Yeah, count it up there are 11 (yes, 11!) Hot Wheels Corvette C3 castings, not counting re-tools. If I missed any, do let me know. Unless you're a Hot Wheels Corvette nerd (I confess, I am one), the castings probably get a little muddled in your head. Hot Wheels has released so many Corvette castings, and some are only subtly different from one another
With the recent release of the Hot Wheels Gas Monkey 'Midas Monkey' Corvette, I got to thinking about just how many 3rd gen Vettes Hot Wheels has done. Things were getting a little confusing for me so I decided to pull 'em all out and do a post to help myself keep track. I hope you find it as helpful as I did! Here's each casting in order of release date.
Custom Corvette (1968-Retooled in 2005)
This is the grand daddy of 'em all; it's one of the original-16 Redlines tooled in 1968 by Hot Wheels. Complete with an opening hood, redline wheels and bushing 'suspension', the Custom Corvette is perhaps the coolest of them all, too. This version is a re-tool. I don't have an original Redline version just yet...
Corvette Stingray (1976)
The Stingray is the most iconic of all 3rd gen Vettes. While the Custom Corvette was tooled first, by the early '70's it was out of production. The Stingray, however, has gone over 4 decades strong, debuting in 1976 and still appearing in last year's mainline. That's a testament to the Stingray's staying power.
Monster Vette (1978)
The Monster Vette is another brilliant idea of legendary Hot Wheels designer Larry Wood. Larry had a knack for making wild and cheesy cars without diminishing their collector appeal. It's a balance not often found with Hot Wheels cars since. This 3rd Gen basically takes a Stingray and puts it on monster truck base.
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| Photo Courtesy of Hot Wheels Wikia |
Corvette Funny Car/Vette Funny (1990)
A 3rd Gen Vette, funny car style. This one's a classic.
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| Photo Courtesy of Hot Wheels Wikia |
'82 Corvette Stingray (1996)
Normally plastic bodied Hot Wheels are a turn off, but this thing one's cool. It's an important model, being the only Hot Wheels 3rd Gen Corvette featuring the 'fastback body style'. Oh, and there's the pizza Vette. Look it up.
'69 Corvette (2006)
Along with the '69 COPO and '78 Greenwood, the '69 is the best executed 3rd Gen Vette in the Hot Wheels arsenal and perhaps my favorite, thanks to its stock look. The proportions and the details are in all the right places on this one, plus 1969 is the best looking year for the 3rd Gen Vette.
'77 Corvette Funny Car (2009)
The '77 Corvette Funny car is a curvier, modernized casting next to the 1990 casting of the Vette funny. This casting also owns one of the rarest Hot Wheels Corvettes out there, and my grail, the Mattel Employee Awards Dinner Car. Sadly, I've sold my grail since I did the post, but I know it's in the good hands of a fellow Corvette aficionado.
'69 COPO Corvette (2011)
The '69 COPO is another gem of a casting. All of the lines are right on it. If I ever get the elusive Toy Fair version, it'll get a post of it's own. For now, enjoy this working man's iteration.
'76 Greenwood Corvette (2012)
The Coke-bottle curves and low-slung stance of the Greenwood have made it an instant icon. You can check out all 9 versions of it in a post I did a few weeks back!
'69 Corvette Racer (2016)
The racer is a topless version of the '69 COPO. It looks good paired with the 2011 casting. It debuted in last year's mainline and got a premium follow-up in the recent Car Culture Redliners mix.
'68 Corvette-Gas Monkey Garage (2017)
Ebay prices would have you believe this casting is more special than it is, but it's nothing to sneeze at either. It's crazy to think that in 10 3rd Gen Vette castings the wild folks at Mattel never thought to create a blown engine version until now.
Happy Collecting!!
From : thewesterndiecastreview.blogspot.com
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