Despite the 1 hour delay due to technical difficulties (ala crazy hotel internet) we managed to bang out the first ever Saturday Nitro with a live studio audience! It definitely added a little extra excitement to the show that brought things to a whole new level. We also tried live streaming some video, but had some difficulties with the sound. Thats what you get for trying to add bonus features in the zero hour!

This show features special guests like Chris Walker, Lou Tanahara, Jim Lombari, Mike Zarnock, Lee Pearlman, Joe Kelly Jr and more!

Listen to the recorded show from the audio widget on this page or check out the catalog of previous shows on the Saturday Nitro page.

Can you think of a better way to feature a Redline drag car then with the real deal? A 1-to-1 racing machine. Dan Spaudling of Harrisville, Rhode Island has such a ride. Some of you know Dan from the Hot Wheels events from coast to coast, but he’s also a weekend drag racing ace. Dan started with a 1970 Ford Maverick coupe, built from scratch, by Dan and his Dad. The Blue Oval Rocket is powered by a 351 Ford Windsor with a single carburetor running no nitrous, best ET is 10.26 @131 mph in the 1/4 mile. The car has been featured in numerous publications including Mustang Illustrated, Muscle Mustangs and Fast Fords magazine.

Now lets talk about the little Maverick that could. The Mattel version, released in 1970 as the Mighty Maverick was based on a re-proportioned concept of the Ford Maverick by Howard Rees. It had a metal base and lift up hood that revealed a metal engine with 8 carbs. It was available as a Hong Kong or USA casting with a plastic interior with blue or clear glass. One of the coolest features was the black plastic spoiler on the rear deck and the white racing stripe on the roof. Its flawless finish was available in 15 spectraflame colors. This casting is very hard to find in a C7 or better condition, and as you might imagine, are very pricey.

Here’s a quick casting comparison:

USA casting:
Clear windows, opening hood, wide stripe on roof, interior in black with molded dash, steering wheel and rear wing.

Hong Kong casting:
Blue windows, opening hood, thin stripe on roof, interior in black with molded dash, steering wheel and rear wing.
Optional Brown interior and wing, only found in copper and orange spectraflame. Also, some HK’s have been found with satin black roofs.

I would like to thank Jim Lombari and Dan Spauding from the Rhode Island Hot Wheels Club, and Scott Jones (via the web) from California for their contributions this months post.

Note: Frantic Ford drag car-Dan Spaulding. Aqua, Apple Green, Pink-from: Jim Lombari collection. Packaged Olive & Blue, Red, and 75 reissue with tampo-from: Scott Jones collection. Balance: RK Stickels collection

The Diecast Hall of Fame began its formation in the summer of 2008. The idea behind the prestigious award is to recognize all of those who have impacted the diecast and automotive world together for their accomplishments. In maintaining integrity and credibility, the Hall of Fame Committe was formed and currently consists of:

Tom Zahorsky – Johnny Lightning
Katie Roland – GreenLight Collectibles
Bruce Pascal – The Beachbomb “Holy Grail” owner
Luis Tanahara – Custom Crew and Sledster Designer
Chris Walker – Customizer
Carson Lev – VP Foose Designs
Bob Parker – Hot Wheels author
Mike Zarnock – Hot Wheels author
Joe Kelly Jr. – Car Room Magazine Founder

A person has the opportunity each year from March 1 until May 21 to submit applications online for consideration. The committee also has the opportunity to make their recomendations which is then compiled and placed into an online transparent voting process. Once the data is collected and the results are in, each committee member is sent the results and they must affirm the inductees in order for it to be a recognized induction.

At the Super Convention each year, inductees are recognized in a dinner/ceremony environment where they are presented with a plaque for their accomplishments and then issued a hand crafted diamond studded Hall of Fame Custom Ring manufactured by Jostens.

