One of my best vintage Hot Wheels finds.

  I collect Hot Wheels cars. I have a huge collection of them. So many, that I'm running out of room to store my loose cars. Every once in a while I go to the local farmers market where a few sellers sell Hot Wheels cars, both MOC and loose. Some sellers don't know what the value of some of these vintage cars are, and some do know the value of them. This is one of those stories.
  Lately I haven't been blogging a lot lately since I have been busy being cooped up in my house with the Coronavirus Pandemic and being laid off from work as a result. So I thought I would start blogging about random Hot Wheels cars and the stories behind them. This is the story of the 40s Ford Two Door from 1983.
  On June 12, 2019, I went to the farmers market. I spotted a vendor who was selling a variety of vintage items, some of which were various vintage Hot Wheels cars. While looking though the box of cars I spotted a couple of vintage cars that I liked. I saw a 31 Doozie redline blackwall that was in excellent condition. I asked him how much it was and he said $5 since it's a redline blackwall. I wasn't going to drop $5 on a car from the 80s. I just can't pull the trigger on that. However he did have some other interesting cars for sale for $1. I spotted a Classic Packard with Whitewall blackwall tires, for $1 and a Tomica Rolls-Royce Phantom VI both for $1. However there was one more car that caught my eye that was also $1. That car was a 40s Ford 2 Door from the 1983 Real Riders Series.
  This seller wanted $5 for a vintage redline blackwall but wanted $1 for a vintage Real Rider. His pricing strategy didn't make any sense charging $1 for the Real Rider. I couldn't pass up paying $1 for a vintage Real Rider. You can't argue with paying $1 for one. The 40s Ford Two Door was in really nice shape for it's age. It had very few paint flaws and 2 out of the 4 tires still had Goodyear on them.   For a car from 1983, I certainly made out good paying $1 for it. I'm not a flipper, I'm a collector. So I have no plan on reselling it. It's one of the stand out pieces in my collection. In fact it's the only vintage Real Rider that I own. There's still many vintage Hot Wheels cars I need to track down eventually. Just not now because of this pandemic. Once the pandemic is over, I can start going to the farmers market to look for vintage cars again.

My Newest Tomica Purchase

  I recently had received a $25 Visa gift card from my Aunt and Uncle for my birthday. I decided to use it on eBay for something. Recently I have been eyeing up a few diecasts to add to my collection. I love Tomica diecast. Although you can now buy them in the USA again at Walmart, there are still some models you cannot get here. The one I purchased is a good example of that.

Boxed

  I had been eyeing up, the Tomica JSDF High Mobility Vehicle for some time ever since I bought the Tomica JSDF LAV last year. I really needed the High Mobility Vehicle to go alongside my LAV. You see I am a huge Godzilla buff. I like the vehicles the JSDF has to try and stop Godzilla. So I like to have some JSDF vehicles to have in my collection.

  As you may have guessed I did buy the Tomica JSDF High Mobility Vehicle on eBay. I paid $6.99 for it. It was the last one the seller had. This vehicle is so cool. Unlike most Tomica cars, the JSDF High Mobility Vehicle lacks any opening doors. It does have a removable rear top, that unveils the bench seats for the troops. There are 2 variants of this High Mobility Vehicle. One has the removable top and the other doesn't. The one without the top, has little soldiers sitting down in the back. I bought the one with the removable top.

Unboxed

  Anyway the JSDF High Mobility Vehicle features the usual suspension that Tomica vehicles have. For this being a military vehicle the suspension is similar to the Komatsu LAV's. The olive drab paint is a tad bit different than the Komatsu's shade of olive drab. It's a bit darker on the High Mobility Vehicle.

