A Look Back at the
First Five Years

www.hollywood-diecast.com was launched on February 1, 2003.  The first news item ever posted appears on February 6.  Revell announced it was re-releasing its American Graffiti cars with figures of characters from the film.  Johnny Lightning's second series of cars from the James Bond films starts showing up on eBay in February of '03.  Later that month, ERTL releases Eleanor as part of its Racing Champions line.  The '73 Mustang Mach I can be seen in the original Gone in 60 Seconds which features, in my opinion, the greatest car chases ever captured on film. 

Also within that first month of existence, I had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing the legendary George Barris at the 51st Annual Detroit Autorama.  He was receiving an award and brought along many cars from his collection. 

In May of 2003, Johnny Lightning offered exclusive James Bond cars through Radio Grill Restaurants at certain Wal*Mart stores.  All were re-releases, but had unique wheels to distinguish them.  The white Lotus was considered the "White Lightning" chase car, since you could only find one in every 100 boxes. 

Also in May of that year, Johnny Lightning's Hollywood on Wheels 4 was revealed.  Notice in the photo at left the Cadillac Eldorado from the movie Rat Race.  It was pulled from the line and replaced with Mike Brady's Cuda Convertible. 

The summer of 2003 saw movies like The Italian Job, 2 Fast 2 Furious and Terminator 3 hit theaters, reinvigorating the car-chase-movie genre.  ERTL's line of die-cast cars from The Fast & The Furious movies were a big hit with collectors and were fairly difficult to find in stores. 

Not too long after obtaining the Batman license, Mattel announced plans to release the Batmobile as part of its Hot Wheels line.  Pictured above left is Mattel's first release, a beautiful version of the movie Batmobile with gold accents.  Above right is Mattel's first release of their unique Batmobile casting in gloss black.  That particular casting would get re-released many times in various colors over the next year or two. 

Hollywood on Wheels 4 began to show up in stores in July of '03.  Arguably, the most exciting part of this release was Herbie from the Disney film The Love Bug.  Despite Herbie's rabid fan following, we never really got a decent die-cast version of that lovable bug until 2003.  Johnny Lightning struck gold with this release.  Maxwell Smart's Sunbeam Tiger was another welcomed addition to this line. 

Johnny Lightning continued releasing fan-favorite cars in 2003.  Die-cast cars from The Simpsons hit stores in August.  They must've not done as well as JL had hoped, because after one series of repaints, The Simpsons line ended, which was a shame because there were quite a few more cars I would like to have seen.

2003 was a great year for 1:18 scale die-cast cars.  In addition to Herbie and The Mystery Machine, we got the first-ever die-cast rendition of the modified Lincoln from the 1977 film The Car.

In December of 2003 I received an early Christmas present from Chris D'Alessandro.  I sent him my 1:64 scale Hot Wheels Porsche Spyder 550, he customized it to resemble James Dean's car, and returned it to me.  It instantly became one of my favorite cars in my collection.  It even has the correct license plate!

2004 started out on a good note when I found Mattel's 1:18 scale movie Batmobile at Toys R Us in January.  My 1:18 scale car collection continued to grow throughout 2004 with the addition of Ecto-1 from Ghostbusters and Greased Lightning from Grease.

Also in January, Johnny Lightning announced its acquisition of the Star Trek brand by revealing six ships that would make up Release 1:  Enterprise A, Romulan Bird of Prey, Cardassian Ship, NX01, Reliant, and Galileo.

In February Corgi announced it would begin releasing die-cast Batmobiles from the comics in various scales.  This impressive line of cars would continue for several more years. 

Also in February of 2004, the Hollywood Die-Cast Forum was launched thanks to the efforts of Tony Moe.  If you haven't joined yet, PLEASE DO. 

In March of 2004 pics were revealed online of Batman's Tumbler from Batman Begins.  I, like others, didn't know what to make of it. It looked like a cross between a a Hummer and a riding mower.  However, after seeing the film in 2005, the Tumbler has become an accepted and beloved version of the Batmobile.

