Items29The creator’s order
  1. 1Hot Wheels Custom Camaro (1968)Hot Wheels Custom Camaro (1968)The first Hot Wheels car off the line was a dark blue Custom Camaro, and no other redline casting comes in as many variations. That makes it the best car for learning how to read a redline. Hong Kong cars have a blue-tinted windshield, a detailed base with gas tank and side pipes, and door lines…0
  2. 2Hot Wheels Custom Mustang (1968)Hot Wheels Custom Mustang (1968)Based on the 1967 fastback, with a hood that opens on both US and Hong Kong cars, the Custom Mustang is where buyers most need to slow down. Its two famous variations are also its most faked. Hong Kong made the first cars with open hood scoops, which were dropped from later castings. A late…0
  3. 3Hot Wheels Custom Corvette (1968)Hot Wheels Custom Corvette (1968)Mattel put the shape of the coming third-generation Corvette, drawn from the Mako Shark II concept, on toy shelves before General Motors had the real car in showrooms. That head start is the Custom Corvette's whole story. Tell the two factories apart by the glass and interior: US cars have a clear…0
  4. 4Hot Wheels Custom Cougar (1968)Hot Wheels Custom Cougar (1968)The Custom Cougar, based on the 1967 Mercury Cougar coupe, is one of the easier Sweet Sixteen cars to place by factory at a glance. Only Hong Kong cars have the simulated black vinyl roof, and only US cars have black trim paint on the grille. The usual tells apply too: clear glass and a…0
  5. 5Hot Wheels Custom Barracuda (1968)Hot Wheels Custom Barracuda (1968)Based on the 1967 Plymouth Barracuda fastback, the Custom Barracuda looks almost identical from both factories, so the differences hide in the details. Hong Kong hoods have longer power bulges running nearly the full length, and Hong Kong cars carry blue glass, a separate steering wheel and…0
  6. 6Hot Wheels Custom Eldorado (1968)Hot Wheels Custom Eldorado (1968)Bill Mitchell's 1967 Cadillac Eldorado coupe became the Sweet Sixteen's luxury car, and every color came with a flat black painted roof imitating vinyl. That roof is the first thing to check: a few examples without it are known and may be production errors. US cars have the flat black grille…0
  7. 7Hot Wheels Custom Firebird (1968)Hot Wheels Custom Firebird (1968)The Custom Firebird is the Sweet Sixteen's open car, modeled on the 1967 Pontiac Firebird convertible, the pony car Pontiac built to take on the Mustang. Its standout variation is a rare late run of US cars with door lines cast into the sides. Otherwise it follows the pattern: clear glass, a…0
  8. 8Hot Wheels Custom Fleetside (1968)Hot Wheels Custom Fleetside (1968)The Custom Fleetside is the Sweet Sixteen's pickup, tied to designer Harry Bentley Bradley, and its tonneau cover pops open over the bed. That cover is where the factories differ: US castings have a notch to ease it open, Hong Kong ones a tab. Every Fleetside came with flat black paint simulating…0
  9. 9Hot Wheels Custom T-Bird (1968)Hot Wheels Custom T-Bird (1968)Based on the 1967 Thunderbird two-door landau, the Custom T-Bird rewards collectors who look at roofs. Every Hong Kong color has a flat black roof, while US cars mostly do but not always, and the no-black-roof US car has been found only in red, purple, green, antifreeze and gold. US cars also get…0
  10. 10Hot Wheels Custom Volkswagen (1968)Hot Wheels Custom Volkswagen (1968)Mattel's first Beetle, patterned on a 1965 IMC 1:25 model kit, comes in three castings: US with a sunroof, Hong Kong with a sunroof, and Hong Kong without one. The no-sunroof cars came first, from the Hong Kong plant, and most were sold in Germany and the UK, so they are worth looking for in…0