A LITTLE INTRODUCTION TO HOT WHEELS 2014'S 3RD REGULAR TREASURE HUNT CAR - 17.NOVEMBER.2013
After witnessed the 3rd REGULAR TREASURE HUNT of HOT WHEELS 2014 mainline series which revealed on 15.November.2013 - MALAYSIA'S TIME - 11:35P.M. live at t-hunted.com (video by Rich 'Mushedroom' Kim), alot of criticism has been risen especially for HW collectors around the globe mostly in the diecast collectors forum for a couple of reasons why they are unhappy about this casting and the name for this casting is called FANGSTER, falls under the category of
2014 Hot Wheels HW CITY: sub series STREET BEAST #53.
Well, let's take a deep breath and calm down, alright. The world is not ending yet. Let's give a chance to this little monster and see if there is any special or uniqueness about this casting. One important thing about what i learned from collecting is that you need to know exactly why in the first place you put so much interest and effort in collecting especially in HOT WHEELS toy line. As we all know that we are only human and we tend to FORGET. That's one of the many human flaws. One thing that pop the question in my head is that who is the designer, who is the one that invent this casting / model. Surely there is a story in every invention in our human history. That is the one curiosity that strikes me to know more about this casting. They always say don't judge a book's cover until you really read the whole thing and understand it.
And so, i wanted to know more about this casting. I'm sure there are other people out there who also wants to know more. The moment i found out that this casting has been chosen by MATTEL, i stop and think, 'Why is this casting been selected in next year's REGULAR TREASURE HUNT series?'. I'm sure that there is a few reasons for it and i respect their decision (or might just be only one person's decision - who knows). I was sleepy at first but once i found out about it, my blood is boiling! I intend to write a little introduction to this little monster. And comes to think of it, next year its gonna be a monster year in movie industry - to name a few,
Godzilla movie is gonna strike theaters near you in May, 16th 2014 and
Transformers 4: Age of Extinction movie with Dinobots have been confirmed lately - premiere on June, 27th 2014. Extremely excited! hehe.. :D
An interesting drawing by one of the FANGSTER's fan found on the net. Check it out.
Let's begins with this little monster's story (my version). :)
It all started in 1985 ( But the official released date is in 1986 - In Chinese calendar, it is in TIGER'S YEAR! ). The casting base stamped with 1985. It also takes some times to get a copy right & license in order for MATTEL to launch this model to the world's market. Sorry for the pic which only reveal a part of its stamped date. I will update this pic once i have a clear view of it, ok. Check it out.
It first appear in Hot Wheels series SPEED DEMONS with 2 set of variants card edition.
According to
southtexasdiecast.com web site, it has 2 variations on base as well, one is HONG KONG BASE & the other is MALAYSIA BASE under the same wheels type - UH (Ultra Hots) spoke wheels. Even the southtexasdiecast.com did mentioned the bases but with no luck on the pictures so far.
HOT WHEELS 1986 SPEED DEMONS #2057 FANGSTER (GREEN)
NOTE: If you look closely on the printed card, the INTERNATIONAL CARD HAS WHEELS VARIANT (BW's - BASIC WHEELS or BLACK WALLS).
Then it changes the style printing of the card with wheels variations & its blister / bubble in the year 1988. The left side carded has BW's (Basic Wheels or Black Walls) spoke wheels.
HOT WHEELS 1988 SPEED DEMONS #2057 FANGSTER (GREEN)
NOTE: If you notice the top left corner of the card, there are 2 variations of the printing.
The left side carded has printed yellow words '
DIE CAST METAL & PLASTIC' and bottom left side with
NO NUMBER.
The right side carded has printed yellow words '
DIE CAST CHASSIS/PLASTIC BODY!' and bottom left side with printed number '
2059'.
In the year 1989 / 1990, Hot Wheels comes up with a new invention with CRAYONS - COLOR WITH CRAYON CARS before COLOR SHIFTERS (color with water) & LIGHT SPEEDERS (color of light) was invented.
So far, i found only 3 different colors for
Fangster - BLACK, GREEN & ORANGE. There might be other colors such has blue, yellow & red. Only a few HOT WHEELS models appeared in this series. The car alone doesn't have wheels which is roll-able and the sole purpose is to draw with colors.
And MATTEL stop produced this model (after it has missed out for about 4 to 5 years period) until it has reappeared again in the year 1996, exclusively only available in McDonald's franchise. It appears with YELLOW plastic body with DARK GREEN
CHINA METAL BASE. The wheels is in CHROME 5 SPOKES (5SP) WHEELS.
In the same year (1996), it has appeared in Hot Wheels mainline line series number #478 with Florescent Yellow body color, Metaflake Green CHINA Metal Base & CHROME 5 SPOKES (5SP) WHEELS. If i am not mistaken, these both version has all the same features. I leave it for you to judge and find out, ok. If you noticed the card, this model's name has been changed to DRAGON WAGON.
