Hot Wheels Yellow Submarine

When i started collecting Hot Wheels as an adult in 1996 I couldn't have imagined that there would be a Yellow Submarine in a Hot Wheels package. But twenty years later here it is: the Hot Wheels Yellow Submarine. It was also twenty years ago today Sargent taught the band to play, too!

Of course, it all started with the 1969 movie. Hippy dippy psychedelia graphics that still hold up today: of their time yet still timely.

The movie had a good soundtrack (left) sporting six Beatles tunes on side one and the George Martin Orchestra's instrumental music on side two. The movie featured many more Beatles songs not on the album until reimagined in 1999 as the "Yellow Submarine Songtrack" (right). Note the yellow sub is the sole graphic on the reissue. An iconic image.

The first popular diecast version was by Corgi. Very cool and it nicely captures the overall spirit but it's a bit long - perhaps stretched to enable the pop-up Beatles. As it rolls the periscopes turn. Corgis were 1/43 scale and the sub, while not likely to any particular scale, is approximately 5-inches long. Corgi's Yellow Submarine has been reissued over the years due to its popularity.

 

In the '60s and '70s Corgi was well-known for their licensed vehicles: '66 TV Batmobile, James Bond 007's Aston Martin, Man From UNCLE, Monkee Mobile, etc.

Along comes Mattel in the 2000's going after those licenses and others. We now have numerous 007-related vehicles (Aston Martin DB7, Lotus Esprit,etc.) and Batmobiles, Scooby Doo's Mystery Van, K.I.T.T. and even Star Trek Enterprise.

I was very pleasantly surprised late last year when I saw a Hot Wheels preview list of 2016 vehicles indicating "The Beatles Yellow Submarine". Wow! Could it be?!

Yes!! Let's start with the stunning packaging that sports all four Beatles in their glorious cartoon images positioned so they're standing behind the toy with the cartoon sub behind them. The package makes for perfect display. To date I have found only one of these and I can't bring myself to open it. Hard to find, no doubt, due to the huge Beatles fan base wanting these, too.

The vehicle is gorgeous with accurate proportions, colors and details especially impressive for a dollar toy. It's almost three inches long which is impressive. It sports four tiny wheels on the bottom to enable it to roll - it is a Hot Wheels after-all.

Concurrently, Mattel released a premium line of Yellow Submarine themed automotive vehicles with movie-related graphics. Nice but they pale in comparison to the sub.

In a cosmic way I just found this comic in today's paper. A reminder of the timelessness of the Yellow Submarine franchise.

I challenge you to stop humming this tune for the rest of the day.

All together now...

Hot Wheels Acura NSX

Mattel brings us the 1990 Acura NSX in their HW Workshop 2015 series. Introduced in 1990 by the Honda Motor Company the NSX brought the world of exotic sports cars to otherwise staid Acura lineup. Acura was known for its well-made but conservative TLs and ILs.

The Hot Wheels is quite accurate and very well done. Acura tampo on the hood and tailights/backup lights along with unexpected injection molded plastic exhaust pipes make for a fine reproduction. The windows and roof are cleverly one-piece emulating the real car's black painted roof.

The 1:1 car is below.

For 2016 Honda reintroduces the NSX and she's a beauty.

There is also a Hot Wheels version of this exciting car.

Hot Wheels James Bond 007 Goldfinger DB5

As part of the 2014 HW Workshop/HW All Stars line Mattel introduces the 1963 Aston Martin DB5 made famous in the 1964 James Bond Goldfinger movie.

 For a dollar toy it is beautiful and reasonably accurate for a 1/64 scale car. Attention to detail front and back are sweet with the round instead of squared wheel wells being the most obvious detraction. Tampo headlights and hood ornament are a nice touch as is the film-accurate license plate number (appearing only in back). The grey plastic grille even looks good instead of chrome. And yes the steering wheel is on the right side.

However, it sports none of the film gadgets that made it famous: ramrod bumpers, tire slashers, rotating license plates, armor sheild or...

Most noticeably the ejector seat that made the 1960's Husky/Corgi Jr. so popular. Perhaps a tampo line would suffice to indicate where the hatch would be.

I applaud Mattel for the DB5 because it looks great but it's a bit of a stretch to market this as a James Bond vehicle. See a silver DB5 and one immediately thinks Bond, James Bond.

Hot Wheels Volkswagen Kool Kombi Bus

The 2013 HW Showroom series brought us this fantastic vehicle.

The first Hot Wheels release was green. Note the clever flipped tailgate improvising as a wing. It's a bit cartoonish ala Dave Deel's finest right down to the surfboard tucked inside the tailgate.

 The real deal.

There's even a LEGO version.

What does the future hold for the Kombi?  VW has teased with concepts over the years.

Hot Wheels Bread Box

Hot Wheels Bread Box a cool custom featuring panoramic sunroof.  This was introduced as a 2010 New Model.  Mattel dropped the New Model segment for 2013 preferring to simply blend new castings with old.

The first Bread Box release sported cool Post Office-like graphics.

In time a similar paint scheme was used on the "unmarked" Treasure Hunt.  The package no longer proclaimed "Treasure Hunt", instead a small circular branding identified it to the initiated.

Inspiration for the Bread Box came from the Jeep FJ-3 Fleetvan, a compact delivery van manufactured by Willys Motors and Kaiser-Jeep from 1961 to 1965.  The FJ-3 was produced first as the right-hand-drive postal delivery vehicle seen below. The FJ-3A had an additional 19 inches of rear overhang.