CB's Die Cast Review:  September 29, 2001

Patriotic Themed Hot Wheels
Stars and Stripes

The horrific events of September 11 are the most tragic in American history, and unfortunately are of a handful of such events that have altered American destiny.  While the intended purpose of these events, past and present, was to drive America to despair, they have instead had the opposite effect -- pulling America together, steeling its resolve and resurrecting a strong sense of patriotism in its citizens.  This latest focal point in American history is no different, with America united and patriotism at the highest levels in sixty years.  United States flags are visible everywhere, and our country's colors adorn a number of articles, from clothing to toys.

I admit I have had no motivation to pen a die-cast review the past few days, even though one was due before the month ended.  When Mattel's Hot Wheels Collectibles site started kicking around the idea of a potential Star-Spangled two-car set, it got me thinking about the patriotic-themed Hot Wheels that have appeared in the basic line over the decades.  Some limited editions also have been produced, which I will touch on, but I'm going to focus on the basic line.

	The only Spectraflame vehicle that was decorated in a scheme closest to patriotic colors was Special Delivery.

The first patriotic themed cars didn't appear until 1975, in the Flying Colors line.  While there were a few Spectraflame-era cars that sported stars or stripes, none wore a flag-based scheme.  The closest was 1971's Special Delivery, but the scheme truly was based on the USPS graphics of the era.  An argument could be made for 1974's Steam Roller, but the white stars were printed on a red field with blue stripes -- even though the white enamel paint decorated with the red and blue markings surely presented the appearance of a patriotic scheme.  The first basic Hot Wheels to wear true American colors was American Victory, a modified McLaren race car. 

American Victory displayed rippling flags on its flanks.

A rippling flag was tamped on either side of the light blue enamel body, from nose to tail.  Interestingly, the Can Am racer had a zinc plated metal rear engine casting, even though the chassis was chrome plated plastic.  No decorations other than the flags on the sides were present.  These early tampos were not as durable, especially on this model, and the white ink became worn easily.  The second car from 1975 was Warpath, which was the

	Flying Colors Warpath is a redressed Spectraflame AMX/2.

second renaming of the AMX/2 introduced in 1971.  Unlike other Spectraflame-era holdovers, this casting still had its original construction and configuration.  The die-cast body was painted white enamel, riveted over a black plastic interior, operating black plastic engine covers and blue tint glass to a zinc plated die-cast chassis.  Wide blue stripes and thin red stripes were tamped on the hood, roof and trunk areas, with white stars printed on top of the blue sections.

The simple graphics on the sides of American Hauler and American Tipper are coarse yet effective.

Disappointingly, only two patriotic-themed models were released in the Bicentennial year.  American Hauler and American Tipper where new castings, with Star-Spangled graphics tamped on the sides of the box trailer and dump bed respectively.  The graphics were crude due to the still-new tampo technology.  Other cars were painted and printed in red/white/blue that year, but these two models are the only ones that had a specific Stars and Stripes theme.

	A star-spangled Snake emblem adorns the nose of Army Funny Car.  Photo courtesy of DiecastIllustrated.com.

The Army Funny Car based on Don Prudhomme's U.S. Army-sponsored dragster was the next model, released in 1978.  The white enamel model carried tri-color graphics on the front and sides, and the ubiquitous Snake monogram was now adorned in red and white body stripes with a star-spangled flared hood and head.  The Snake emblem was on the car hood and upper sides.  The Hot Bird and GMC Motor Home were decorated in "Captain America" graphics, but the artwork was based on the Marvel Comics character and not a stand-alone patriotic theme.  Such a scheme would appear on Hot Bird twelve years later.

Not one of the better early schemes on Fiero 2M4, but the first version did ride on Hot Ones wheels and thin axles.

It took until 1987 for the next scheme to be released, in the redress of the Fiero 2M4 with Hot Ones gold hub wheels on thin 1970-style axles.  The car body was die-cast metal painted red enamel, and the chassis was unpainted zinc plated die-cast metal.  The interior was black plastic, and the glass was clear plastic.  The flag on the hood and stretched rippling flags on the sides were tamped in white and blue, with the red enamel bleeding through.  The Hot Ones wheels made the car look better than it was, which was proven when this scheme resurfaced in 1991 with basic wheels. 

	The first Hot Bird basic scheme not to feature the "hoodbird" was the star-spangled variation.

Hot Bird, the `70s Firebird T/A with the open T-roof, was repainted white enamel in 1990 and decorated with blue and red flag-based tampos.  The glass was still blue tinted transparent plastic, but the interior was molded in red instead of tan plastic.  Still featuring a die-cast body and chassis, the car rode on the gold hub wheels and also was part of the Hot Ones segment.  This regular series scheme was the first not to feature the famous "hoodbird" emblem in its design.  Tampo technology had not yet progressed to the point where it was possible to consistently keep top and side decorations in alignment, as evidenced by the intentional break in the pattern along the top edge of the sides.  The model was refitted with Hot Hubs wheels and standard axles later in the year, which detracted from the appearance.

The only two turn-of-the-century patriotic schemes were on the Camaro Z-28 from 2000 and the Sol-Aire CX4 Treasure Hunt in 1998.

Shortly after, Mattel began to focus on promoting the Hot Wheels name on the cars, and that took precedent over other themes.  The American Victory three-pack in 1996 featured the `67 Camaro and `93 Camaro painted in Stars and Stripes, but this was an expensive limited-run set.  Ditto for the ambitiously decorated American Spirit four-pack limited edition, featuring the Bywayman, T-Bucket, `58 Corvette and Snake castings.  The next

	By the late 1990s, tampo technology had advanced to the point where decorations on unlike surfaces could be kept in register easily.

regular-issue car to feature a patriotic theme was the Sol Aire CX4 in the 1998 Treasure Hunt series.  The model was painted in white pearl and beautifully printed with flowing flag graphics on the hood, sides and rear engine cover.  By this time, both solid ink and four-color graphics could be printed on all surfaces of a model and be kept in register -- shown here with the wrapping of the flag's star-filled blue field around the engine cover.  Mattel put in extra effort to manufacture white lace wheels for this model, but it probably would have looked even better with the standard chrome lace wheels or either of the Pro Circuit two-piece wheels.  Following in 1999 was the newly retooled all-metal Camaro Z-28 from 1982, featuring a metallic blue body with red and white stripes, and white stars outlined in gold.  This scheme lasted until 2000, when the body paint color was changed to black.

Incredibly, the Fiero 2M4 and Hot Bird were the only basic cars released in a patriotic scheme from 1979 through 1997 -- nearly a twenty-year span! But, given the current state of world affairs, look for Mattel to get some Star-Spangled models out as soon as a slot opens in the production schedule.