The LAV Next to the High Mobility Vehicle

Stop Showing Pan and Scan Movies on Network TV

  You really want to know what grinds my gears? It's when TV channels broadcast a movie in pan and scan. It's 2019 already. There's no reason why we can't be showing movies on cable TV in their original theatrical aspect ratio. Nobody really owns a CRT TV anymore. Well classic gamers might own one to play their old systems on. Seriously practically everyone owns a 16x9 HDTV anymore.
  So if everyone pretty much owns a 16x9 HDTV, why are cable networks still showing pan and scan versions of movies? This is really unnecessary to show pan and scan movies when everyone now owns an HDTV. My best guess is that they have these shitty pan and scan edited for TV movies sitting in their library. This is mind boggling to say the least.
  Maybe these cable networks are too cheap and lazy to reinvest in a whole new tape library for their broadcasting. That's my theory, they have all of these movies stockpiled up in their libraries, which date back to whenever pan and scan movies first came in to play. I find it ironic that 99.999% of cable networks broadcast in 16x9 1080P HDTV anymore. Very few stations still broadcast in a 4:3 picture format. The networks who don't broadcast in HDTV can't afford to upgrade their picture format.
  Another reason I think they still show pan and scan versions of movies on network TV, is that they don't want to show any of the black bars that may be seen in a widescreen movie. They probably think people don't want to see black bars on their TV screen. Here's a news flash for the cable networks, people don't give a red hot minute about black bars on their TV screens anymore. This isn't 2001 when most people still had analog CRT TV's and they began to transition from VHS to DVD. Back then DVD first came out, most DVD's were introduced in widescreen. Some were anamorphic and some were in non anamorphic widescreen. Heck there were even widescreen editions of VHS tapes as well as Laserdisc. They were a niche market item in the 90s. The widescreen Laserdisc and VHS copies of movies were also non anamorphic. So when DVD's first came on the market, most of them were widescreen. So some people who first started buying DVDs when they first came out, didn't like the black bars on their screen. These people probably weren't serious movie buffs who cared about technical specifications. Actually the black bars mean there isn't anything there to display, you are still getting the whole picture between the black bars.
  Anyway, TV stations have been showing pan and scan versions of movies for decades now. It's become a bad habit of showing pan and scan movies. Heck there are some TV channels that do show movies in their original theatrical aspect ratios, such as Turner Classic Movies or Fox Movie Network.
  Network TV stations need to stop showing pan and scan versions of movies. It's not the 90s anymore, we can take seeing black bars on our TV screens. Throw away your library of pan and scan ,movies and upgrade to their original aspect ratios. For the love of GOD please do this.

Today's Surprising Walmart find

  After I got off work, I decided to stop in Walmart for a quick look in the toy dept. To my surprise, They restocked a ton of Hot Wheels cars. It was the assortment with the highly sought after Bugatti Chiron. So the display was untouched, where I was able to find, the Audi RS5 Coupe, Tesla Model S Super Treasure Hunt and the highly sought after Bugatti Chiron. I was pretty stoked to find another Super Treasure Hunt within a matter of days. I have to reorder some more protector packs for future Super Treasure Hunt cars that I might find.

The Terrific Trio.

  2019 has been a really good year for me when it comes to finding Super Treasure Hunts. I have found 7 out of 12 this year. Well I traded the Street Creeper Super for a Pizza Planet Truck. So technically I found 7 but I traded one. I don't usually get rid of Super's unless it's a double I find or it's a Hot Wheels original casting. I don't care for many Hot Wheels Fantasy castings. I have a few that I like but not many.
  I'm just glad that Mattel has the Bugatti License again. Maybe since they renewed the license, they can re-release the Veyron. I already have the 2003 First Editions Bugatti Veyron so I don't really need another one. They Veyron had skyrocketed in value since the license expired some years ago.

That Time When Ford Claimed The 1965 Galaxie Rode Quieter Than A Rolls-Royce

  I love old cars and old print ads for cars. One of my biggest obsessions in automotive marketing tactics, is when Ford Claimed the 1965 Ford Galaxie rode quieter than a Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud. When I first saw a picture of one of the print ads claiming this, it struck me as very odd. Why would a mainstream American car brand compare one of their cars to an ultra luxury car? Can a Ford Galaxie really ride quieter than a Rolls-Royce?
  In terms of speaking of what got the public confused about these ads was the definition of riding quieter. They weren't taking shots at the engine sound. They were comparing how the 1965 Ford Galaxie had a quieter interior ride than the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud. The comparison was saying that it's less noisy inside a 1965 Ford Galaxie than it is in a Silver Cloud.

A 1965 Ford Galaxie ad.

  This may all seem silly and frivolous for a company like Ford to compare their cars to a prestigious brand such as Rolls-Royce. Price wise they aren't even in the same category. I still find it odd that Ford attacked Rolls-Royce for being the noisy one.
  The comparison test for interior noise wasn't exactly a fair test. It was more like bringing a gun to a knife fight. For instance at the time when these cars were new, the Silver Cloud's design dated back to the late 50s. Whereas the Ford Galaxie was a completely new design. The Silver Cloud's design and engineering was already 10 years old at the time of the comparison test. So Rolls-Royce was using antiquated technology. By comparing a new Ford to a Rolls-Royce that had a dated design wasn't really a fair comparison test. It was fun though.
  I wonder if the marketing people at Ford thought they could take jabs at potential Rolls-Royce buyers when they came up with this ad campaign. Seriously does a modern day Ford Fusion ride quieter than a Rolls-Royce Ghost? I would wonder how well these ads would render in today's world. You don't see car companies with print ads attacking another car brand that is out of their category doing this sort of thing anymore. Surely you see it in commercials, but they never mention the name of the competitor, they only give you the gist of what brand that car is.

The 1980 Ford LTD Vs Rolls-Royce

  I thought that the Ford Galaxie rides quieter than a Rolls-Royce ad campaign was pretty cool say to speak. It didn't just happen in 1965 either. In 1980 Ford did the same exact thing with their LTD comparing it to a Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow. Heck even AMC took shots at Rolls-Royce comparing their Matador against a Silver Shadow. I don't know why American car companies wanted to take shots at Rolls-Royce. Looking back it's comical to see these old ads. I think they are pretty cool.

