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December '04 News
Archive
12/24/04 -
Happy Holidays!
Happy Holidays to you and your family!
Send me pics of any cool die-cast cars you get in your stocking.
12/23/04 - Shipping in May
Picked up the latest edition of
Previews Catalog from Diamond Distributors. Looks like we can expect a
SLEW of product from Batman Begins this spring. Among the items
solicited in the catalog are:
Hot Wheels
Batman Begins Die-Cast Vehicles & Figures
Collectors will love these authentic 1:64 scale vehicles and figures
inspired by the blockbuster movie Batman Begins! There are six
different vehicles with figures including Batman and other characters from
the movie: Batmobile, Batmobile w/camo deco, Bat-Bike, Bat-Copter, and
Bat-Blade. Collect them all! Blister card packaging.
Scheduled to ship in May 2005. SRP: $2.99
 
12/21/04 - Klingon Battle
Cruiser Spotted - Shields Up!!!
Just wanted to let you know that if
you're interested in the Johnny Lightning Star Trek series, I spotted
them at a local Meijer store. I only picked up the Enterprise NCC-1701
and the Klingon Battlecruiser, but they had all 6, including the Enterprise
NX-01, Romulan Bird of Prey, Galileo Shuttlecraft, and USS Reliant. I
have mixed feelings on these. I think they'd be nicer if they were
made of die-cast metal instead of plastic. But I guess if you're a fan
of the series, these will look cool on your desk. Look for Series 2
... Coming Soon!
  
12/21/04 - Special Thanks
... or should I say Tanks?
A special thanks goes out to Laurence,
Nathaniel & Dustin Freeman for providing more than 100 pics of ERTL's
Thomas the Tank Engine collection. I had no idea there were that
many pieces in that line of die-cast vehicles. I had been putting off
adding Thomas to my site, because I just didn't know that much about
the TV series (which debuted in 1984) or ERTL's series. Thanks, again,
to the Freeman family for helping to make Hollywood Die-Cast.com the most
thorough reference for collectors of entertainment die-cast vehicles.
Happy Holidays too! Click HERE
to view the pics. Now I need to get to work on that Theodore
Tugboat section! Anyone care to help?
UPDATE:
The Freeman family was nice enough to also send photos of their
Theodore Tugboat collection.
They also added:
All of my research has led to the
fact that we have a complete collection and that ERTL will no longer be
producing these die-cast in this form....here is what I have been reading:
"Important message: ERTL will no longer be producing the Thomas the
Tank Engine & FriendsTM Die-Cast line. Each and every die-cast
character, accessory and set is being discontinued. COLLECT THEM ALL NOW
before stock runs out! ERTL trains are die-cast metal. They do not have a
magnet and are not compatible with the wooden track."
"The Thomas & Friends Die Cast product manufactured by Racing
Champions/ERTL has been discontinued and we will no longer offer this
product. The Die-Cast product has been replaced by a new manufacturer, RC2,
and the new line is called Take Along Thomas."
I heard similar things back in 2002, but I have been able to continue
collecting the new releases since then thru some UK stores....but now, even
they are stating the demise of the Thomas line and that production is now
being discontinued:
"Note: Items listed in red are sold out. The range is to be relaunched
entirely with new specifications, wheels, magnetic couplings etc and in new
packaging starting January 2005. If you wish to complete your collection of
this current series, please hurry as products are now selling out on a
weekly basis - we are updating this list as this happens." (This is a
reference to the new Take Along Thomas which will be available in the UK
starting next year)
12/20/04 - She was born in
Detroit......
... on an automobile assembly line.
But she is no ordinary automobile. Deep within her lives an unholy
presence. She is
CHRISTINE.
I received another
package via UPS today from RC2. This time, submitted for my review, is
Joy Ride's 1:18 version of Christine! This has been on my
wish list for quite some time, and it's finally here. RC2 has really
gone over the top on this one. Check out the real working headlights!
(above ... That's not a movie still, that's the 1:18 car!) I love the
black tinted windows. The red "vinyl" interior is a nice touch.
This car is a MUST-HAVE for any entertainment die-cast collector. I do
want to share this little tidbit with you, however. When I removed
Christine from her packaging to photograph her, I noticed the antenna
was gone. I panicked, thinking it had fallen off or that it might've
shipped without it. But after searching the package again, I found the
antenna fastened securely to the back wall of the package. So, before
you fire off an e-mail to RC2, look for the antenna before throwing away the
packaging. Once again, my thanks to the people at RC2 for providing me
with a car that instantly becomes one of my favorite pieces in my
collection. You can view my entire 1:18 collection by clicking
HERE.
   
