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| © Provided by Car and Driver The set of 10 stamps commemorates the 50th anniversary of the iconic die-cast toys. |
By Steve Siler, Car and Driver
We’re gonna out on a limb here and state that if you're reading this post, you might have played with and even collected Hot Wheels die-cast toy cars as a kid. You may, like the geeky author of this story, still collect them as an adult. In any case, car enthusiasts worldwide have much reason for which to thank Mattel, given the power of brightly colored, fast toy cars to turn regular kids into auto enthusiasts before most of them can even reach the pedals of a real car. Without them, most of us wouldn't have been able to play with cars until we were 16.
The U.S. Postal Service must have some car enthusiasts within its ranks, as it is celebrating the 50th anniversary of Hot Wheels by introducing a set of 10 commemorative 50-cent Forever stamps that pay homage to some of the most iconic Hot Wheels castings over the years.
The 10 cars depicted on the stamps include Purple Passion, a custom '49 Mercury first cast in 1990; Rigor Mortis, a single-seat hot rod that was based on George Barris's famous Drag-U-La show car that featured an actual coffin as the body; Rocket-Bye-Baby from 1971, which had a rocket mounted on the roof; Rodger Dodger, which attempted to stave off the Malaise Era in 1974 as a Dodge Challenger with a massive motor poking through the hood; Mach Speedster, from 2018, which is said to have a mid-mounted twin-turbo V-6 and looks a lot like the Ford GT Le Mans race car—hmmm; the legendary Twin Mill from 1969 with its twin big-block engines; Bone Shaker from 2006, with a skull for a grille; HW40, created for Hot Wheels’s 40th anniversary in 2008, with a jet turbine engine under its glass hood; the forward-cab Deora II trucklet from 2000, itself an homage to Deora, a similar truck from the first run of Hot Wheels in 1968; and Sharkruiser from 1987, depicting a Hot Wheels design that required one of the more considerable leaps of imagination on the part of the person playing with it.
The stamps are available at the post office, or online from the U.S. Postal Service. And since the only thing geekier than collecting Hot Wheels as an adult is collecting stamps, you may also pick up an 18-by-24-inch black and gold poster that includes all 10 stamps, at the same website for $15.95, or a framed 50thAnniversary of Hot Wheels poster depicting the famous looped track as well as the 10 stamps for $39.95, or, for $6.95, a program from the dedication ceremony that took place in Fort Worth, Texas. Now if you’ll excuse us, we have to go and, um, check the mail.
We’re gonna out on a limb here and state that if you're reading this post, you might have played with and even collected Hot Wheels die-cast toy cars as a kid. You may, like the geeky author of this story, still collect them as an adult. In any case, car enthusiasts worldwide have much reason for which to thank Mattel, given the power of brightly colored, fast toy cars to turn regular kids into auto enthusiasts before most of them can even reach the pedals of a real car. Without them, most of us wouldn't have been able to play with cars until we were 16.
The U.S. Postal Service must have some car enthusiasts within its ranks, as it is celebrating the 50th anniversary of Hot Wheels by introducing a set of 10 commemorative 50-cent Forever stamps that pay homage to some of the most iconic Hot Wheels castings over the years.
The 10 cars depicted on the stamps include Purple Passion, a custom '49 Mercury first cast in 1990; Rigor Mortis, a single-seat hot rod that was based on George Barris's famous Drag-U-La show car that featured an actual coffin as the body; Rocket-Bye-Baby from 1971, which had a rocket mounted on the roof; Rodger Dodger, which attempted to stave off the Malaise Era in 1974 as a Dodge Challenger with a massive motor poking through the hood; Mach Speedster, from 2018, which is said to have a mid-mounted twin-turbo V-6 and looks a lot like the Ford GT Le Mans race car—hmmm; the legendary Twin Mill from 1969 with its twin big-block engines; Bone Shaker from 2006, with a skull for a grille; HW40, created for Hot Wheels’s 40th anniversary in 2008, with a jet turbine engine under its glass hood; the forward-cab Deora II trucklet from 2000, itself an homage to Deora, a similar truck from the first run of Hot Wheels in 1968; and Sharkruiser from 1987, depicting a Hot Wheels design that required one of the more considerable leaps of imagination on the part of the person playing with it.
The stamps are available at the post office, or online from the U.S. Postal Service. And since the only thing geekier than collecting Hot Wheels as an adult is collecting stamps, you may also pick up an 18-by-24-inch black and gold poster that includes all 10 stamps, at the same website for $15.95, or a framed 50thAnniversary of Hot Wheels poster depicting the famous looped track as well as the 10 stamps for $39.95, or, for $6.95, a program from the dedication ceremony that took place in Fort Worth, Texas. Now if you’ll excuse us, we have to go and, um, check the mail.
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