2019 Hot Wheels HW Flames ’66 Chevy Nova

This 2019 HW Flames ’66 Chevy Nova is the second of three items I got recently in the mail from my friend Brad. Two years ago we saw the ’66 Nova included in the excellent HW Flames 5-pack, but the flames on this 2019 version are even more impressive, covering not only both sides of the car, but the hood and top as well.

There is also a black variation of this car showing up in stores now, and when I find one of those, I’ll include it on this page.

Hot Wheels | FYC42 | 2019 HW Flames | ’66 Chevy Nova | red with white and yellow flames | MC5

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Aviva Snoopy Fire Truck

This fire truck came to me in the FBQT collection. As I was initially sorting through what I had acquired, I was intrigued by the heft of this model and the level of detail (despite its poor condition). It wasn’t a brand I was familiar with, but rather than putting it in the reject pile, I set it aside until I could look into it a little further.

From my research I learned that Aviva Enterprises was started by Donald Fraser and Elliot Steinberg in 1968. Fraser had developed a relationship with Charles Schultz, the creator of the Peanuts cartoons, and had secured licensing rights to produce toys and other items featuring the Peanuts characters. This fire truck is missing the plastic ladder bucket that would have had a little Snoopy character sitting in it.

The page for Aviva Toys on Hobbydb.com mentions that some of their Peanuts vehicles are based on Tomica castings. Sure enough, even though this fire truck is made in Hong Kong rather than Japan, the 1974 page of the online Tomica History Museum shows a nice red fire truck that appears to be an identical casting (minus Snoopy, of course) to this Aviva-branded model.

So I’ll put this Snoopyless Peanuts fire truck on the shelf next to my Tomica models. And I’ll be keeping my eyes out for an example of the original Tomica fire truck to display beside it.

Aviva Toys | Snoopy Fire Truck | red with yellow plastic hoses and base, missing yellow plastic bucket and Snoopy | Hong Kong

2019 Hot Wheels Pop Culture X-Men ’64 Chevy Nova Delivery

I got a package of nice cars the other day from my friend and fellow car-hunter, Brad. Included in the package was this Hot Wheels 2019 Pop Culture X-Men ’64 Chevy Nova Delivery. The X-Men series delivers 5 great castings along with killer card art from some of the great names in comic book art:

• ’49 Ford COE (Ultimate X-Men – Michael Turner)
• ’64 Chevy® Nova™ Delivery (X-Men – Jim Lee)
• ’71 Plymouth Satellite (Astonishing X-Men – John Cassaday)
• Combat Medic (Uncanny X-Men – Terry Dodson)
• Nissan Skyline Van (All-New X-Men – Stuart Immonen)

It is difficult to resist finding all of these for my collection, but I’m more than happy to add another nice variation to my many Novas. On this ’64 Delivery, the fantastic art of Jim Lee is set off with a beautiful set of gray Larry Wood five-spokes.

My other ’64 Nova Delivery models are (click to open the page): 2018 Pop Culture Nestle Sno Caps; 2017 Pop Culture MAD; 2016 Pop Culture Nestle 100 Grand; 2015 Pop Culture Marvel Spider Man.

Hot Wheels | FYN93 | 2019 Pop Culture X-Men | ’64 Chevy Nova Delivery | gray with Storm and Magneto graphics | gray LW5

The back of the card shows the other castings in the series. Check out the HotWheelCollectors website to see the other amazing card art.

A Bunch of Rough Hot Wheels

The rest of the Hot Wheels from the FBQT collection are in such rough shape, I decided rather than feature each one individually, I would just show them all on one long page.

This Jaguar XJS is the 1978 first release, but it’s missing most of its windshield, paint and tampo. Fortunately, I already have a much nicer example.

Hot Wheels | 1978 | 2012 | Jaguar XJS | gray with yellow, red & black trim, | HK | bw

This ’57 T-Bird is another 1978 first-release that’s missing most of its paint and tampo, and again, I already have another much better example.

Hot Wheels | 1978 | 2013 | ’57 T-Bird | yellow with red, blue and black trim, porthole | HK | bw

I believe this Hiway Hauler with the missing box would be the 1980 North American Van Lines first-release, because it’s the only white cab version that was made in Hong Kong. Click here to see the example I have with its box intact.

Hot Wheels | 1980 | 1174 | Hiway Hauler | white cab only | HK | bw

I also already have the 1981 Dixie Challenger, and I would say this one’s in better shape if it weren’t for the unsightly scrape across the top.

Hot Wheels | 1981 | 3364 | Dixie Challenger | orange with blue and white trim, stars on roof | HK | bw

The Hot Wheels Corvette Stingray, first released in 1976, was a childhood favorite and I’ve been wanting this variation from 1982 for awhile now. But this one is pretty rough, so I’ll keep looking for a cleaner example.

Hot Wheels | 1982 | 9241 | Corvette Stingray | red with white, orange and yellow trim | MY | gho

This Hi-Rakers 3-Window ’34 is actually pretty nice, except for the missing driver’s side headlight. I already have one of these 1983 variations, as well as the 1980 first-release and a silver model from 1995.