The Class of 2010 will be as follows:

Automotive Legends
• Dale Earnhardt Sr. (Post Humous)
• Tom McEwen
• Don Prudhomme
• John D’Agostino

Diecast Designer
• Ira Gilford (Hot Wheels Designer)
• Phil Riehlman (Hot Wheels Designer)
• MiQ Willmott (Hot Wheels Graphic Designer)
• Tom Lowe (Owner, Playing Mantis/Johnny Lightning)

Diecast Customizers
• Bryan Pope (Pope Designs)
• Lee Pearlman (Liberty Promotions)

Diecast Historians
• Charlie Mack (Matchbox Author)
• Mac Ragan (Matchbox, Hot Wheels, Johnny Lightning Author)
• Fred Wagenhals (Founder of Action Racing Collectibles)

Intriguing Collectors
• Jeff Glasson (HEY – Thats me!!)
• Dan Spaulding
• Bob Rosas

Carroll Shelby Lifetime Achievement Award
• Fred Blood (1-Stop Diecast)

RAOK Award
• Jim Lombari

Here’s a video of the announcements delivered by The Car Room Magazine’s Joe Kelly Jr. who MC’d that portion of the night:

Please visit http://www.spinyourtires.com for more information about attending the 2010 Super Convention and the Diecast Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

Up until now we have only been privy to the e-sheet of the upcoming Hot Wheels Deco Delivery that will make its “first timer as a limited edition premium” debut at the Summer Smash this August. However, Rhode Island Hot Wheels Club President Jim Lombari had a special treat for those attending the June meeting this week. Mattel shipped Jim the first sample to share, and I was there with camera in-hand to snap these first pictures of what is sure to be one highly desirable collector piece.

While very Jim was very tempted to rip it out of the package for a better look, it was decided that the sample would stay safely sealed so that it could become part of the Make-a-Wish Charity auction that will be held during the convention. For now, here’s some decent in-package close-ups to drool over!

The combination of Larry Wood’s design and Wayne Scott’s graphics make this a really sharp piece. The run is limited to 1000 pieces and they will be available for $20 each (plus tax) at the 2009 Hot Wheels Summer Smash.

Is it just me or does it seem that 2009 will be a great year to be a diecast collector? If there’s one thing to be said about our hobby, its there’s no shortage of diecast conventions in the near future! Here is a quick list of the best multi-day events happening across the country this year (listed in order of occurrence):

2009 DiecastSpace.com Super Convention
I’ve been talking about this “first of its kind” event for a while now, and its really shaped up to be one heck of a time! Its the first time almost all the major mainstream diecast manufacturers will be present under one roof. Mattel, Johnny Lightning, GreenLight, M2 and GMP as well as a gathering of the country’s top diecast customizers will descend on Las Vegas from February 18th – 22nd. If that wasn’t enough, the first ever Diecast Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be taking place to honor somme of the best names in diecast and the automotive industry.

Very few tickets are left to this great event. Visit the official Super Convention site for ticket availability and pricing.

9th Annual Hot Wheels Collectors Nationals
Unofficially dubbed the “East Coast” Hot Wheels Convention, this Mike Strauss run event moves from city to city each Spring. This year it lands back in Reston, Virginia from March 25th – 29th. The week is always packed full of great events and fantastic ion-room trading. This year’s special guests include Howard Reese, Mike McClone, Phil Riehlman, Wayne Scott and Larry Wood.

Tickets are on sale now and will be available until March 5th or when sold out (which ever comes first). They can be purchased online with a credit card or with a check and the mail-in form.

Wild Weekend of Hot Wheels 6
Randy Price’s Wild Weekend of Hot Wheels returns to Connecticut this year on July 30th – August 2nd. This year’s event will offer a variety of events including a Guinness Book of World Records attempt for the Longest Track. Convention vehiles are being produced by Mattel this year and special guests will include Larry Wood, Mike Zarnock, Bob Parker.

A variety of ticket packages are currently available on the official Wild Weekend of Hot Wheels 6 website.

Hot Wheels Summer Smash 2
Jim Lombari and the Rhode Island Hot Wheels Club are bringing the diecast fun back to Warwick on August 27th-30th for the 2nd Annual Hot Wheels Summer Smash. This year offers four full days of activities and convention vehicles from both Mattel and Liberty Promotions. Special guests include Larry Wood, George Soulakis, Mike Zarnock and Bob Parker.

The official Summer Smash website is up and tickets are now on sale.

23rd Annual Hot Wheels Collectors Convention
Traditionally the larger of the two “Strauss” conventions, this California based convention is usually the most grand seeing that Mattel is headquartered just up the road in El Segundo. Dates for this event typically land in October with the official announcement coming out shortly after the Nationals in Reston are over.

