"Hot Wheels Variations"

This month we are going to look at Hot Wheels variations.  While most Hot Wheels vehicles are produced in more than one color, this is not considered a variation.  We will focus on other differences such as wheels changes, alterations in decals, and paint schemes.

One recent example of a Hot Wheels variation was the red 2007 Shelby GT500.  This car was originally offered with a flat black grille.  A couple months later, the same car was seen with a glossy black grille.  Another example is the blue Ford GTX-1 convertible concept car, which has two different wheel styles.  The yellow Ford GTX-1 has been spotted with two slightly different shades of metallic yellow paint.  This is an officially recognized variation in the Toy Review guide book.  There is a deep metallic red 1969 Mustang fastback that also has two different wheel designs.  In a rare triple variation, the flat black 1964 Ford Thunderbolt has now been seen with a third wheel variation, meaning that there are three different wheel styles produced on this car.  There is a light metallic green 1968 Mercury Cougar available with a flat black roof and a glossy black roof.  There is also an extremely rare version of this car with painted hood pins and another without the sunroof outline.

Other Hot Wheels vehicles have differences in the decals applied to the car, such as a change in the size of the decal or a "directional" decal placed on the wrong side of the car.  There is a Hot Wheels Classics green 1965 Mustang coupe with the fender tampo (the running horse and tri-bar decal) on the wrong side of the car.  In rarer cases, some cars will have different color interiors or clear vs. opaque windshields or even painted engine bays.

These are the types of differences that qualify as variations in the world of Hot Wheels collecting.  It's not always easy to determine what the value will be of any particular variation until a little time has passed and it is more clearly known which variations are the rarest.  Sometimes they are equally rare, such as the red 2007 Shelby GT500, as there appears to be equal numbers of each variation of this car in the hands of collectors.  It can sometimes take a keen eye to spot some of these variations. 

Happy Hot Wheels hunting!

The Hot Wheels Hunter