 
12/20/04 - Latest
Acquisitions!
Added a few new cars to my collection
today. While out Christmas shopping, I finally stumbled upon the
elusive Hot Wheels Batman 5-Pack, featuring the blue with flames Keaton
style Batmobile ($4.47 at Wal*Mart). It's a very sharp-looking car and
a welcome addition to my Hot Wheels Batmobile collection (above right).
Hot Wheels has produced so much Batman product, I decided to create a
separate Hot Wheels Batmobile
page.
Also, I recently won a Johnny
Lightning 10th Anniversary Lincoln Futura on eBay for about $6 plus shipping
(below left.) Wow, this thing is nice. What makes this car
significant is not only was the Lincoln Futura the basis for the '66 Barris
Batmobile, but this red version was featured in the 1959 film It Started
with a Kiss starring Debbie Reynolds and Glenn Ford. Also pictured
below is the Futura with custom wheels (customized by Craig Mueller.)
 
12/16/04 - HW Bruce Wayne
Collection
Apparently, the limited edition Hot
Wheels Bruce Wayne Collection has been showing up on eBay, but in different
form than the original photo suggested. Instead of the round
packaging, they're appearing in a rectangular box, and instead of a red
Ferrari Dino, a black one is included. Still, despite its limited
nature, unless someone can convince me these cars are based on the comic
books, movies, or TV shows, I'm going to have to pass on these.
Personally, I think it's a lousy way for Hot Wheels to use the Batman
license to sell cars.
In other Batman
news, I stumbled onto an
eBay auction (by seller zero-f) for a set of 4 vehicles from the
1989 film offered by Hot Wheels' Japanese line: Charawheels. The
set (pictured below) includes the Batmobile with and without shields, the
Bat Wing (with display stand) and the Joker's car. I don't understand
why Hot Wheels offers its superb Charawheels line exclusively in Japan, but
I wouldn't mind picking up this set, if only for the Joker car.
12/14/04 - Cool Display
Saw this photo posted by THE--DUDE3 on
The Monkeemobile website. It's a really cool way to display the
Monkeemobile in all its scales. For those of you who don't know, the
Monkeemobile was the winner of our POLL
for favorite TV car.
12/13/04 - Batman Updates
Thanks to the great gang over on the
Hollywood Die-Cast Forum, I have some Batman updates for you.
Apparently, the second wave of Corgi Batman Vehicles has been unveiled
(click on the above thumbnail to view). Also, if you're trying
to collect all the Hot Wheels Batmobile variants out there (like I am) then
you'll want to pick up the set of 4 Avon Exclusive Park N Plates Batman
vehicles (below), which includes a variant HardNoze Batmobile. You can
currently find these on eBay.
UPDATE: I received a tip that this
Avon set can be purchased online at:
http://shop.avon.com/avonshop/default.asp
12/8/04 - Collectors'
Collections
I've added new photos to the
Collectors' Collections section of the website. Christian Llamas
e-mailed me a few pics of his modest but growing collection. It's an
interesting mix of entertainment and non-entertainment vehicles, with a few
customs thrown in. It's always fun to see what others collect and how
they display their collection. Click HERE
to view all the submissions so far, or you can use the link to the right.
If you'd like to submit pics of your own collection, e-mail me at
joe@hollywood-diecast.com .
 
12/7/04 - Yabba Dabba
Doooooo!
I received a totally unexpected
surprise in the mail today, via UPS. I was notified a package had
arrived when I wasn't home, so I made arrangements to pick it up at the
local UPS office. I had no idea what it was until I picked up the
package. The slip said it was from RC2 Brand. I hadn't
ordered anything, so I was a little confused. Well, upon opening it up, I discovered it was Joy Ride's 1:18 die-cast Flintmobile (see pics above.)
It seems RC2 sent it to me as a product sample for my review. What a
fantastic surprise! I wasn't sure if I wanted to pick this one up,
based on the photos I've seen, but now that I've held it in my hands, I am
really impressed with it. The figures are great, and even includes
Dino. After removing it from its base, I discovered the stone wheels
(which feel like they're ACTUALLY made of stone) roll with ease. This
is a great piece, and one I'll proudly
display alongside the other 1:18 cars in my collection. My thanks
to the people at RC2 who are responsible for sending the car to me.
The Flintmobile is in stores now. It'll make a great Christmas present
for a loved one.
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