CB's: Hi Bob! First off, we want to thank you for chatting with us, and helping
us kick off our new "Spotlight On" feature.
Bob Rosas: It's my pleasure to share my recollections with Hot Wheels collectors
everywhere.
CB's: You were working at Mattel when Hot Wheels were introduced in 1968, but
you didn't work directly on the product line until 1973. Did you have any
involvement in the Hot Wheels product line prior to 1973, and what were you
responsible for from 1973 on?
Bob Rosas: Yes, when I was working on the tool design for the molds back in `69 and `70. My
input to the product designers and engineers in many cases actually affected the
aesthetics of the cars. That is, I would have to advise them that certain details
were not moldable and had to be changed. This was done in what was called
the pattern review stage. From 1973 on [it] was a time for a lot of new innovation.
Like the development of
the Tampo process, new types of wheels, thinwall die-casting, Hi Rakers, metallic
paints, Real Riders, Crack Ups, Scene Machines and the list goes on and on.
CB's: Are you currently involved with Mattel in some fashion today?
Bob Rosas: Not really, although I have been called by some of the current designers and
engineers in regards to some aspect of the development of new Hot Wheels that
related to something from the past. Like the revival of the Scene Machines
for the Simpsons theme, and track components. I was also asked by the Mattel
marketing folks if I would sign autographs for the convention attendees in 1998.
CB's: Mattel wanted to cutback after 1972 due to slowing sales and rising
costs. In 1973, only three new castings were issued, and seven in 1972.
Were the three 1973 castings held back from 1972? And why were the ten
castings never used again?
Bob Rosas: The decision to do only three new castings for 1973 was partially because of
the slow down, but some of the people were moved to work on other boys
toys and there was a big layoff in 1972 which diminished some of the
manpower.
Using old castings with new paint was very easy and we did it many times.
As for never using the ten castings again that were new in `72 and `73, we
did use some. The Funny Money tool was reworked by removing the rivets
for tampo and the C-111 was used with minor changes. In an effort to cut
costs,
the others were not used because they had casting problems, had too many
parts or were not readily adaptable for tampo printing. On many of the carry-over
cars we cast the hoods, doors and other parts shut. We
went to a new simpler wheel. Enamel paints were much more forgiving
than Spectraflame paints and less expensive.
CB's: The process of manufacturing a Hot Wheels vehicle remains a mystery to
most people. Visions of big vats of molten Zamac pouring into big ice cube
tray like molds of car parts! Would you elaborate on the process involved
in manufacturing a Hot Wheels vehicle?
Bob Rosas: It's not so simple, but die-casting is die-casting whether you are making a Hot
Wheels or a metal housing for a decorative lamp base. The die-casting machines
are sized according to the square inches of area needed for molding the
product. In the case of Hot Wheels, a 5"x5" mold insert is typical for two
chassis side by side or one body with multiple slides to give detail such as
door lines and window openings on the sides. Picture a big block of steel
split it two, half of it makes the outside of the car body or cavity and the
other side makes the inside or core of the body (hollows it out). The mold
is closed by way of hydraulics. In the four corners of the block of steel
are steel rods about 2" diameter that allow the mold to open and close by
guiding the cavity and core to exactly the same position each time a part is
molded. Molten metal is forced into the space between the core and cavity,
which is the wall thickness of your car, through what is called a gate at a
predetermined area to balance the flow of metal into the mold. At a couple
of points on the opposite side are little tabs attached to the body where
excess metal flows to assure a packed cavity. Ejector pins or sleeves are
located on the core side to eject the solidified molded part from the mold.
The metal part drops into a basket. It is then taken to a deburring machine
to knock of the over flow tabs, metal gates and runners that are remelted
to make more Hot Wheels. This is a simple description. If you want to know
more about die-casting, there are some good books available.
