There’s just a few weeks left until the Collector Experience rolls into Nashville from June 16th thru the 19th, and from the looks of things its going to be one heck of a convention! Collectors who have never attended a DiecastSpace convention before will see first-hand why these events are truly an “experience” and not just cookie cutter show. There’ll be something for everyone in Nashville no matter if you collect Hot Wheels, Matchbox, Johnny Lightning, Greenlight or M2 Machines. All brands of diecast are featured at the Collector Experience!

The three main days of the convention are packed full of great activities like Diecast Bingo, Diecast UNO, Downhill Racing, in-room trading, autograph sessions and vending machine pull sessions featuring the debut of the DiecastSpace Vending Machine that will be packed full of all sorts of goodies and special surprises. Add in the RAOK Party, Legends Dinner and Charity Auction and you have the recipe for a fun filled couple of days.

A variety of special guests are scheduled to attend the Collector Experience as well! Diecast personalities include Hot Wheels Designers Larry Wood, Eric Tscherne and Wayne Scott as well as Diecast Authors Mike Zarnock and Bob Parker. Ben “Cooter” Jones from The Dukes of Hazard is also set to make an appearance, so be sure to bring your General Lee castings for the autograph sessions! You’ll also find several of your favorite Pro Diecast Customizers like Bryan Pope and Chris Walker in attendance with some special limited edition diecast pieces for sale.

Of course, the main reason to attend a convention is for the cars, right? A wide selection of custom convention cars have been created for the weekend. Collectors attending the premium events such as Bingo and UNO will receive their special cars for those activities during the events themselves. Those attending the convention under a general admission ticket will still have the ability to browse and purchase any of the Collector Experience branded souvenir cars. Here’s a sneak peek of come of the various cars that have been created. Click on any image to see a larger version.

If all this weren’t enough, Liberty Promotions will be giving away a FREE VW Drag Bus to anyone who books three or more nights at the convention hotel on the trading floors! Information about tickets and accommodations can be found on ToyCarConventions.com, or you can book your hotel directly by calling (615) 259-2000 and using the group code “DIECAST.”

We hope to see you there!

Dips in the economy aside, its a really good time to be a diecast collector. There have never been more options to attend a live event and connect with fellow collectors for some fun in this hobby that we all know and love. This year features large events that will definitely peak your interest no matter what brand or scale you collect. Here’s a quick rundown of each in order of occurrence including links out to their respective sites to get more information:

The Nashville Collector Experience – June 16-19, 2011 – Nashville, TN

Diecastspace returns to their “Collector Experience” style convention that will include special presentations from sponsoring manufacturers as well as your favorite standard events like the Legends Dinner, Camaro Bingo, the RAOK Party, Diecast UNO, In-Room Trading,  Charity Auction, the Customs Contest, Downhill Racing, in-room trading and much more. This convention also marks the debut of the Diecastspace Vending machine which will be packed full of amazing diecast surprises.

Special Guests for Nashville include Hot Wheels Designers Larry Wood, Wayne Scott and Eric Tscherne, Hot Wheels Author Mike Zarnock, Tom Zahorsky from Johnny Lightning and Ben “Cooter” Jones from the Dukes of Hazzard TV Show.

The Canada Convention – July 13-17, 2011 – Toronto, Canada

The Canadian Diecast Convention returns for its second year at an all new location in Toronto. Mattel will be in attendance with the Hot Wheels Live Tour Trailer featuring awesome Hot Wheels displays and exclusive Hot Wheel merchandise that will only be available on the tour. The Official Hot Wheels Vending Machine will also be on hand which is always a blast. Other events will include the Legends dinner, RAOK party, downhill racing, Diecast UNO, Diecast Bingo, the customs contest, a Redlines seminar, in-room trading and much more. Sears will also be sponsoring a special event thats not to be missed!

The Special Guests for this event are still to be announced.

Lightning Fest - July 15-16, 2011 – Dyersville, IA

Lightning Fest is the main event to attend for the die-hard Johnny Lightning collector. Held each year at the RC@ Outlet store in Dyersville, Iowa, this FREE two day event is packed full of great family-friendly activities. Such activites include Gravity Racing, a customs contest, daily raffles, a Design forum, Diecast Bingo, charity auctions, a full-scale car show and in-room trading. The Diecastspace vending machine will laso be on hnad and stocked with lot s of great JL products and surprises.

A yet to be announced special celebrity guest from the Dukes of Hazzard TV show is also planned for the event.

KustomKon – August 4-7, 2011 – Dallas, TX

The Diecastspace KustomKon returns to Dallas this summer and features activities for diecast customizers and regular collectors alike. The focus of the conference will be a series of seminars for those who have never customized before all the way up through the advanced customizer. Regular collectors will enjoy in-room trading, the Legends Dinner, the RAOK Swap, limited edition convention cars and the Sunday toy show. All of your favorite professional diecast customizers are set to attend.

