Tim Lee asked:




If your child has already reached an age where he can manage to have a toy car of his own, then there are exciting ways of granting his fondest wish. You can present his new toy car during his birthday and have a car birthday party theme to celebrate his being old enough to have a car!

You can choose from among these suggested lists of car birthday party themes that would most thrill your child, no end.

1. If your child is interested in driving, as much as having a car of his own, albeit a toy, then you can have a Party involving Go-carts. It would be more exciting for you child and his friends if you hold the party in a go-cart facility, if one exists nearby your area.

Do not forget that the things to make the party more memorable is having party packages that includes go-cart rides with foods and beverages served and also tokens for video games.

Go-cart racing can also be officially held among the child celebrant and his friends, with prizes including matchbox car toys with candies.

2. You can also have a transportation party or a NASCAR party, depending on your child’s enthusiasm for whichever.

3. If your teenage child and his friends are enthusiasts of the Daytona races, then you already have a car birthday party theme waiting to happen. Having the Daytona 500 car birthday party theme would likely excite your child more than watching the races ever did.

This racing sports party has two essential elements. You must have an ongoing supply of finger foods and a television. TVs with big screen is more advantageous than a small one.

If the viewing area only has a small screen television, and the traffic in it is beginning to pick up, then it is advisable to separate the setting of your food. The area where you set your food would encourage those not-too-serious race fans to gather up and discuss non-race conversations. This will also allow more space in the viewing area and less tension for those who are dead set on the screen of the small TV.

Before holding this car birthday party theme, make sure that you know the TV coverage and primetime schedule of the Daytona 500 stockcar race. The race usually begins in the afternoon and lasts until after dark. Do not expect to have your child’s guests leave right after the end of the race coverage. Expect to be in high spirits and boisterous after having an exciting time watching.

Lillian Mendez

Kadence Buchanan asked:




There are the Jay Lenos and Jerry Seinfelds of this world who own rare cars and motorcycles they house in climate controlled environments – motor museums for the rich and famous. But, most car collectors around the world opt for cars of more modest size and investment. The die cast collector crosses all social and economic boundaries – from people who buy affordable miniatures just for fun to collectors who engage in auctions where a model can fetch hundreds of dollars or more.

History on Small Wheels
Model cars first appeared in England and the U.S. in the early 1900s. Unlike the detailed die cast models of today, they featured painted shells and no interior adornment. They were also made of metal alloys that that didn’t stand the test of time – they rusted and cracked, and few survive today. But, it wasn’t long before manufacturers caught on to the idea that there was a market for model cars, trucks, airplanes and farm equipment. As popularity increased, so too did the quality of manufacturing and attention to detail.

Matchbox cars made in England by Lesney appeared in 1947 and started a new trend. The fledging company’s first blockbuster was in 1953 when a million miniatures of Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation Coach were sold. But, the Matchbox concept was inspired much closer to home for Jack Odell (co-owner of Lesnsy) when he designed a toy that could be taken to school by his daughter. School rules dictated that only toys capable of fitting into a matchbox would be allowed in the classroom. Odell complied with the rule by making a miniature car with rolling wheels and sent his daughter off to school with a toy that became the first Matchbox car and the first page in a mass marketing success story.

Each tiny car fit neatly inside a box the size and design of the traditional matchbox. Every line of cars had 75 different vehicles and gave people – children and adults – a body of styles to collect, trade and save.

At the same time, other die cast cars hit the fast lane. In the 1950s Mettoy, producer of the popular Corgi brand, paid particular attention to interior detail and installed clear plastic in window frames. Miniatures with such detail went beyond simple toys to collectibles.

Precious to Popular
Then, in 1968, Hot Wheels got the rapt attention of America’s boys. Hot Wheels was Mattel’s plan to reach the market of boys in the same way that Barbie Dolls had captured the attention of girls. The idea was wildly successful and introduced the concept of collecting to young boys who might one day become adult collectors of more sophisticated die cast cars.

In the ensuing years, die cast manufacturers were increasingly focused on the collectors’ market. Mainstream corporate customers saw the value of having their logo and brand on vehicles and Sears, Coca-Cola, Texaco and other companies ordered die cast models bearing their signatures.

Manufacturing Market Changes
For many years, these detailed models made with increasing accuracy and quality were produced in the U.S. and Great Britain. But, by the 1980s, the economic climate changed as a worldwide marketplace emerged. The cost of domestic manufacturing didn’t match revenues and many companies declared bankruptcy or traded hands. Production moved in a great exodus to China and other Far Eastern centers where cheaper labor was available. Mattel was among the first to make the big shift and was rewarded with continued success. Mattel eventually bought Corgi and Matchbox.

Collectors Expect Quality Control
Many other die cast manufacturers joined the movement and, today, there are hundreds of companies offering die cast models of varying cost and quality to collectors all over the world. It would be a mistake, however, to assume that die cast quality went down along with domestic production. Since the market is so competitive and demand for quality among collectors is very high, producers in Hong Kong, Makau, Indonesia, Shanghai and elsewhere are under a bright spotlight.