And again, it disappeared for another 4 to 5 years time. In 2010, Mattel has decided to rename it back to Fangster again in the category RACE WORLD - UNDERGROUND with #1 in the front list. This time it has METAFLAKE DARK ORANGE, TEAL MALAYSIA METAL BASE with CHROME 5 SPOKES WHEELS. This time, Fangster has appear it 4 different card editions. Check it out.
If you check on the first card on the very left side, the number '240' means there are 240 cars listed for U.S. card edition. For International card (both short & long card edition) has the number '214' which means only 214 cars available in the international region. The left out 26 cars was for the Mystery cars in carded form with black out blister / bubble which is invisible for our naked eyes(ONLY AVAILABLE IN THE U.S.). As for the U.S. KEYS TO SPEED EDITION, there are 2 variations. One only have the INSTANT WIN GAME PEEL TO PLAY, which was a piece of paper stick at bottom center of the card (beside the car). The other one has both INSTANT WIN GAME PEEL TO PLAY & special key chain (contains 1 car image & to collect a full set which contains of 4 different car images - BONE SHAKER (#1), DEORA II (#2), FAST FISH (#3) & TWIN MILL III (#4)).
INSTANT WIN GAME PEEL TO PLAY
KEYS TO SPEED: SPECIAL KEY CHAIN with 4 DIFFERENT individual IMAGES (FULL SET)
If you take a closer look at the front side (the eyes, the mouth & front teeth), there is abit of changes to its casting. A side line below the eyes is more BULKY / THICKER and the mouth's side line is thinner. The eyes also shrink to become slightly smaller. The front teeth also become shorter. Check it out.
In 2011, Fangster has the privilege to enter the list of 5 cars in 2011 HALLOWEEN 5 PACK (EXCLUSIVELY ONLY AVAILABLE AT
TARGET). This time, the changes made for its body to TRANSPARENT / CLEAR GREEN, TRANSPARENT / CLEAR RED EYES, GOLD PAINTED METAL BASE with CHROME 5 SPOKES (5SP) WHEELS.
2011 HOT WHEELS HALLOWEEN 5 PACK
With the season coming up in the year 2012, Hot Wheels has special 9-PACK exclusively only available in U.S. for TOYS R US which has another FANGSTER included inside the gift pack consists of 9 cars. Check it out.
You can also check out the whole 9 pack
here. If you look closely at the creature's head. An updated version indeed. One thing that i don't get it is most of the time this casting always appears in GREEN body color and with CHROME 5 SPOKES (5SP) WHEELS some more. Come on Mattel, let's have some fun with some other interesting colors for a change.
After skipping another 1 year, we finally seen the shine of
FANGSTER in the list of 2014 REGULAR TREASURE HUNT. I must say that this model deserved to be recognized by all collectors & newbies alike. It has come a long way for it to have a very important role as a TREASURE HUNT MASTERPIECE. This very morning when i check up to see if anyone has the pleasure to upload a better view of this casting (
FANGSTER), i finally saw it. Thanks to the persons who uploaded it. We all now have a clear pictures to have a closer look at it with both INTERNATIONAL SHORT CARD & U.S. LONG CARD EDITION. :)
2014 HOT WHEELS HW CITY: sub series STREET BEAST #53 FANGSTER
U.S LONG CARD EDITION
INTERNATIONAL SHORT CARD EDITION
With the latest version of FANGSTER, the mixture of both DARK BLUE & BRIGHT YELLOW body & base color looks really AWESOME! With the newly added ORANGE CHROME RIMS with BLACK OPEN HOLE 5 SPOKES (BLACK OH5SP) WHEELS, it is even better! :)
I hope that Mattel can continuously produce this unique casting just one pattern each year or 2 in Hot Wheels series, not asking for too much though. Just like when you eat one of your favourite food such as spaghetti for instant, you can't have one of the ingredient too much coz it will spoil the taste. So it is the same thing in Hot Wheels collections.
Not much of this casting being spotted at this time (17.November.2013). But the bidding is high at this point, 2 eBay sellers already posted with these auctions in bidding process. Check it out..
Its not that how much you bought to be consider with, its how much is your interest you want to invest in it. If it can't be found in local stores, search online where it is the best place to get your favorite Hot Wheels cars.
One more fun thing about collecting Hot Wheels cars is that when you found a damage or missing in any parts of the car / casting, different or misplace body tampos, wheels, base, windows, cards, blister/bubble are consider to be a much valuable piece for an ordinary models. But if these errors / variants falls under the category of SUPER or REGULAR treasure hunt or some other fully diecast / metal body and base features with rubber wheels, it is consider as much higher value for that one piece that you found. Just be sure not to damage the card or blister/bubble & keep it in a safe environment. The words imprinted in most of Hot Wheels card at the top side says 'GUARANTEED FOR LIFE' has make it clear to all collectors & newbies alike. If you are into Hot Wheels collection, gentleness is one thing you must never miss.
Alright then. I hope the information i provided here is helpful to you.
Expect more updates coming up soon, ok.
Thank you so much for your support & for your time.
See you all soon & take care! :D ~ HAPPY HUNTING!