In August of 2004 I traveled to my first Dukes Fest at the Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee.  There, I got to meet several cast members from The Dukes of Hazzard, including Daisy Duke herself, Catherine Bach.  In addition to Dukes Fest, my pal Dennis and I were interviewed by a TV crew from the UK for a TV show called World's Greatest TV Cars.  We had such a great time!

In September of 2004, ERTL (now known as RC2) unveiled it's 1:18 scale version of KITT from Knight Rider.  With working gadgets, including a light-up scanner, this was a MUST-HAVE for anyone's collection.  A 1:18 scale version of Christine soon followed.

In November of 2004 the lineup of Hollywood on Wheels 6 was unveiled.  There were some really great cars in this release, including a beautiful version of Bandit's Trans-Am and the Dodge Challenger from Vanishing Point.

In December of 2004 the TV special World's Greatest TV Cars aired in the UK.  It was such a thrill to appear in the program alongside such greats as Mickey Dolenz, Adam West and George Barris, among others.  The General Lee was ranked #1 on the list.

Also in December I received yet another early Christmas present as RC2 sent me a sample of their 1:18 scale die-cast version of Fred's Flintmobile.  A few weeks later I received Christine, with light-up headlights!  These were awesome additions to my ever-growing 1:18 collection.

In January of '05 I found RC2's Aston Martin DB5 from Goldfinger.  The 1:18 scale cars under the Joy Ride brand just kept coming and kept getting better and better.  In February I found KITT:

In March of '05, Dennis and I traveled to California to take part in World's Greatest Movie Cars.  We spent a week there and had such a great time.  While there we attended Sandra Bullock's movie premiere and watched her get her star on the Walk of Fame.  We also spotted William Shatner and George Lopez among others:

Sadly, honorary Mayor of Hollywood, Johnny Grant (above, left) passed away in 2007.  We also had the opportunity to visit George Barris' shop (below.)  The cars on display there included The Munsters' Koach and The Monkeemobile, the SAME Monkeemobile that was later sold at the 2008 Barrett-Jackson Auction for $360,000.  Barris' #1 Batmobile was on display at the Peterson Museum in Los Angeles (below, right.)

 Although we had a great time in California, our interview never made it into the finished program. 

In May of 2005 Hot Wheels released a set of vehicles from Batman Begins.  A helicopter and motorcycle were never seen in the film.  There were two versions of the Batmobile, though Mattel took some liberties with the design (above.)  The movie came out in June of '05 and was pretty darn good!

In August of '05 The Dukes of Hazzard movie was released in theaters.  Although I didn't hate it, it just was totally unnecessary.  Jessica Simpson provided some nice eye candy, but the car was the star. 

Mattel contributed to my 1:18 scale collection by releasing the Batmobile from Batman Begins in August.  It displayed nicely alongside Mattel's 1989 Batmobile.  I just need one more Batmobile to add to my collection. Hopefully, the '66 Batmobile will join its 1:18 scale family this Spring.

Mattel made up for the underwhelming mainline vehicles by releasing a pair of highly-detailed Batmobiles in 1:64 scale in January of '06. 

Also in January, RC2 released this awesome version of James Bond's Lotus from The Spy Who Loved Me.  With a few added accessories, you could display it in car mode, or in submarine mode!  Very cool.

In February of 2006 we got our very first look at cars from the yet-to-be-released Pixar film Cars at Toy Fair in New York.  Who could've predicted the phenomenon these things would become, appealing to moms, dads and kids alike?

In April of 2006 Johnny Lightning announced its next wave of James Bond cars.  Although some were re-releases, some were new to the line.  Unfortunately, JL canceled the Bond series before these could be produced.

