Page 15 - HWNewsletteVolume33Issue1#132
P. 15

downhill
 Collectors   downhill  at future convnetions as there is no testing on Saturday. The kids’ race

 has been changed from ages 12 and under to 15 and under. This change
 racing  does fit a bit more with the other activities and allows more attendance
 for this race. Watch for some trophy changes at the Collector’s Nationals
 in Lombard. I think you will be pleased. Saturday consisted of 6 different
 by Russ Kottke  races, Redline, Funny Fairmont, 50th Anniversary, Open Stock, Kids 15
 and under, VW Drag Bus and Hot Wheels Modified. Here is how racing
 nd  played out for the day………

 Redline – original redline wheels   Open Stock – Mainline castings –
 only – pre 1977.  no pre 77 Redlines.
 1st Place – Ted Gray from Los   1st Place – Dennis Taylor from
 Osos, California racing his Noo-  Granger, Indiana racing the Smith
 dlehead.  Electric Truck.
 2nd Place –Jack Granados from   2nd Place – Mike Hernandez from
 Woodland Hills, California racing   Moreno Valley, California racing
 an S’Cool Bus  the Smith Electric Truck.
 3rd Place – Frankie Taylor from   3rd Place – Frankie Taylor from
 Granger, Indiana racing his Noo-  Granger, Indiana racing the Smith
 dlehead.  Electric Truck.

 Funny Fairmont   15 and Under – Open to ages 15
 Champion – Jonas Hayes from   years and younger only.
 Russellville, Kentucky with his Trix   1st Place – Tommie Miles Jr. from
 Thank you to all the Hot Wheel Downhill   Funny Car.  Aurora, Colorado facing his fast
 Racers! Hot Wheels 50th Anniversary at the   Mirada Stocker.
 Collector’s Convention brought in an outstand-  50th Anniversary  2nd Place – Kinsey Hayes from
 ing number of attendees. This increased the   1st Place – Nick Embrey from   Russellville, Kentucky racing her
 attendance at the Downhill track that gave   Ontario, Canada racing his ’68   Land Rover Truck.
 in to a bit more competition. There were a   Cougar  3rd Place – Kale Wargo from On-
 few new faces along with some familiar faces   2nd Place – Brett Triplett from   tario, Canada racing a Cougar.
 we haven’t seen in a while. Hot Wheel racing   Russellville, Kentucky with his fast
 started on Friday with the usual practice sessions in both the morning and   ‘68 Cougar  Modified – Anything goes, must
 afternoon. During the mid-day break Jon Soffa offered a very informative   3rd Place – Frankie Taylor from   have Hot Wheel wheels and text
 seminar on Downhill racing. This was his first one and was well received,   Granger, Indiana racing a Mustang  base.
 come and check it out at the next show. Keeping with the 50th theme our   1st Place – Jon Soffa from Engle-
 “special” race included only Hot Wheels with the 50th logo printed on   VW Drag Bus   wood, Colorado racing his “Voxxer
 the vehicle somewhere. This was a bit of a challenge and required a lot of   Champion – Brendon Ruiz from   FX”.
 pre-testing on Friday. Remember to come out to Friday’s practice sessions    Westchester, Illinois racing his   2nd Place – JR Isiah from Haw-
 Custom
 thorn, California.
 Snake Drag Bus.
 3rd Place –Ruby Isiah from Haw-
 Baracuda  by: Todd Burriss aka: PLANETREDLINES   thorn, California.
 Baracuda
 combination of HK and US parts. Mostly it’s a HK base on US body and
 In 1968, of the first 16 model castings produced, the Plymouth Custom   Another hard-to-find version that is known as a Hybrid, which was a
 Barracuda was one that stood out in the Mopar scene. An exact replica   or tinted blue glass in a US body. Also, some US bodies came with a HK
 was Harry Bentley’s version of the 1968 1:1 car in the showroom. They   hood resulting in a wide gap between the hood and cowl. The most com-
 were produced in both HK and US factories, both sporting bearing wheels   mon color is antifreeze and the harder to find colors are rose and aqua.
 and opening hoods. A few different characteristics were made.   The rarest is green. All in all, this model is a very rare model in the blister
 pack and the most common blister pack to be found is aqua HK.
 The HK models had an opening hood that revealed a V-8 engine with
 longer twin hood scoops and a wider cowl. It had white or dark interior   This model is right behind the Custom Camaro as far as popularity, but
 with a large black steering wheel and blue tinted glass. The very early   while the value is not quite there, it is a close second. As of today, Tim
 issue was a purple Spectraflame paint with a light purple interior. Later, to   Watterson has the most extensive collection and lots of his photos are
 use up these interiors, a copper color body was used instead. All had hor-  present with this informative topic.
 izontal red painted taillights and a blacked out grill. The base was highly
 detailed with side pipes, unlike the US details. Chrome wheels, with early
 issues having deep dish wheels. Common colors were copper, purple,   Color chart  Green common
 and aqua being most. Hard to find is antifreeze, green, blue, and red.   US COLORS: COMMENTS:  Blue common
 Rare colors were creamy pink, orange, and olive being extremely rare.   Purple common  Red hard to find
 Blue common  light blue hard to find
 The US issue was slightly different with shorter hood scoops and thinner   Green common  creamy pink hard to find
 cowl. It came with a white or dark interior with a smaller matching   Aqua common  Orange rare
 steering wheel, rounded dash panel, and clear glass. The base was   Red hard to find  Olive very rare
 less detailed with side pipes and silver painted bearing wheels. Most   Gold hard to find  Gold very rare (if it exists)
 common colors were blue, green, and gold. More uncommon colors were   Copper/brown hard to find   Antifreeze very rare (if it exists)
 antifreeze, aqua, honey gold and red. Rare was creamy pink, rose, and ice   light blue hard to find
 blue. Extremely rare is olive that is valued well over 4k. The better Store   Antifreeze hard to find  HYBRID COLORS: COMMENTS:
 Display sported the red Cuda, but some had a green. Another strange   creamy pink hard to find  Antifreeze hard to find
 color has surfaced that is a light strawberry color and these are quite hard   Rose very rare  Purple hard to find
 to find. Also known is a white enamel prototype.   Olive very rare  Rose hard to find
 Orange very rare (if it exists)  Gold rare
 Aqua rare
 HK COLORS: COMMENTS:  Blue rare
 Aqua common  Green very rare
 14  NEWSLETTER  • ISSUE 5   Purple common  Orange very rare                                    NEWSLETTER  • ISSUE 5   15
 Copper common
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