Some collectors felt that the 2008 convention was a little lacking in its 40th Anniversary year. Perhaps the 40th Anniversary cross-counrty tour drained a little bit too much from the coffer. It should be interesting to see how this convention compares to the others happening earlier in the year – especially since Mattel is participating in the all of them.

The world might be in an economic frenzy right now, but the future is certainly looking bright for the world of diecast!

During November’s meeting, Rhode Island Hot Wheels Club President, Jim Lombari announced that Mattel will be partnering with the club to be a part of Hot Wheels Summer Smash 2009 which is officially scheduled for August 27-30 in Warwick, Rhode Island. The club’s hard work in raising $20,000 for the Make-a-Wish Foundation played a big hand in gaining Mattel’s attention and everyone is excited and honored to have them be a part of next year’s event.

Stay tuned for more details on this great partnership!

A recording of my interview with Hot Wheels author, Mike Zarnock is now available on the Saturday Nitro page! Our interview covered many aspects of Mike’s amazing experiences in the world of die cast including Mike’s vast collection, his Guinness Book of World Records and Ripley’s Believe It or Not accomplishments and the numerous books he’s written on Hot Wheels.

This show also featured a call-in from Rhode Island Hot Wheels Club president, Jim Lombari who reminded listeners about the current downhill racing challenge that the club has open to all collectors. Be sure to listen for the details!

Jump straight to the show page here!

Ok, I promise…this will be the only corny pun in this post…but, Hot Wheels Summer Smash 2008 was a “SMASHING” success! An amazing crowd of die cast collectors and enthusiasts took over the two floors and two ballrooms at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Warwick Rhode Island for what was simply the best die cast event New England has seen in years.

Attendees were introduced to non-stop die cast fun right after leaving the registration table where each ticket holder got to spin the Liberty Promotion wheel of chance to walk away with one of over 12 different limited edition die cast pieces including the occasional Drag Bus! In-room trading got off to an early start on Friday afternoon and convention-goers continued to offer up a wide variety of both old and new collectibles from their rooms through-out the weekend.

Saturday offered up a wide variety of events for both kids and adults. Kids downhill and Sizzlers racing kicked off the morning and rolled straight into a visit from the Oscar Meyer WienerMobile as well as Batman and the Batmobile! An additional cast of characters including Spiderman, Shrek and many others joined the mix. One of the highlights for the kids was the opportunity to participate in Batman training school where Batman taught the kids some basic moves, and they were able to help Batman ward off an evil ninja.

The adults enjoyed a variety of racing in addition to the custom contest and the “Create Your Own Custom” seminars. Of course, the highlight of the day was the Summer Smash dinner and charity auction. Despite getting off to a late start, the dinner went smoothly. Convention guests Mike Zarnock, Bob Parker, Lee Pearlman, George Soulakis and David Chang all made brief speeches and got things rolling right into the auction which ran all the way to midnight! Needless to say, the auction attendees didn’t get much in-room trading done on Saturday night – not that the auction left them with any money left to buy!

Sunday’s toy show capped off a great weekend by bringing in fresh faces from the public as well as a few new vendors who weren’t part of the convention. By the time 2pm rolled around, the glazed look on the staff’s eyes indicated it was time to pack up and go. Jim Lombari and his staff deserve a standing ovation for the incredible amount of hard work they put into turning the one day Rhode Island Hot Wheels Club Expo into the full weekend Hot Wheels Summer Smash! I can’t wait to do it all again next year!

For those who might not have followed along with my photo posts throughout the weekend, you can still go check out all the slideshows on the Summer Smash page. Be sure to click on the “Shows” tab at the top of the widget to see all the sets of photos that can be viewed.

diecastAUDIO Bus Update
I’m also proud to report that all 20 of the Pope Designs diecastAUDIO Drag Buses have been sold. 9 of the 10 that went on sale on eBay went in under 2 minutes with the 10th holding out for 44 minutes. During the live sale, 8 of the 10 were sold right away and the remaining 2 went later that night. Thanks again to Bryan Pope for all the hard work in making the diecastAUDIO bus a reality!

David Chang Charity EVO Update
For those who might not have followed the David Chang Pre-Production EVO charity auction on eBay, the winning bid came in at a whopping $1005.00! You can see the auction results here.