Director John Carpenter announced this week that Hot Wheels will be issuing a die cast metal version of his famous car Christine, the 1958 Plymouth Fury from his horror film based on Stephen King’s novel. It doesn’t have a sound chip for playing Little Richard’s “Keep a Knockin'” but it’s still going to be a cool mini-ride. Other new releases include Richard Dreyfuss’s truck from Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and the Emergency! red rapid response truck from the 1970s TV series. Not familiar with the retro entertainment line from Hot Wheels? It gets better.
So far the Hot Wheels plant has rolled out something for everyone, coming up with a pretty broad array of vehicles. Remember the green GMC mobile home “Urban Assault Vehicle” from Stripes? It’s coming in 2015. Remember Mr. Miyagi’s yellow 1948 Ford–the one he gives as a gift to Daniel-san for finishing his karate training in The Karate Kid? They’ve got that, too.
Mattel, the toy company that makes Hot Wheels, seems to have gone off the rails with the sources they have pulled from with this toy line. They’ve got The Electric Mayhem School Bus from The Muppet Movie, Robin Masters’ Ferrari and T.C.’s van from Magnum, P.I., David Spade’s ’67 Plymouth from Tommy Boy, Eddie Murphy’s Chevy Nova from Beverly Hills Cop, Kevin Bacon’s VW bug from Footloose, Ferris’s sister’s white Fiero from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, A.J. Simon’s ’57 Chevy and Rick’s Dodge truck from Simon & Simon, Jason Statham’s Morris Mini from The Italian Job, and even Herbie from The Love Bug.
Their assembly line has even fabricated several James Bond favorites: a ’63 Aston Martin from Goldfinger, a ’71 Mustang Mach 1 from Diamonds Are Forever, and Daniel Craig’s Aston Martin from Casino Royale.
Other movies with cars in the series include American Graffiti, Grease, Smokey and the Bandit, Fast and the Furious, Back to the Future, Anchorman, Need for Speed, Old School, and Zoolander, and classic TV series The Rockford Files, Hart to Hart, Miami Vice, The Brady Bunch, Batman, the Jetsons, Scooby Doo, Knight Rider, Beverly Hills 90210, and The A-Team.
So what do they need to make next? Check out the supply and coming editions for the Hot Wheels retro entertainment line at Entertainment Earth here.
C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com