New 1:64 Hotwheels, F430 Spider and 512M

Huh, interesting, had no idea they existed.

 

So I finally got my hands on the HW LP560! I'd like to thank the member here who made it possible, you know who you are and I appreciate it!

I knew from looking at pics that the LP560 came with the small chrome mesh wheels front and back.

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IMO, this isn't the right wheelset for this car. I had the thought that when I found one, I'd be doing a wheel swap. Once I had it in my hand I knew it had to be done. My first thought was to swap in a set of small chrome lip/back center Faster Than Ever wheels, like on the Datsun Bluebird.

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Last week I found the HW Speed Machines series for the first time at my local Wally, and today saw them again and noticed the Audi TTS, with their very nice special wheels.

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I knew I had found the wheels for my LP560. I dug out my trusty drill, the tiniest grinding tip I had, and the Crazy Glue and got to work. 10 minutes later, I had my completed car.

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I think the new wheels make the car look much better.

I'm still looking for a few more LP560s, I'd like to keep one stock and on-the-card, and then maybe do a Verde Ithaca repaint and a wheel swap on another...

... too bad I can't send this one to Heffner for a set of Twin Turbos...

 

Wow! That looks awesome, really like the end results! Those wheels definitely look better than the mesh wheels. I tried repainting a Scuderia last week to silver, but it turned out pretty bad. When you go to repaint, do you sand down to metal? Or just spray over?

Thanks!
Chris

 

I found a couple HW Bugatti Veyrons.

 

Thanks, I'm pretty pleased with the results myself.

When painting, I sand down as much as I can and scribe the body lines with an awl or a brass brad nail to clean them out a little as well. I don't use model paints, I use the big can spray paints, staying 10 to 12 inches from the car. When painting a light color I lay down a thin coat of bright white and then silver and then color.

I'd like to know if anyone has ever used a solvent to strip the paint from a HW's car...

 

Very nice work! Would you mind sharing your technique for disassembling the base from the car and then reattaching it once you're finished? Thanks!

 

Thanks for the great tips. They'll definitely be helpful next time around. Funny you mention the solvent, I dropped this Scuderia in there for a few hours, and it did nothing but remove the Scuderia stripe part way. Maybe I did something wrong.

I decided to do a repaint on my Scuderia just to test painting one. As you can tell, it looks terrible. I am still not sure if I was supposed to sand it down to the metal or just spray over. You can still see some yellow on the car. Couldn't get the rivets out, so I had to drill right through the back window. A mess of a project, I know Just to learn though. Wanted to do a wheel swap, but figured I'd wait until I do a car right. Couldn't save the shields either, I tried to tape over the shape(you can see the tape is still on there), but was afraid to remove it.

Better luck next time I guess! Any advice would be appreciated also.

Chris
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I drill out the rivets holding the body to the base using a 1/8th" bit, until the collar can be pried off. I use the 1/8th" bit so that all I'm drilling is the rivet, not the base. The body should then separate from the chassis easily. Take note that sometimes grills, diffusers and such can "slide into" the body of certain cars. A good example of this is the roof-on F-50, where the rear grill, lights and lic plate slide through the body.

Once I have the body off, I use a small dremel grinding tip to remove the "talons" that hold the axles into their slots. I don't know why they bother with this, because on most cars the "interior" captures the axle and holds it into the slot anyway. Perhaps the "talons" are for ease of assembly at the factory.

Once I have the wheels out I clean up the axle slots using the edge of one of those cardboard nail files. Then, I install the new wheels, reassemble the car and place a drop or two of Loctite's Crazy Glue onto the spot where the rivet head once was. Don't use too much, just enough so that the glue catches both the base and the remains of the rivet. Set aside to dry.

The bond is strong enough for handling and most play, but I wouldn't send custom HW's through any of the HW track sets.

Another way of reassembling that I've seen is to take a 1/16th" drill bit and drill down into the center of the rivet, reassemble the car and then screw a small machine screw into the 1/16th" hole you drilled into the rivet. Cars reassembled this way should be super strong, not that I've had any problems with the crazy Glue method.

