Page 16 - HWNewsletteVolume33Issue1#132

LA 2019 CONTEST By Kelly Kottke streering rig seminar downhill seminar

By Chris Walker
good time. We were joined by a few spe-
We had an amazing turn out for our Kid’s Coloring Contest on Saturday, October 6th, in Los Ange- Our winners were: 2nd Place – Desiree The Steering Rig seminar was a pretty The 2018 Hot Wheels Collectors Conven-
cial guests, including Mike Zarnock since
les, California for the 32nd Annual Collectors Convention, celebrating Hot Wheels 50th Anniversary. 5 and under – Datsun Carrillo he is well educated on the many variations. tion held a downhill racing seminar for
What a turnout of 71 budding artists looking to color one the 50th Collectors Convention Cars. 510 Wagon 3rd Place Jonas Hayes And Robert Rosas, who stepped in and the first time ever. Eventual Open Mod-
We had three age groups with 5 and under coloring the Datsun 510 Wagon, 6 thru 10 coloring the 1st Place – Braden gave his opinions and stories of his days in ified race champion Jon Soffa shared his
Custom Mustang and 11-15 coloring the ’65 Mercury Comet Cyclone Gasser. Fuller 11 thru 15 – ’65 Mer- expertise with 16 dedicated downhill racers
2nd Place – Alir Lu cury Comet Cyclone creating a few of the castings and stories thirsty to gain any instructional advantage
As one of the judges it was a challenging task determining which three pictures we would choose 3rd Place – Jason Gasser about production mishaps and various they possibly could. The seminar covered
changes between countries of origin.
from all the wonderful artist we had. Watch out Mattel Designers we have some great up and com- Peters 1st Place – Kale Wargo We covered the various pieces made everything from chassis and wheel selec-
ing artists. 2nd Place – Kinsey tion, car setup and weight distribution and
6 thru 10 – Custom Hayes in France that gives us the most varia- the technical aspects of momentum and
Thank you to all our coloring participants who joined us and special thanks to my fellow “staffers” Mustang, the Charity 3rd Place – Kennedy tions and variety, and is the toughest to inertia. There were many questions and the
catalog and track down. Mostly, cab and
Greg Hall, Jason Hayes, Russ Kottke and Loretta Parker for lending a helping hand with our event Car Napier trailer combinations. A few new and seminar itself was very open and interactive.
and our judging. Special thanks to Mark & Jennifer Millhollin that make these events great. 1st Place – Leah The post seminar interest was high. Many
Nieves never before seen prototypes and country seminar goers asked questions afterwards
origins were shown for the first time and
2019 LAraok party 2018, I gave out over 600 RAOKs during the Convention. People seem to ble discussion between many of the hardcore Steering Rig collectors discussing the latest finds and and inquired about contact information for
discussed. It was more of a round-ta-
follow up inquiries. What a treat to have
like and enjoy getting my RAOKs at the Convention so I will continue to
been able to learn from the Champ! Special
By Joe Alverado do it whenever I can, Hope to see you all at the next Convention as I am comparing notes to help create a comprehensive list of some of the harder to find trucks. Even Robert thanks to Mattel Inc. and Collectors Events
What’s a ROAK you ask? It’s a “Random Act of Kindness.” And at every handing you a RAOK.” Rosas joined in on the Q&A for a few things. It was a great time. Please join us in the future to see Unlimited for allowing access to the race
Nationals/Convention some collectors make a handful of custom cars, or Kirk Smith and find out the latest information on these rigs from some of the best collectors around. during the seminar. www.facebook.com/
creative gifts that are Hot Wheels themed, package them in various ways Retired USAF / Federal Firefighter voxxerracing
Shouldyouinsure
and hand them out to fellow collectors as a gift or trade them with fellow Shouldyouinsure by mike zarnock
ROAKers. The RAOK Party gives collectors a place to trade those custom If you have ever met Kurt at a Convention you’re defiantly going to leave
your collection?
cars with other fellow ROAKers. It’s really cool to see what other people with a RAOK from him. He’s always handing them out. Thanks Kurt. If you your collection?
come up with. One fellow RAOKer is Kurt Smith from Mesa Arizona. haven’t attended a RAOK Party I hope you join us at the 2019 Nationals. process of a claim or someone who thought their homeowners covered
them only to find out that they had little or no coverage at all and where
Should you insure your collection, and if so, do you know the proper way that left them.
“I love the RAOK Party, giving out RAOKs is my favorite part of any
Convention. The RAOK is the easiest way to meet new people who enjoy to go about doing it? Whether you have a collection valued at $5,000, $50,000, or $500,000,
the same hobby. And giving out free Hot Wheels has been a tradition Most everyone in the Hot Wheels community knows that I do collection I’ve done a lot of research and personally talked with many insurance
with Mattel since the beginning of Hot Wheels. As a promotion Mattel appraisals for Insurance claims, post office claims and many other things companies to find the proper companies who can supply the proper
gave away Hot Wheels with drinks, oil, gasoline and in the back of Comic like eBay fraud. So for the past few years, I’ve been doing a seminar at coverage for what you collect and what it costs for that coverage. You’d
Books where you could join the Birthday Club and get a bunch of free both the Hot Wheels Nationals and the Hot Wheels Convention on not be surprised at how simple and how inexpensive it is to get the coverage
stuff from Mattel. So I guess I enjoy doing the same thing with RAOKs only insuring your collection, but the correct way to insure your collection. you need.
at the Conventions these days, I just feel good doing it and in this world Now you might be saying to yourself, what does he mean by the “correct If insuring your collection has been on your mind and you don’t know how
today not too many things are free and make you feel good. This year, way to insure your collection”? Well, as we all know, there’s always many to go about it, or you’re just curious and have questions, please feel free
ways to do things no matter what it is and if you don’t do your “Due to join the many others who attend my seminar at each event. Either way,
diligence” you may be sorry if you ever have the unfortunate opportunity I’m sure you’ll walk away with a lot of useful information. Well, at least
By Bruce Pascal to find out how well you’re covered, if covered at all…. that’s what the collector’s who’ve attended say!
I’m sure many of us know someone who’s had something unfortunate Thank you and hope to see you at the next event!
The Prototype Redline Seminar was filled with happen to their collectibles and the horror stories that accompany the
over 110 slides showcasing the many va-
rieties of prototypes from the early years.
With rare factory photos and pictures
of wood models going back to the mid
1950s, the entire process of how a Hot
Wheels car was made was explained, and
at each
stage
of the
process
various
proto-
types
could be
found.
From
original
4x scale
wood
patterns,
to 4x
scale patterns made from resin, to brass cars and resin 1/64th scale, many
cars that have never been shown before were discussed. Other Interesting
cars were displayed and shown in the slides, from a Cheetah to chrome cars,
from non tampo cars to ones with different features never added, the discus-
sion was filled with questions and answers and lots of audience participation.
Over 60 people attended and everyone seemed to learn and share theories
on the cars we love to collect.

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