Hot Wheels | 1983 Hi-Rakers | 1132 | 3-Window ’34 | metalflake red with yellow and black trim | HK | bw

The Hot Wheels Ferrari Testarossa was first released in 1987. This red version with Ultra Hots and black and red interior is from 1988. I also have a Color Racer version of the Testarossa that I have not yet photographed.

Hot Wheels | 1988 | 1897 | Ferrari Testarossa | red with yellow and black trim, black and red interior | MY | uh

The Mercedes 540K was first released in 1982. I now have two different whitewall-wearing variations from 1988 that are missing the chrome grille and beige plastic top: One is this black model, and the other is the chrome version from the 20th Anniversary 3-pack.

Hot Wheels | 1988 | 5142 | Mercedes 540K | black with missing beige plastic top, missing chrome grille and windshield | MY | ww

I have quite a few variation of this next model – originally released as Highway Patrol in 1978. In 1978, it became Fire Chaser and Sheriff Patrol after that. This tan version from 1988 is a color changer from the Automagic series and is, rather strangely, both a police car and a taxi cab.

Hot Wheels | 1988 | 7285 | Sheriff Patrol (Automagic) | light purple (light tan) with Police Taxi trim | MY | bw

Next, we have a later variation of the ’57 T-Bird – after the porthole window was filled in on the sides – from the 1990 Park ‘n Plates series.

Hot Wheels | 1990 Park ‘n Plates | 2013 | ’57 T-Bird | turquoise with purple and yellow trim | MY | ww

The Hot Wheels Hot Bird is a classic casting which first appeared in 1978. I don’t really understand the layers of color on this version, but it appears that at one time it was the 1990 All American Fire Bird, which had white paint with a red and blue stars and stripes tampo. I also have the 1982 Hot Ones version, the shiny model from the Golden Machines 6-Pack, and the 1979 variation released as Captain America.

Hot Wheels | 1990 | #37 | Hot Bird | missing most white with red and blue trim, red interior | MY | uh

The Camaro Z-28 was first cast in 1982. This McDonald’s promo from 1991 is the second of this casting I’ve added to my collection. The other is a color-changer from 1988.

Hot Wheels | 1991 McDonald’s promo | 5182 | Camaro Z-28 | orange with purple and yellow trim | MY | bw

The GT Racer made its first appearance in the 1989 Speed Fleet series. My black model is from 1993 and is in passable condition except for the missing chrome engine and wing.

Hot Wheels | 1993 | 1789 | GT Racer | black with purple, yellow and red trim, missing chrome wing | MY | bw

Finally, another variation of the Corvette Stingray. This one with the caved-in top would have been found in the 1995 Chevrolet 5-Pack.

Hot Wheels | 1995 Chevrolet 5-Pack | 9241 | Corvette Stingray | light blue | MY | uh

1989 Hot Wheels School Bus

The original Hot Wheels school bus, from 1971, was a dual-engined funny car with an opening body called S’Cool Bus. It was based on the popular Monogram plastic model kit designed by Tom Daniel. A S’Cool Bus in good shape is worth a decent chunk of money, but this is not one of those.

The more tamed-down Hot Wheels School Bus was released in 1989 and could be found in both the mainlines and the Workhorses series, with either a thin or thick black stripe on the sides. This thick stripe version is from the FBQT collection.

There are about 30 different variations of the School Bus, with only about 7 of them wearing blackwalls.

Hot Wheels | 1989 | 1795 | School Bus | yellow with black trim (thick black stripe) | MY | bw

1979 Matchbox Pontiac Firebird Trans Am

This 1979 Matchbox Pontiac Firebird Trans Am is another frustrating find from the FBQT collection. I could live with the few chunks of missing paint and one badly scuffed-up wheel, but what I find annoying is the way the firebird sticker on the hood is half peeled off in a really unattractive way. I’ve considered removing it entirely, but for now it will stay as-is.

The #16 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am is not to be confused with the #4 Pontiac Firebird from 1975 – of which I have a nice example from my childhood – although they are similar castings. This one replaces the two hood scoops with one and has the restyled 1979 front end and a rear spoiler.

Matchbox | 1979 | 16 | Pontiac Firebird Trans Am | metallic gold | England | Superfast wheels

1985 Hot Wheels Good Ol’ Pick-Um-Up

The cars I acquired from FBQT are mostly in bad shape, with many of them missing large amounts of paint and/or parts. But this one is a real heartbreaker. What would otherwise be a decent example of the Hot Wheels Good Ol’ Pick-Um-Up from 1985 is missing the two plastic motorcycles, which have been completely severed from their place in the back of the truck bed.

The Good Ol’ Pick-Um-Up is a Real Rider-wearing variation of the ’56 Hi-Tail Hauler, a popular casting of the Ford F-150 which was first released in 1977.

To get an idea what the model should look like with the motorcycles in place, you can check out my enamel blue 1979 variation or my metalflake blue version from 1982.

Hot Wheels | 1985 | 9541 | Good Ol’ Pick-Um-Up (’56 Hi-Tail Hauler) | plum with white, blue and black trim, missing motorcycles | MY | white hub rr