09 September 2019
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Examples of the US diecast range don’t often appear at auction but July 10 was the diary date for Hot Wheels and Lone*Star collectors, since Vectis had mustered several examples
Examples of the US diecast range don’t often appear at auction but July 10 was the diary date for Hot Wheels and Lone*Star collectors, since Vectis had mustered several examples, ready to go under the hammer. Mattel’s fast-moving and usually outrageously coloured vehicles have always been popular in the US – and exports here back in the 1960s also went down well.
A Mattel Redlines early carded group included a Lola GT70 in metallic red with pale blue windows and a decal sheet, with the bubble partly sealed on the card. There was a Hot Heap in metallic bronze with an off-white seat as well as a Beatnik Bandit, also in metallic bronze, with pale blue glazing. Billed as excellent to near mint in generally fair original packaging, the estimate of £60-80 proved illusory for this trio, and they realised £408.
Another Mattel (this time unboxed) group included the Beach Bomb in dark metallic green with pale blue windows, sporting the all-important yellow and orange surfboards. There was also a Power Pad in metallic red, with an off- white back, clear windows and black seats; and a similar item, but this time with a metallic green body. Good plus to excellent described these models but some small chips to the wheel arches were noted. Given the lack of packaging, the closing bid of £456 showed just how popular these models are.
A third lot comprised a Custom Fleet Side finished in metallic green and black, alongside a Custom T-Bird and Custom Eldorado in similar colours. There was also another Beatnik Bandit (in purple) and the racy-looking Python in a similar colour, plus others. Described as good to excellent, this unboxed group was contested to £408.
As for the Lone*Star Flyers (again, rare visitors to auction houses), a carded group included a No.118 Ford Corsair in metallic red with an orange interior, along with a No 123 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud in metallic red, again with an orangey/red interior. No.114, the Ford Zodiac Mk 3 in gold with the same psychedelic interior completed the lot. All were near mint to mint, in good to good plus blister cards. Tipped to sell for £70, they roared off to make £264.