder.

R.Cassidy, TV Chopper expert
www.airwolf.org

Thanks for writing. I can't argue with your logic. I have to admit, I never watched the TV show and I don't recall ever seeing the film. A blue helicopter from the film/TV show BLUE Thunder makes a LOT of sense. Thanks for catching that and I've made the corrections.

Q: Hello. I'm looking over your site, and God behold you have a picture of the 1966 Batmobile. I have been looking for that car for sometime. BUT, the one I had as a kid was, I think about a 1/24th size diecast. Doors opened, shot stuff out of the tubes and etc. I have never seen one since then. Any ideas where to look, or have you seen this car. I bet if I had keep it, it would be worth$$$$. Please let me know.

Thanks, Mike.

A: I believe what you are looking for is a Corgi Batmobile. The Corgi Batmobile is one of the most valuable, highly sought-after die-cast ever made. There are several versions of the car, some worth more than others. You can usually find the Corgi Batmobile on eBay in various conditions. Mint versions can sell in the HUNDREDS of dollars. If you have the talent to restore a well-played-with car, then that would be the way to go. Unlike Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, don't expect Corgi to re-release the 1966 Batmobile anytime soon.

I was just on eBay, and I found a new packaging for the Ecto-1 from Johnny
Lightning. It has the logo, Mr. Stay Puft is on the card, but they still
use the Ecto-1A. I don't get that part. - Ron

I'm with you Ron. For reasons that haven't been explained, Johnny Lightning has only released the car from Ghostbusters II, which is slightly different than the Ecto-1 featured in the first film. Yet, on the new Ghostbusters diorama, they show a scene from the FIRST film. The Ecto-1A even has the Ghostbusters logo which features the ghost holding up TWO FINGERS, signifying Ghostbusters II. Why didn't they just show the Statue of Liberty walking through the streets of New York? That would've made more sense.

Q: Where do you get your display cases? The only ones I have found have to be put up on a wall. I would really like a free standing one. - Shannon

A: I've purchased my display cases on eBay. But all my display cases for my 1:64 scale cars are mounted on the wall. I started out with a display that held 24 cars. It was made of a dark wood and had a green felt background. It was really nice, but my collection outgrew it. I upgraded to a 32-car display case with a mirrored background and a sliding plexiglass cover. That was nice because it kept out dust. But my collection outgrew it. Currently I have a 70-car display with a mirrored background and a hinged plexiglass cover. I'm ready to move up to a larger one! Expect to pay anywhere from $50 to over $100 for a nice plexiglass display case.

I recently acquired a free-standing display case for my 1:18 scale cars. It was given to me by the parents of Chris (a friend of mine) who were moving. It's too beautiful for words. I can't thank them enough.

WOW! Sooooooo many e-mails since my last Q&A. Please keep the mail coming. I try to respond to EVERY e-mail personally, but I also like to share my e-mails with those who visit this website. So until the next Q&A in November, have fun and have a happy and safe Halloween.