Special celebrity guests George Barris and Little Daddy Dennis Roth will be in attendance as well.

Hot Wheels Summer Smash – August 25-28, Warwick, RI

The Summer Smash returns for its fourth year and is New England’s ONLY diecast convention for 2011. All of your favorite activities are scheduled including a Customs Show for kids & adults, the Sunday Toy Show, Sizzler Racing, the Bob Parker trivia contest, the Liberty Promotions Treasure Quest, a Charity Auction and Dinner, Room to Room Trading, a Saturday Car Cruise, Down Hill Racing for kids & adults, an Interactive Customs Seminar by East Coast Real Riders and more. The Diecastspace vending machine is also scheduled to be on hand.

Special guests schedule to attend include Hot Wheels Designer Larry Wood,  Jimmy “The Box Man” Chavez, Tom Zahorsky from Johnny Lightning, Hot Wheels Author  Mike Zarnock, Hot Wheels and Matchbox Author Bob Parker,  Lee Pearlman from Liberty Promotions,  Chris Walker “Night Stalker”, Vince  V-Man Mosely, and Dave Chang

Each year DiecastSpace holds one major sales event where everything in the DiecastSpace.com store is on sale. The time for that sale is THIS WEEK from July, 15, 2010 through Sunday July 18, 2010 at 11:50PM where every item in the store is 30% off.

Simply use the coupon code “SALE” at checkout to receive the discount. The coupon can be used on anything in inventory. Be sure to take advantage of this offer soon, as the store was completely sold out in just 2 hours last year!

There are also a lot of cool new items (not part of this sale) will be hitting the DiecastSpace store in the upcoming weeks. Here’s a quick run-down so you can mark you calendars:

• - August 1 at 3PM Eastern: The August Dairy goes on sale 1 of 25 pieces and features an awesome paint scheme by WRF Customs
• - August 15th 3PM Eastern: Pre Order The 1 of 15 DiecastSpace.Com Hot Wheels Convention Evo edition. We do a really cool paint scheme to celebrate the convention and we limit it to 1 of 15.
• - August 23 at 3PM Eastern: Any of the ComicCon 70 Chevelles by Chris Nightstalker Walker will go on sale on the site. Remember, if you want to guarantee yourself one, visit the DiecastSpace setup at Chicago ComicCon during August 19-22. Chris will be on hand and he can sign them.
• - August 23 at 3PM Eastern: The 1 of 10 Hand Airbrushed Summer Smash EVO’s by Kool51 will be available IF there are any left from Summer Smash.
• - August 23 at 3PM Eastern: The 1 of 50 Rolling Thunder an Evening with Wayne Scott Summer Smash event car will be available if there are any left over. This piece has been hand airbrushed by Kool 51.
• - September 14th at 3PM Eastern: If there are any left over Canada Convention Cars from Liberty Promotions, then at this time they will be put up on the site

There’s just about a week to go, until the start of the 2010 Magical Weekend of Cars in Orlando, Florida and things are ramping up to bring this event to a whole new level. This time around collectors will get to interact with whole new set of vendors like The Franklin Mint, BBR Models, Spark, Minichamps, LeMans Miniatures and Kyosho – and these new vendors are all in addition the traditional brands that sponsor and attend each DiecastSpace convention.

In addition to the new vendors, Hot Wheels Designer Wayne Scott has been added to the guest lineup which already includes the likes of Big Daddy Don Gartlits, Phil Rhielman, Eric Tscherne, Mike Zarnock, Lee Pearlman, Chris Walker and Bryan Pope. Eric Tscherne recently posted this little teaser of the artwork that he’s preparing for the show that features renditions of himself and Chip Foose done up Pixar Cars Movie style!

The general admission has also been expanded to 30,000 square feet to accommodate upwards of 18 full scale hot rods. Rumor has it that two of those cars will be creations from the popular TV show Overhaulin’.

While most add-on events have sold out, there are still tickets available for the Liberty Promotions Drag Bus Breakfast. General Admission tickets for $60 (with a convention car) or $25 (without a car) are still available until Friday, June 18th. Additional rooms have also been added to the convention room block and are available of a first-come first-served basis. Please visit the official convention page on ToyCarConventions.com for more details.

Collectors attending the first ever Canada Collectors Convention with September will have the opportunity to meet the uber-talented Wayne Scott who has been confirmed as the guest of honor for the Legends Dinner.

