How Ridiculous is That???

Yard Sale Find... 

I hate that the average ordinary die-cast hunter looking for those all important chase pieces doesn't get a fair shake in this hobby.  The people that do most of the finding are the people that are always on the look.  And when I say that they are always on the look, I mean from night to day, day to night… they are beating up the stores from the time they open until the time they close.  I am not one of those guys.  I have the 925 that affords me the look after work, but by the time I get a peek at what’s on the shelves or in the box, the chasers are long gone.  The only time that there’s a bit of an equalizer is around mid October when the stores start working on stocking up for Christmas.  After that… the playing field narrows.  How ridiculous is it?  Did you know that someone created and algorithm for a certain big box store to find out the best time to go hunting?  Also, there’s a website that lets you put in a product code for two of the big box stores to let you know the quantities of items.  Anyway… while the convention is going on, I thought I would do a little hunting and guess what.  Still nothing… just my soapbox rant for today.  Hope you enjoyed the read and let me know what your thoughts are!  

Check Out Your DGs...

Tuesday, November 18... 

It hasn't been a month since the last post, but pretty darn close.  With the holidays looming close, you would think that there would be more sales and a lot more shipments of toys to all retailers.  I've been to all the big box stores near my neighborhood and it doesn't seem like they are in a rush to put out stock.  The other bad news for me is there are some new on-line enraptures in my hunting grounds.  They seem to be going after certain castings other than $uper and Regular Hunts... Not that I've found a ton of those either.

Wow... can you say, "Digression!"

I'm sitting at home watching a bit of Tele with my fam and I get a text...  My buddy says that he stopped by a few Dollar General's on his way home from work on the south side of the Baltimore County Line and found not one, not two, but three $uper Gassers... oh, and eight Off Tracks!  

Out the door I go...  Now there is a DG just out of range of my stone throwing ability, but I can drive to it before you could play a short song on your satellite radio.  So I do...and I did. I arrived before even turning on any radio.  Sidebar... Did I happen mention that just before walking through the door I caught a glimpse of the HoO for this particular DG Store?  Well, they are open from 8 am and they close at 10 pm every single day of the week...Why???  Anyway... I march through the entrance, pass the register and down the isle with the toys I go.  They have a hanging rack at this particular location that sits at the end of the isle, but off on a corner.  This rack is where they usually hang their die-casts, MatchBox, Hot Wheels or even the occasional Maisto.  I look through the rack and it doesn't appear to have any new castings then when I was in a few months back.  The same mash of Hot Wheels and Matchbox were hanging there...the derelicts of Dollar General.  I was thinking that maybe, for once, I was early, and that maybe they hadn't been put out or maybe they didn't get them.  So, I make way back through the toy isle and as I'm walking through, a blue box catches my eye.  I turn in it's direction to see three shelf trays of Hot Wheels.  Unfortunately, for me, at this time, it does appear that I am a step or two behind.  Quite a few items were missing from the trays, but more than half remained, so I looked through them.  I did find a Homer with a tattered card back and an Off Track that I had to pick up so I could say my trip was a success.  I took my finding to the register with a grin on my face only to from at the cost.  In my hast, I forgot that die-casts sell for a premium at the DG... not that $1.25 each would break me.  I bought them, took them home and gave them to my son, who promptly opened them.

Long and Short of this little tale...  Check your DGs...  My buddy rescued some $upers... You may too!!!  And, let me know what you find!

What's Turning Up Now?

Wednesday, October 29th, only A stones throw from All Hallow's Eve.  I want a treat, because I'm often tricked when it comes to finding those "HTF" diecasts....

So onto Price Rite... I know, I hadn't heard of it either, but thought I'd go have a look see... and, it's right next to a Dollar Tree.  Two birds with one stone.

I saw not a single Hot Wheels Die Cast at the Dollar Tree, but when I walked into the Price Rite next door I was pleasantly surprised.  I fresh, and I mean "FRESH", dump bin.  There were a ton of gray Flintmobiles, a bunch of blue Kool Kombies and a plethora of D case diecasts.

What I took form the BOD...  12 Batpods, 5 Flintmobiles, a Mazda RX7 with a paint error, 12 blue Speedboxes... all with the little round circle with the Hot Wheels flame inside...  Add, last, but not at all least...  2 beautiful copper 1971 Mustang Mach Ones!!!

I don't get to experience this side of collecting, so when I do, I binge...  Price Rite, I like you a lot!!!

My Whys & Rants

The first hot Wheels Die Cast to look like a Dirt Late Model...

Let's see... Where do I begin... I've notice over the past 10 years that people collect many things, but the Hot Wheels collecting landscape has drastically changed. Well, let me go a little further back.

I've been a circle track fan for as long as I can remember. So, as a young kid a would go with my parents to the track and they would buy me pictures of the cars and driver's of those locals drivers for those tracks. As the sport evolved, so did the souvenirs that could be purchased. I'm not talking about t-shirts or photos, but actual die-cast replicas. these die-cast replicas weren't cheap and I soon realized that this was going to be an expensive undertaking... Hot Wheels!!!

Hot Wheels, an inexpensive alternative, for me, to the stock car die cast replicas that I could afford to buy one or two of a month. Now, Hot Wheels die-cast were priced just right. Most of the time they could be found at the less then a dollar and I could afford to buy ten to twenty times as many of these.  To be completely honest, I did!

As time went on, I noticed that there were some slight differences between cars that were of the same casting. One would have a slightly different color, or graphic on it and some would have different wheels. I started collecting just the ones I liked.

Now, to the point... as if it took me too long to get here! I love that I can shore this interesting hobby with my son. The caveat is that there are so many new people getting into this hobby for all the wrong reasons and it's mostly profit driven. This simple fact makes the hobby somewhat aggravating and difficult for the true enthusiast to stay with. another issue that i have is there are so many different releases. Mattel has started to flood the market with so many different types of series outside of the mainline blue cards that I actually grew up with. They have Classics, Larry's Garage, Since '68, Cop Rods... Just to name a few. The most sought after die casts are part of the main line series, but they make people a little crazy in my opinion... The Treasure Hunts. I've seen grown men standing at the front doors of the local big box stores waiting for the doors to open so that they can rush back to the toy isle and snatch up the harder to find cars before anyone else can. Now, don't get me wrong... if this is something that you decide to do because you have a free day here and there... go for it, but these are toys... for the kids. I drive by that local big box store every morning on my way to work, and every day for the past month... same guy... That's a little excessive!

Anyway... it's a great activity for me and my son... looking for our holy grail of Hot Wheels medal... The Deora II. That is the casting that my boy likes the most.

So that's my rant for now... Stop the door warming and hoarding... give someone else a shot to find their holy grail. Unless you're picking it up for that special someone and you have to have more then one... Thanks... Parking it for now... wave when you drive by!

Oh, and this was found not door warming!!!