Hot Wheels redlines. Kid approved.

My 13-year-old son hated trudging through flea markets and antique malls. Unfortunately for him, his mother and I enjoy going to places like that. A couple years back, someone gave the kid a Custom Barracuda Hot Wheels car at a garage sale. The Barracuda was one of the original 16 redline castings introduced in 1968. He did a little research, and found out how collectible a Hot Wheels redline can be. Now, our junking excursions are a little more tolerable for him. If we run across an interesting car that doesn’t cost a fortune (usually 12-bucks or less), we’ll grab it for him. You can be sure that he pays a lot more attention to what he’s looking at. The residual effect is that he’s amassed a nice little collection of Hot Wheels redline beaters. Last weekend, he helped me stage some photos of the cars in his collection so I could put a story together. These things are always more fun with an assistant.

Monster truck history and Hot Wheels Monster Jam diecasts

When I was growing up in the ‘80s, one thing I always looked forward to was the annual visit from the traveling monster truck tour.  Of course, it wasn’t like it is now.  Back then, monster trucks crushed cars.  And that’s really all they did.  They really were monsters, weighing in at some 18,000-lbs.  They didn’t jump things.  They didn’t race.  They didn’t do “freestyle” competitions.  They just lumbered over a line of old cars, crept up over them, and buckled the tops and popped the windows out.

Mattel Pixar Cars die-casts - a hit with kids and collectors alike

Six years after the release of the movie, Pixar Cars 1:55-scale die-casts are still hot.  It’s a product line that refuses to die, and the folks at Disney know how to keep it going.  With a second feature film last year, the popular Mater’s Tall Tales shorts, and several new books and special events, they just keep coming up with reasons to introduce new die-cast models.

A little history on little cars. Matchbox diecasts - a great way for a kid to burn through a buck

If you were a 10-year-old, and you managed to scrape a dollar together, what would you buy? Candy? Baseball cards? Maybe you’d try and save up for something bigger.

Well, when I was a kid in the 1970s/’80s, there was a K-Mart within bike riding distance from my house. And if I was able to lay my hands on a buck, there was a good chance I was going to buy a Matchbox car with it.

Feed your need for scale speed at RS Diecast and Collectibles in car-crazy downtown Belton

RS Diecast Racing and Collectibles is one of the last of its kind in KC

Just a few years ago, NASCAR and collector car diecast stores seemed to be everywhere. Independence Center, the Great Mall, even Crown Center all had their own dedicated shops, and there were probably a half-dozen independents around town as well.

Today, these stores are few-and-far between. But if you're looking for a good one, look no further than RS Diecast Racing and Collectibles in Historic Downtown Belton, Mo. Owner Richard Smith will be happy to show you his extensive selection of common, and not so common model cars from the world of NASCAR, short tracks, muscle cars, and classics.