Mainline basics
Hot Wheels changed the way they group cars in 1995 and added the dreaded Treasure Hunt category. Each year there is a specific number of cars produced, with the last few years landing on 250 numbered cars. Typically, there are variations of almost every single car, with up to four color ways, a couple wheel changes, etc. So, for a completist collector, there could be almost a thousand cars a year in the assortment!
With this in mind, we here at Little City Toy Cars collect just the castings we like, leaving the rest. We focus on realistic, typically licensed, cars, along with some trucks. The Hot Wheels designed cars are sometimes in the mix, but not often. As an example, the Morris Mini Cooper on the right is a casting that started out as a First Edition in 2000. It has had several versions in the mainline and occasionally appears in limited edition premium versions and other sets. |
So, this section will be ever changing as Hot Wheels produces more of our favorite castings and adds new ones. Also, Hot Wheels continues to produce special runs of detailed cars using the same castings, so the chase for particular cars will never end. So, the Meyer Manx (another favorite!) in the panel to the left came in a boxed set called California Customs that was available at retail for a short period of time in 2005.
We only focus on models available at the store, so typically even if the casting was used for the Hot Wheels Club or the Redlines Club, or as a mail away car, we don't collect those. Below you will be able to click the picture a general grouping to see the castings that we associate with that group, and then you can see the variations of each of those! Happy Collecting!! |