Replacing my Dad's old Snap-on Wrench

  Back in the 1980s and 1990s my late father used to buy Snap-on Tools for his appliance repair business. However when my older brother took over my father's business, his van got broken into and all of the Snap-on Tools that my father gave him were stolen. Or were they? To tell you the truth, not all were stolen. You see there were a handful of tools that my father never gave to my brother for some reason. Somehow my father held on to them. I don't know how or why these never went to my brother. When my father got terminally ill, I decided to go into the garage and organize all of his tools into the tool chest. I knew he had some Snap-on stuff left and he never liked me to touch them since they were expensive. So I searched every tool box until I found all of the Snap-on tools that didn't go to my brother.
  These tools were nothing special, 4 wrenches, 2 ratcheting box wrenches, 4 screwdrivers, 3 chisels and some various Blue-Point tools. 2 of the wrenches I inherited was a 1/4-15/16" open end wrench and a 7/8-15/16" open end wrench. Both came from the six piece open end wrench set. The other 4 wrenches were stolen. So the one day I was looking at the VO810 1/4-15/16" wrench and noticed that the handle had a bend in the middle. So since I work at a Ford Dealership, I could get the VO810 warrantied for a new one. The Snap-on dealer comes every Friday. So I took it on the truck and asked him if this wrench looked bent. He looked at it and said it's bent. He asked me if I wanted a new one. I said yes. He asked me how it got bent, and I said tightening the bolt on the fence. Actually I think it got bent since my dad used it repairing something.
  So I waited 2 weeks for my new VO810B to come in and it is made better than my dad's old one. This wrench is thicker and heavier than the one made in the 80s. You can read the sizes on it better since they are not on the ends of the wrench anymore. The sizes are now on the handle. You could hardly make out what the sizes were on the old one. It also has a wider handle and there is a date code stamp on the handle. Somehow the one from 1982 lacked a date code for some reason.
  So in all due respect, I think my father is looking down from heaven, smiling at me for getting one of his Snap-on tools warrantied. He would love to see the new and improved version of his wrench. Even though I am not a mechanic I still like to go on the Snap-on truck since my I once went on one with my father when he had to get his magnetic hex shank replaced. I go on there to make my father proud.

A Super Saturday

  I love collecting Hot Wheels cars. Well to be exact diecast in general. So yesterday I decided to venture off to the Dollar Tree nearest my house. I didn't expect to find anything good. My two local Dollar Tree's rarely restock Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars. The last time they restocked Hot Wheels cars was months ago. The exact date, I cannot remember when. So about my day and how I ended up at Dollar Tree.
  On Saturday there was a thrift store that was having a 50% off everything sale for Labor Day. They always have a 50% sale before a major holiday. I ran into my mom's friend there. I see her shopping there a lot. I looked around and was contemplating buying a Ford Mustang coffee mug for work since I work at a Ford dealership. However I decided not to buy it. I don't feel like lugging it to the parts room and risk getting broken. So I walked out empty handed. I've haven't been buying as much as I used to at thrift stores anymore since I am working again. I only have time to check them twice a week if I can get around to it. I mostly have been buying CD's or DVD's when I go to thrift stores. I haven't been seeing any good hats at The Salvation Army in a while. What's up with that?

The Lamborghini Aventador J Super Treasure Hunt

  I went to The Salvation Army later that day to look for new hats. They had nothing. It's been dry for the past few weeks. So I ventured to the Dollar General to see what they had for Hot Wheels cars. There has been reports of some Dollar General's stocking international short carded Hot Wheels cars. I haven't seen short cards since Walmart had them in the checkout lanes years ago. I've been finding Super Treasure Hunt cars at Dollar General. However they had short carded cars, but no Super Treasure Hunt cars.
  The final venture on my hunt was Dollar Tree. I didn't expect to find anything good since the last few times I've checked there they had nothing. I almost didn't stop in Dollar Tree but I gave it a shot. So I made a beeline to the toy section and to my surprise they restocked both Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars. Like a madman, I searched the pegs for anything good. At first it appeared to be nothing good since I already had the first editions from that I already had. I was about to give up when I checked the second to bottom peg and saw a Lamborghini Aventador J Super Treasure Hunt Car behind a few cars.
  This marks the 6th well 5th 2019 Super Treasure Hunt I found this year. The real fifth one that I found was a Street Creeper Super Treasure Hunt, but I traded it for a Pizza Planet Truck. I don't really care for the Hot Wheels Original Designs cars so I had little attachment for it. I still can't believe I found it. I have 30 Super Treasure Hunt cars hanging on my wall. All found in the wild. I can't wait to find more.