Hot Wheels


’67 Chevelle SS 396 Hidden Treasure Hunt 3

This year, Mattel brought us a new spin on Hot Wheels Treasure Hunts so collectors actually have to “hunt” for the cars instead of just looking for the green stripe on the side that we’ve all become so accustomed to.  These “Hidden” Treasure Hunts are variations on some of the regular series issues.  The Hidden Treasure Hunts replace the old “Super” Treasure Hunts from recent years.  These are harder to find than this year’s Treasure Hunt Series.  The variations feature Spectraflame paint, upgraded wheels, Treasure Hunt logos, and different packaging.

The 2012-110 ’67 Chevelle SS 396 Hidden Treasure Hunt from the Muscle Mania – GM ’12 Series is currently fetching around $20.  The regular issue in red is valued at $2.00 and the newer green recolor is currently valued at $3.00.

Join us on the Hallsguide forum to see the latest finds from our members or to show off your own.


Hallsguide First Look: 2012 Hot Wheels 7

The 2012 Hot Wheels have been hitting the shelves for a couple of months now.  Here we take a first look at some of the latest and coolest 2012 series to hit the pegs. Also visit our 2012 price guides to see prices and checklists for what has been released so far.

2012 #002 1964 Chevy Chevelle SS – Mattel has done a great job at casting a variety of muscle cars.  2012 looks to be no different.  Chevelle fans get another great casting to add to their collections with this one.  The red paint job with grey trim looks great and I’m betting we’ll see this one show up again with another paint scheme before 2012 is over.

2012 #006 – ’71 Plymouth Road Runner – MOPAR fans rejoice!  We have another great Plymouth to add to our collections and what could be better than the Plum Crazy paint job?

2012 #168 – HW Main Street ’69 Mercury Cougar Eliminator – Everyone loves a good muscle car and everyone loves their local fire department, so a ’69 Mercury Cougar Eliminator sporting a Cranston Fire department paint job is the perfect combination.

In addition to what we see here, 2012 will be a great year for Hot Wheels collectors.  We will get a total of 50 New Models and tons of recolors on our all-time favorites.  One of the best ideas since the initial release of Treasure Hunts is the new way of doing Super Treasure  Hunts.  We will still get the classic Treasure Hunt line, but the Super Treasure Hunts will not be labeled as such on the packaging but will instead be packaged as regular mainlines from various series.  They will feature Spectraflame paint and Treasure Hunt graphics but will blend in with the other mainlines on the shelves due to their packaging.  This will bring back the thrill of the hunt as the absence of the bright green stripe down the side may help to keep them from disappearing so quickly from the shelves.  Click here to see the most recent Super Treasure Hunts on Ebay and stay up to date on what to look for.



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2009 Matchbox Price Guides Added

The 2009 Matchbox Series price guides are live and online.  I am currently working my way backwards through all the Matchbox years.  The addition of the 2009 Series gives us three complete series of Matchbox in the price guides.  Stay tuned as I continue to update the Hot Wheels Redline Series and add to the Matchbox series.  An update to the 2011 Hot Wheels is on the way as well as I will be adding more variations and updated pricing on those.


Diecast Errors 68

One of the most frequent questions I get asked is:  “How much is this diecast error worth?”  The answer is:  It varies.  Most are worth a couple of dollars more than a non-error although some may approach the $100 mark.  It really depends on the error.  More sought-after castings will command a premium for their errors and common castings will demand less.  One of the more popular errors, lately, has been the no-tampo error.  Some castings, especially muscle cars, just look cleaner with no tampos and these are often popular errors on the secondary market.

Wheel errors are another type of error frequently seen.  These include mismatched wheels or as is often the case, all small wheels or all large wheels, when the back wheels are normally larger.  Here is a recent example of an all-large wheels error found on a Ford GT.  This one sticks out like a sore thumb as the front wheels are way to large on the top car.

Another type of common error is when the car inside doesn’t match the blisterpack.  This Pontiac GTO showed up in on a Treadator card.

I personally think the GTO is a better casting but it’s an interesting piece regardless.

Oftentimes an error will get confused for a variation but they aren’t the same.  A variation is when something on the casting or packaging is intentionally changed.  Variations often carry a higher premium because many people will buy them to complete their sets, or they may try to buy every variation of a certain casting.

Either way, collect what you enjoy and you can’t go wrong.  If you have errors you want to show off or you would like to see what our other members have found, check out the errors thread on our forum.

If you are looking to buy or sell any type of diecast, including errors, visit DiecastMarket.com.  Here you can sell at no risk because there are no listing fees.  And because the low (5%) selling fee beats Ebay and other competitors, buyers don’t have to worry about all the fees being passed onto them as high “shipping and handling.”  Buyers can also take advantage of our “Buy Now” feature with no expiration, effectively giving you a no-cost online storefront.