World over there are die cast clubs that cater to collectors of specific models. There are online auctions in which rare models are purchased for record high prices and collector forums where fans exchange ideas and trade cars. Die cast models seem to capture the fascination of people from all walks of life and economic standing. Affordable, accessible and, at the same time, exclusive and rare, die cast cars appear to have built a significant niche in the world of collecting.

Patrick Hudson

PatJH7 asked:

A collection of stop-motion car crashes that my cousin PJ and I made with hot wheels cars and Matchbox cars. Hope you like!

Harry Pena

Retrosicko asked:

Cockroach cockaroach

Cynthia Richards

Jenn Landers asked:




Last Christmas my husband and I learned a valuable lesson. It all started one night in August, when our three-year-old daughter was cranky and needy; whining and climbing onto my husband’s lap as he and I were trying to eat dinner. To gain a bit of peace so he could finish his meal, Seth handed her a toy catalog. Let me give you a little history about our children and toys.

I tried to follow the experts’ advice and decided not to allow my children to watch television until after the age of two. It had something to do with their brain development, their educational process, and maybe their brains turning to mush or something. I really don’t recall the exact reason but I know I tried to adhere to the principle. This was until I found myself pregnant again; exhausted with one-year-old and a baby on the way. Suddenly, plugging my daughter into PBS didn’t seem like such bad idea. I justified my changed position by saying that I would not allow either of my children to see television commercials for as long as I could possibly hold out.

They are now four and two years old and I still don’t let them watch programs with commercials. My motivation is purely selfish as I don’t want them asking me for every little thing they see. Listen, a lot of money is made in marketing to children and I don’t feel like dealing with any of that mess. To put it even more simply – the kids have absolutely no idea what they want for gifts because they have no clue what is out there. This makes my job very easy.

Combine my position on television commercials with my ideas about natural, non-toxic toys (another story altogether) and you can understand why starting roughly in July a steady stream of natural toy catalogs starts hitting our mailbox. I spend many autumn nights in front of the fireplace with a glass of wine, a stack of catalogs, and a paper and pen.

Let’s go back to that particular night last August. So, Sarah was being a handful and Seth, to appease her, handed her a catalog and uttered the fateful words that forever changed the way our daughter viewed catalogs. “Sweetie, Mommy and I are eating dinner. Why don’t you sit here with us and look through this toy catalog? You can pick out what you want Santa to bring for Christmas.” Sarah’s eyes lit up with what Seth calls “Christmas magic” and what I call “the light of consumerism”. She carefully turned each page and at about page three she announced, “That’s what I want”. Huh, that was short-lived quiet time. “What is it, Honey?” asked Seth.

It was a doll’s changing table, made entirely of wood, with a darling multi-colored curtain to hide the shelves below. It had a little swing attached, made of the same fabric as the curtain. It was also well over two hundred dollars. I chuckled, knowing which way the conversation was headed and knowing that Seth would end up online that evening, ordering the changing table. “Well, that’s nice and all but what about everything else in the catalog? Can’t you find ANYTHING else you like?”

She was adamant and I was gloating. Sarah took to carrying that catalog everywhere and she, a normally shy and cautious child, told anyone who would listen that Santa was bringing her “a doll changing table with a curtain and a swing and this little place behind the curtain where you can hang doll clothes on little hangers”. The grocery store, my parents’ house, Seth’s father’s house – that catalog even went on vacation with us. Our daughter was fixated. The next door neighbor smirked and warned Seth, “You’d better buy that for her. It’s a bargain compared to the therapy bill you’ll be paying when she’s fifteen and blaming you for everything that ever went wrong in her life!”

That changing table arrived by UPS and it was gorgeous. Yes, it was expensive but it is an heirloom quality toy that Sarah will one day be passing along to her own children. In the meantime, it’s been a changing table, a fort for her dolls, a secret hiding place for her treasures, and occasionally a matchbox car parking garage when she and her little brother play together.

Christmas magic really happened for us last year. I don’t mean that toys are what Christmas is all about, but I feel like we had the sort of Christmas that I remember from my childhood. Sarah wanted that one special toy so badly; none of the stuff she saw in stores or in the catalogs would distract her. She glowed brighter than our Christmas tree when she saw that changing table next to the tree Christmas morning. I glanced over at Seth and saw a proud, happy father who, although he’d been hoodwinked by a three-year-old, had come through and made his daughter’s Christmas dream come true.

Philip Fernandez

xkingofgodz asked:

Turbo boosted matchbox speed racer does a burnout donut and then blows its engine in the middle of the street

Philip Kelly

KOTORmovies asked:

a stop motion test on a matchbox car…

Vanessa Schultz

Lcase5 asked:

A Matchbox car remotly detonated via a remote detonator (9V battery)

Ruth Davidson

Gatling95 asked:

Here i crashed matchbox cars. In the first part i put my feet in the video.sorry but you can see everything in the second video

Phillip Schultz

alanfengis asked:

From Daddy, To Max. El Camino!

Lori Wallace