In 2004, Hot Wheels started a series called Classics, taking what they said was some of the most well known Hot Wheels designs and brought back Spectraflame colors that made the original Hot Wheels so good. There were some great features as well, including full metal bodies and bases, some with redline tires, some with lettering on the tires and some great colors. There were also some variations, but not many. They continued the series through five passes, with 25 cars in Series 1, 30 in series 2, 30 in Series 3, 15 in Series 4 and 30 cars in Series 5. Series 4 cars came in normal packaging and were also packaged to resemble the original packaging of Redline cars, including the collector badge, Series 5 introduced Chase cars into the mix, with special real rider tires. Also, there was a boxed 30 car set of the Series Five cars with exclusive colors.
These series are a collector puzzle. Some folks were crazy for them, some not so much. There was some weirdness to the run, as there were reused castings from series to series (such as the Purple Passion), there were some castings that had a ton of different colors, and some that had only one (the Meyer's Manx). There also was a lot of use of motorcycles in the mixes, which some collectors just didn't like. The Series 5 cars were not so focused on classic cars, but it introduced many new castings for the first time. There are a lot of combos of castings and colors, making this an amazing challenge for completists!
We here at Little City Toy Cars basically collect what we like, so right now there are no plans to complete the set. We will show what we have and when additions are made they will be noted. We were actively collecting while they were out, and like a lot of collectors, we went after them strongly early on, but then lost interest to some degree as they continued. The Series 5 casting choices were honestly not that great, so there a not a lot of those in the Hoard, Also, the addition of chase cars kind of took the fun out of collecting
Series 5, and they were kind of cut off at the very end, with not many of the cool cars being produced. There are always a ton of these available on reseller sites, so maybe down the road we will add more to the Hoard!!!
These series are a collector puzzle. Some folks were crazy for them, some not so much. There was some weirdness to the run, as there were reused castings from series to series (such as the Purple Passion), there were some castings that had a ton of different colors, and some that had only one (the Meyer's Manx). There also was a lot of use of motorcycles in the mixes, which some collectors just didn't like. The Series 5 cars were not so focused on classic cars, but it introduced many new castings for the first time. There are a lot of combos of castings and colors, making this an amazing challenge for completists!
We here at Little City Toy Cars basically collect what we like, so right now there are no plans to complete the set. We will show what we have and when additions are made they will be noted. We were actively collecting while they were out, and like a lot of collectors, we went after them strongly early on, but then lost interest to some degree as they continued. The Series 5 casting choices were honestly not that great, so there a not a lot of those in the Hoard, Also, the addition of chase cars kind of took the fun out of collecting
Series 5, and they were kind of cut off at the very end, with not many of the cool cars being produced. There are always a ton of these available on reseller sites, so maybe down the road we will add more to the Hoard!!!
Here is a quick listing of castings from Series One:
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Here is a quick listing of castings from Series Two:
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series three |
series four |
Click the pic to see more cars!
Here is a quick listing of castings from Series Three:
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Click the pic to see more cars!
Here is a quick listing of castings from Series Four:
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Series five
Here is a quick listing of Series Five castings:
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