Color
Code | Color | Paint
Part# |
Deleted | Added |
| 04 | Aqua | | 2/5/71 | |
| 06 | Violet | | 8/26/70 | |
| 10 | Toy Red | | 2/5/71 | |
| 11 | Green | | | |
| 21 | Cerise | | | |
| 35 | Apple Green | | | |
| 36 | Yellow | | | |
| 37 | Plum | | | |
| 38 | Pink | | | |
| 39 | Ochre | | 2/5/71 | |
| 41 | Glo Orange | | | |
| 42 | Glo Blue | | | |
| 43 | Glo Violet | | | 8/26/70 |
| 45 | Glo Aqua | | | 2/5/71 |
| 46 | Rocket Red | | | 2/5/71 |
|
CB's: We know the Spectraflame process was a little involved due to three
stages of visual inspection during production, juxtaposed with just a final
inspection of an enamel painted car. In regard to the Spectraflame colors,
what planning went into choosing the colors used during those first five
years? Why were some colors, such as chocolate brown and ice blue
discontinued early? Were there any set formulas used in developing the
colors, or was it as simple as a toy manufacturer just throwing paint
pigments together?
Bob Rosas: As I recall, candy apple paints were the rage back in the `60's and they made
a car look really hot. Many of the colors we started out with were readily
available in the hobby shops in little spray cans. We started out just
painting them with those over the zinc plated bodies to get that "Christmas
ornament ball" effect. The colors like antifreeze and pink were developed in
our chemistry lab. As for ice blue, ice lavender and other such colors, I
don't think they were intentional, just different shades that the plants came
up with. There was a certain range of acceptably for a quality standard.
The more important aspect of paints was making sure there were no heavy
elements such as lead and arsenic. As standards established by the American
Toy Manufacturers got more rigid, some borderline colors had to be reformulated
or discontinued. Brown may have been one of them.
I ran across a long forgotten document called "Master Color List Hot Wheels
Cars" first issued on March 27, 1969. It's an 8½ x 11" sheet and it
documents the paint colors [SEE TABLE ON RIGHT].
No mention of Gold, Antifreeze, Brown, etc.??? This was not the first list
since they were making cars back in `67.
CB's: Was there a planned production schedule for specific Spectraflame colors
to be used on specific castings, or was it basically whatever was in stock
in the plant at the time?
Bob Rosas: The bill of materials for each toy has listed all the components including
labels if any and how many. The paint is specified to be selected from
"Master Color List Hot Wheels Cars." It was the plant's responsibility to
balance the output. They would run green one day and blue the next and so
on. A balance of the cars to be packed out in the assortments would be
painted that day for a particular color. The electrostatic painting system
they use required a thorough cleaning to change colors.
CB's: There are many so called "experts" in the hobby who state only a certain
number of particular cars or variations are "known to exist." Did Mattel
keep any production records in the 1960s and 1970s that would substantiate or
refute these claims? Do they keep such records today?
Bob Rosas: That's their claim [that they are] "known to exist."
Quotas on a car's yearly production is
set by the master planning department. It is based on assortments bought by
major store chains. It was very high in the beginning when multiple tools
had to be made in the U.S. and in Hong Kong, probably about a million of each
model. Later in `72 and `73 it was cut way back to about 250,000 or less. I
would say today it's back up there in the millions with multiple tools being
made for each model. What causes a scarcity on a particular model is usually
a problem with the tools wearing out and needing maintenance or to be remade.
Some times rather that remake a model, the designers may choose to make a new
casting. In the case of a `57 Chevy they would make another tool. Another
situation is it may be towards the end of the year and the quotas are not
filled because there is still inventory from last year's models to put in the
assortments. I don't remember any really good records kept. There were
situations where the production plant after `79 would ask me if they could use
up the yellow interior in a new face-lifted old model. If it worked with the
new color we would give them the okay. Some color combinations got through
that we would not have approved though.
CB's: What is the true story behind the Olds 442? Why was the casting produced
in limited quantity in 1971, and not used again until 1973?
Bob Rosas: The tools had some problems and the bodies required a lot of hand deburring
that was costly. Eventually the hood was cast shut on a later tool.