In May of '06 Mattel's Cars started appearing in stores, about a month before the movie hit theaters.  When I finally saw the movie in June, I was awestruck.  It quickly became one of my all-time favorite movies.  My quest to collect the entire line, with its ups and downs, had begun!

In June of '06 I attended my second Dukes Fest.  Despite the enormous crowds that generated claustrophobia, it was a genuine thrill to see John Schneider and Tom Wopat together again (above, left.)

Following the release of a 1:18 scale '63 Cadillac Convertible from Scarface, Jada released two cars from the film in 1:64 scale.  Jada would later offer die-cast cars from The Godfather and The Sopranos. 

In July of 2006, rumors started flying on the internet about the possibility of Mattel releasing the 1966 Batmobile in die-cast form.  The rumors were confirmed in October.  A "test-run" appeared on eBay in December (above.)  This was the most exciting news for collectors in a long, long time.

In August, Will Ferrell burned rubber as Ricky Bobby in Talladega Nights.  The movie was hilarious and became one of my favorites of the year.  The movie spawned a set of cars from Motorsports Authentics (below.)

In September of 2006, Hollywood Die-Cast received it's ONE MILLIONTH VISITOR (since I started keeping track.) 

In November of '06 the 22nd film in the James Bond series, Casino Royale, hit theaters.  Although I am a huge Bond fan and have seen every movie in the theaters since Diamonds are Forever, I was skeptical about this film.  I thought Pierce Brosnan had done a terrific job as James Bond and I was wary about Daniel Craig stepping into the role, having only seen him as a villain in Road to Perdition.  Well, my fears were alleviated immediately.  The movie was fantastic and Craig ranked among the best Bonds of all time, almost on par with Sean Connery. 

In January of 2007, Johnny Lightning's first release of cars from their Dukes of Hazzard series hit stores.  Several more series would come over the next year, including obscure cars I never thought I'd see in die-cast form. 

The first carded Batmobile appeared on eBay in January of '07.  It sold for a whopping $101.64!!!  I got my first Batmobile directly from George Barris himself, signed in red and sporting the Barris crest.  It is the jewel of my collection.  I didn't find a Batmobile in stores until April of '07, three months after they started hitting stores!

In March of '07 Malibu International's new line of die-cast cars based on cars from TV and film hit stores.  Reel Rides first wave included cars from Dazed & Confused, Smokey & The Bandit, Tommy Boy and Top Gun and came in three different scales.

On July 4 of 2007 Transformers arrived on the big screen to mixed reviews.  I thought it started out entertaining but then quickly degenerated into a loud, cluttered, confusing mess.  Strangely, Transformers didn't spawn many die-cast vehicles.  Hasbro's Titanium line included several figures from the movie, including Bumblebee, as well as Optimus Prime in truck form (right.)

In one of the biggest toy stories in years, Mattel was forced to recall many toys due to excessive amounts of lead found in the paint.  Sarge from the Cars line was mentioned specifically and was pulled from shelves in August. 

Stills from 2008's The Dark Knight appeared online in August of 2007.  Tragically, Heath Ledger (above left,) who will appear as the Joker in the film was found dead in his home in January of 2008.  Seeing him on the screen this summer will be an eerie experience. 

Johnny Lightning re-released cars from its Speed Racer line in late 2007, perhaps in anticipation of the upcoming Speed Racer movie.  Mattel, however, has the license to produce toys from the film. 

In November of 2007 it was announced that KITT would be a Ford Shelby GT500KR Mustang in the upcoming Knight Rider TV series. 

In December of 2007 I received my Blu-Ray McQueen in the mail (left.)  The car was an incentive to join the Disney Rewards Club after purchasing Cars on Blu-Ray DVD.

In January of 2008 an image was released of Mattel's upcoming line of 1:55 Bat-Vehicles.  I'm looking forward to picking these up later this year.  Whew!  A lot has happened over the last five years!  Thanks for making the time fun and exciting and here's to the next five years!