 

When I was a kid I used to paint them the old fashioned way. I masked off the wheels and windows and sprayed. With practice I got some not hideously terrible results.

Thankfully HWs are cheap. Buy a few practice cars and go to town.

One thing I've learned is that when sanding to paint, sand by hand. Powered sanding can flatten body edges and curving lines very quick. Hand sanding takes longer but you'll get better results. You might try wrapping or gluing sand paper to various utensils, or using emery boards (cardboard nail files), to sand certain parts.

Of course the best way would be to find something we can just toss the bodies into, leave over night and have bare metal the next morning. I'm wondering if there might be a type of acid that will eat the paint, but not the white metal of the bodies...

 

The best is aircraft remover. The stuff gets into all the little areas really well and you can reuse it.

 

Thanks! I'll be looking for that... is this something I can just pour in a bowl, drop the car body in and let the magic happen?

 

Where is the best/cheapest place to but hotwheels 1:64 online besides ebay?

 

I don't buy online. I might trade online, but I buy local. It's just more fun.

I have a set route of "rounds" I make. 3 Walmarts, a K-Mart, 2 Targets, 2 Walgreens and a Toys-R-Us I hit weekly. Once a month I hit the autoparts stores, Autozone, Advance Auto, O'Reilly. It helps that I drive a '64 Volkswagen as a daily driver (when it's running) so I usually have an excuse other than Hot Wheels to be in the parts places.

I also hit various antique malls, flea markets, etc. Usually these places will have at least one guy hawking Hot Wheels, but they are better for non-current stuff you can't find at the big box stores anymore. I've also had some great finds at liquidators, like Tuesday Morning stores. I got two of these sets at a Tuesday Morning for $1.99 each... yes, $1.99 for each set.

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I'm always on the lookout for hidden places to find cars. The collectors around me I see at the same stores every week, but there are a few places that I'm pretty sure I'm the only hardcore that goes there. Its like a fishing spot... we all know the easy ones, and nobody shares their secret ones.

 

Thanks so much for the write up! Can't wait to give this a shot. I'll be sure to post the results.

 

You can get it in a paint can now with a wire tray, so there is no need for a bowl. Its very very strong so make sure you use it outside. Oh and its for metals only..the plastic stuff melts. I think it will clear a diecast car of all paint in about 15 to 20 minutes, and you can reuse it.

 

I have bought 20 or more cars off this site. You can buy and sell here and check seller feedback %'s before you buy.
http://www.thetoypeddler.com/

This is another one I have heard good things about..
http://www.todayssale.com/

 

Found another Speed Machines Corvette C6R along with the Reventon. Also found another Ferrari 5 pack that I had not seen yet.

Here is what is in it -
Red 355 Challenge
White 360 Modena
Yellow California
Red 250 GTO #19
Burghundy 612 Scaglietti

Also check my posting here for items I am selling off. - http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showpost.php?p=139273760&postcount=185

 

I saw another one as well, that included the '56 sharknose F1 car, in black with yellow numbers and wheels and I believe a 308... the sharknose kinda caught me off guard, I don't remember the other cars...

 

HW Speed Machines

So far I have managed to find 9 different ones, but am looking for some help in finding the others. I have some duplicates that I am looking to trade for ones I don't have. Please let me know

The 9 I have are on the right in the image below:
Ferrari California
Acura NSX
Audi TT
Mits EVO
Porsche 911
Caddy LMP
Ferrari 599
Dodge Viper
Audi R8

-Mike
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I just saw the 575 and Enzo Speedmachines.. I like how they Veyron looks even better.

 

Mmmm.... I want that 911 GT1 Speed Machines...

 

I'm just getting started on taking a few pictures of some of the "collection", and thought I would share a few picts so far (besides the HW Speed Machines I already posted). I will keep it to Ferraris, and it may take me a while.

Part of the "collection":
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Lookin good!

 

HW Ferrari Carded w/ SCUD:
24 to the set, still looking for a few, so feel free to help me out
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HW Ferrari Carded w/ F430:
24 to the set, still looking for a few, so feel free to help me out
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