1956 CHEVY 3100 "MOBIL BATTERY & QUICK START SERVICE"

In the America heartland, the temperature frequently dips below zero on cold winter mornings, draining power from many cars’ batteries. For nearly a century, motorists have depended on AAA for that crucial jump start. And AAA has always relied on its local network of service trucks to get customers on the road as soon as possible. In the mid ‘50s, the “Battery Service” truck from the Harris Brothers’ Mobilgas station was a familiar sight. Many a stranded driver was glad to see the classiic Pegasus emblem on the side of the truck, for it meant they would soon be rescued. Rigged with a utility cabinet and vise, a battery charger on wheels and a full rack of batteries, the truck was equipped to charge or replace a battery—whatever the motorist needed. And now the Mobil Battery & Quick Start Service 1956 Chevy 3100 is part of The Fabulous Fifties Road Service Collection. It has been crafted in die-cast metal by Matchbox Collectibles—the Greatest Name in Die-Cast.

HOT WHEELS TATTO MACHINES OPEN WIDE 1992

As you can see this is a very nice horror artworked themed vehicle. Officially this was part of the 1992 Tattoo release by Hot Wheels, there's a few other okay vehicles such as Street Dog (vicious dogs) and Skull Rider (skull and snakes), both of those are on BMWs by the way. They are not in the league of Open Wide but you might want to look into them. The rest of the Tattoo series isn't worth looking into at all. By the way they come with a few bonus tattoos of dentures too, I threw mine out, the paper had gone a bit yellow even inside the sealed pack so it's a gamble if you get yours and they actually can be applied to skin if you're into that. The blister pack is actually quite tall as well, a lot taller than you're average 1/64 sized blister card. You've got to take this out the pack though, it's that good.



Open Wide is basically a van covered in a number of dentures with fangs, they don't all belong to the same owner as some are for thin snake like mouths and others wide canine types. All have some yellow substance dripping from them meaning getting bit by these dentures isn't just going to hurt or cause the loss of a limb, but if you somehow survive, you're likely to contract rabies or some other awful disease as well.


The colours of the van are yellow and maroon, applied in sort of a spray painted look. The Hot Wheels vehicle itself is nothing special, basically a van with very average cheap wheels, it's officially a Baja Breaker brand van. It's an ugly van, the designers couldn't decide if they wanted a rectangle rear window or a ship type circular one so went with both in the one bit of plastic. Without the great paintwork you'd probably pass on this Baja Breaker thing. It is a sturdy Hot Wheels vehicle though I'll give it that.


The artwork is brilliant though! You've got eight fanged dentures on this thing. Three on both sides, and two on the roof. Unlike most Hot Wheels artwork, the three mouths on each side aren't the same but are six different mouths opened in different menacing poses. This means you can display it with either side facing the front then change it for a different look. There's no dentures on the rear doors, probably because the designers were so embarrassed by the circle rectangle window mistake, that they forbid the artists drawing any attention to it.

Open Wide is a must own for any horror artwork die-cast vehicle collector. --James N Sympson Shop here

JOHNNY LIGHTNING COCA-COLA 1968 PONTIAC GTO

The artwork on this 1968 Pontiac GTO from Johnny Lightning is simply brilliant. There haven't been many snowmen released throughout the various years of the Coca Cola vehicles by Johnny Lightning or even Matchbox who also are licensed to provide official Coca Cola imagery on their 1/64 sized vehicles.


This vehicle was released as part of the 2003 Coca Cola Polar Bear Series. Even though it doesn't have any polar bear imagery on the actual vehicle it did come in the same designed blister pack with the backing card of a polar bear and two cubs putting a star on top of the Christmas tree that the rest of the series had. This particular vehicle was not released to the shops with the others but instead, it was offered for purchase by members through Johnny Lightning's website. This means there weren't as many of these made as the other vehicles, meaning it is harder to find in collector stores and online websites than those other vehicles.
This is a yellow 1968 Pontiac with a thick dark blue bordered in white strip down the sides and over the bonnet and boot (hood and trunk). On the side strip is the Coca Cola word logo in white as well as the top part of a winking snowman wearing a red scarf and black top hard with the words ICE COLD written on it. The white Coca Cola word logo is also on the boot. On the roof the same winking image also appears but this time it's a full body image. He is holding a glass of Coke in both hands in front of his body. He's standing beside a yellow real estate type sign with the words For That Refreshing New Feeling. There's also the red Coca Cola with white letter logo beside the Snowman's head. In the background there are snowflakes falling.

The wheels are quite good with red rimmed tyres where you can see the tread. The seats dashboard and other parts of the interior are white. --James N Sympson  Shop here

VANGUARDS 1/50 THAMES TRADER BOX VAN 'LUCOZADE'

The Thames Trader box van comes in the smart, and familiar, yellow color scheme of Lucozade. This will make a very pleasing addition to the collection. Shop here

VANGUARDS 1/43 LEYLAND COMET TANKER

The Comet cab is linked with a tanker body, producing a very nice model. The initial livery is Power, in its green coloring set off with gold lettering. Shop here

YAT MING 1/18 - 1923 FORD T BUCKET WHITE DIECAST CAR MODEL

1923 Ford T-Bucket Roadster White Diecast Car Model 1/18 by Yat Ming

A stunning replica of one of Fords most recognizable and iconic car. Beautifully crafted 1923 White Ford T-Bucket Diecast Model Car features opening trunk and steerable front wheels. No collection is complete without this beautiful car.

TOY CARS OF JAPAN & HONG KONG

 

This book presents a unique selection of the most rare and collectible toy cars made in Japan and Hong Kong in the 1950s and 1960s. Three particular groups of toys are covered: the magnificent large-scale tinplate cars made for the American market; the smaller but equally sought-after Japanese diecasts by Model Pet, Micro Pet, and Cherryca Phenix; and plastic friction-drive cars made in Hong Kong. Some of the toys pictured are so scarce that they are believed to be among a mere handful that survive in mint condition with their original boxes. This book provides many fascinating new insights to the history of the companies that made and distributed the toys, using long-forgotten trade journals, rare catalogs, and interview with people who worked in the toy business at that time. See more