Wayne is well known for his amazing graphic work with Mattel and the Hot Wheels brand. Before his recent departure from Mattel he was able to take a stab at full-blown design which resulted in popular new castings like Rolling Thunder.

Be sure to visit ToyCarConventions.com for information on tickets and accommodations for the Canada Convention. This first-ever event is on course to sell out fast!

Here are the next case code cars you should be seeing now in stores. They are case code ‘D’ out now and ‘E’ being stocked by end of January into February.

Basic releases:

’09 New Models: Fast Gassin’ in red/chrome.

’10 New Models:

’67 Chevelle SS 396 in red (pic’d) – ’67 Pontiac Firebird 400 in green (pic’d) – ’08 Dodge Charger Drift in blue (pic’d) – Tooligan in gold; Sting Rod II in yellow (pic’d) – ’09 Caddy CTS-V in black (pic’d) – VW Beetle in DK.red; Scorcher in red – Snow Ride in orange (pic’d) – ’08 Viper SRT-!) ACR in white – Fangula in purple (pic’d) – ’09 Corvette Stingray Concept in yellow – Backslider in green – Ghostbusters Ecto-1 (pic’d)

’10 HW Performance: Pass’n Gasser in red – ’41 Willy’s in yellow

HW Racing: Mustang Funny car in blue/purple – F-1 Racer in blue

Hot Action: Ford Thunderbolt in white – Bugatti Veyron in blue

HW City Works: Hummer H2 SUT in yellow

Heat Fleet: Custom VW Beetle in red w/flames – Jeep Scrambler in brown

Mystery cars: Hyundai Spyder in black w/flames – Nissan 350Z in purple – Duel Fueler in silver – Jaded in orange

Track Stars: Drift King in army green – Twin Mill III in green – Dieselboy in blue

Muscle Mania: ’70 Ply. Superbird in greens – ’67 Dodge Charger in blue – ’70 Buick GSX in blue – ’69 Pontiac Firebird T/A in black.

All Stars: Lamborghini Gallardo in black

HW Hot Rods: Bone Shaker in blue

HW Garage: La Fasta in silver

Race World: Cave- Evil Twin; Swoopy Do – Volcano- ’64 Lincoln Continental – Earth- Paradigm Shift (pic’d); Stockcar (pic’d)’ Speedway- Cadillac LMP; Saleen S7

Treasure Hunts: Classic Packard (pic’d) – Old # 5.5 w/wht. tires (pic’d) – 69 Talladega (pic’d)

Walmart special colors: ’40 Woodie in yellow – Ferrari 430 Scuderia in red – Ford Mustang 2+2 Fastback – FTE in yellow

Other series:

2010 Delivery series (Code “D, E, F,” all expected in Jan/Feb):

GMC Motor Home – ’55 Chevy Panel – ’56 Flashsider – Custom ’62 Chevy – ’59 Caddy Funnycar – ’83 Silverado – 50’s Chevy Truck (pic’d) – ’34 Ford – Combat Medic – Dairy Delivery – Anglia Panel – Cool One – VW DLX Station Wagon (pic’d) – Super Van – Hiway Hauler – Baja Breaker – ’69 Chevy Pickup – ’32 Sedan Delivery

HW Garage series 2010 (Code “D”):
Larry Wood: Custom ’66 GTO Wagon (pic’d) – Phil Riehlman: ’70 Chevelle SS – Wayne Scott: Chevelle Wagon (pic’d) – Neet Streeter (pic’d) – ’57 Chevy (pic’d) – Other cars: Fish’d & Dipp’d (pic’d) – Buick Le Sabre Concept (pic’d) – Ferrari 288 GTP (pic’d) – ’41 Pro-Mod Willy’s (pic’d)

Store Only Garage series Promo’s:

Walmart: Tail Dragger – VW Drag Truck – ’58 Ford Edsel

Target: Custom ’56 Ford Truck – ’64 Custom Galaxie – ’65 VW Fast Back

TRU: ’69 Pontiac GTO – Rat Bomb – ’70 Roadrunner

Speed Machines (Case ‘B’): Bugatti Veyron – Enzo Ferrari – Ford GTX-1 – Ferrari 575 GTC – Porche Carrera GT – ’07 Shelby GT 500 – Gallardo LP 560-4

* – Please note that this list was compiled based on information gathered by collectors from online research and personal finds at retail locations. The ability to find select pieces will vary based on geographic location and the frequency that your local retailer refreshes their stock.

The “In the Stores” column is brought to you courtesy of the Connecticut Valley Diecast Club

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.

Here’s a selection of shots from the autograph sessions at the 2009 Hot Wheels Collectors Nationals in Reston, VA. The designers at the sessions included Larry Wood, Phil Riehlman, Howard Rees, Wayne Scott and Mike McClone.