CB's: So, there was no licensing problem with Oldsmobile in the use of the
casting?
Bob Rosas: I did not hear about one. We went on to make many GM cars and at that time
only required a token approval like an informal memo to them.
| 8234 | Strip Teaser |
| 8235 | Jet Threat |
| 8236 | Bugeye |
| 8237 | Ferrari 512S |
| 8238 | Rocket Bye Baby |
| 8239 | Peeping Bomb |
| 8240 | Twin Mill |
| 8241 | Splittin Image |
| 8252 | Swinging Wing |
| 8254 | Short Order |
|
CB's: Rumor has it that versions of the Grass Hopper, Hairy Hauler, Open Fire
and Sidekick were originally included in the 1973 Shell promotional and that
they were assigned item numbers. If this is true, did they make it to the
prototype stage and why were they dropped?
Bob Rosas: Once again, I found documentation which says the following: The Shell cars
standard pack carton would be 8242 and it will contain 16 polybagged cars per
carton. Each carton would contain at least 10 different cars from the
following list [SEE TABLE ON RIGHT].
Each master carton would contain 192 cars. History Folks! Not that changes
couldn't have happened.
CB's: How many steps does it take to produce a car, from the design phase
until we see the final product in the stores? How many months does the
process take?
Bob Rosas: As I remember about 50 steps and 9 months from start to finish. Those steps
are going to be in an upcoming article I am writing. I probably will narrow
it down since the process can be quite detailed.
CB's: When the tooling for a vehicle was retired in the 1970s, was it put into
storage "for a rainy day" or destroyed? Is the What-4 tool, for example,
just sitting on a shelf somewhere collecting dust?
Bob Rosas: I don't think so. Many of the tools were left outside and rusted when not
used for long periods. As you know, some were even stolen from the die-cast
facility here in California and ended up as Muke Toys in Brazil or Argentina.
CB's: For those of us who ripped our cars apart, we could always see the item
number, component number and a one or two digit sequence number embossed on
the inside of the body and chassis parts. For a typical early 1970s
casting, say the Sweet 16, how many copies of the car body were created in
one injection?
Bob Rosas: Usually the chassis was two parts per mold. The body 90% of the time was
one. If the body design was simple enough and no slides were used. It
could be two per tool. Sweet 16 was probably two. The body was
typically assigned the toy number plus "-500" suffix, interior "-300" suffix and so on.
CB's: Thanks to you, Bob, metallic paints were introduced to the product line
in the late 1970s. Why weren't metallic paints used in the earlier
post-Spectraflame years?
Bob Rosas: The Metallics were difficult to make so they would pass the heavy elements
test I talked about earlier. I didn't give up on the industrial Engineer in
Hong Kong. I kept submitting samples of colors and they kept sending them to
me for approval if they passed. I ended up with a unique collection of
metallic cars that never made it to production.
CB's: Does the tooling today have a shorter lifespan than it did 30 years ago
and, if not, how can the company afford to produce an average of thirty new
basic castings every year?
Bob Rosas: I think that they have progressed as far as tooling technology in that more
and more of the molds are being cut with EDM (Electrical Discharge Machines).
The cavities are typical H13 hardened steel and last about 500,000 or more
shots, before they start wearing down and flashing.
CB's: What is your favorite Hot Wheels memory?
Bob Rosas: Too many, but I especially enjoyed it when Larry Wood and I would spend the
day going out and locating a car to make as a Hot Wheels and photographing
and measuring it. Or traveling to the Orient to oversee start-up on some
new toys and approving them. Or seeing the car I designed in some kid or
adult's hands.
CB's: Bob, thanks again for your time!
Bob Rosas: It was my pleasure. My wife tells me, its funny how after all these years, I
can still remember the toy number for a Baja Bruiser or `57 Chevy and yet I
don't remember if I locked the front door.
(Interview conducted by `65Skylark, Charger68, RacerX and Trish)
©2001 CB's Die-Cast Museum, all rights reserved.
