Post by ferrari512s on Dec 23, 2013 15:27:07 GMT -5
What is this strange looking pale specimen with redline wheels? 
Where on earth did this archeological find take place?
Does Indiana Bruce have anything to do with this?
Well I present to you the Mad or Mighty Maverick in a Brass material! Yes don't you love these prototypes!
Me too!
This picture is courtesy of Bruce Pascal / www.redlineprotos.com
Who would have thought and who would have even guessed our beloved Hot Wheels redlines were actually cast in brass for quality test purposes. I first heard of Brass Hot Wheels from Larry Wood and I was pleasantly surprised and shocked by this revelation.
The development of Brass Hot wheels for testing probably began in 1969. Nearly every Hot Wheels model released as well as unreleased (there has to be some too since Larry has quite a few in storage) were first cast in brass. The brass material was similar in weight and atomic structure (just kidding) to zamac which happens to be the die-cast material Hot Wheels are composed of. The Mattel engineers ran countless tests using these Brass prototypes which went through the all the track accessories, like...
The dreaded Super-Charger...
The evil Banked Turns...
The scary Loops...
The frightening Jumps...
The Spills...
The Chills...
The Thrills...
Well, you get the picture I'm trying to paint here.
Once these Brass prototypes passed the exhaustive track tests then they were ready for actual production. When some of these models didn't quite make the grade, they were re-tooled, refined and put through the tests again.
What about that white enamel paint? A really quite pale shade and not suitable on redlines in my opinion.
Did you also happen to notice the white paint used on this Hot Wheels Maverick? These prototypes were painted white enamel by the Ransburg electrostatic-paint spray guns. When these white enamel paints dried you could detact any flaws in the design and thus these were then corrected. It appears the spectraflame translucent paints were not forgiving at all and caused major issues before a Hot Wheels redline car was released for final production.
Did you know Hot Wheels were also test painted with black enamel paint? The reason given is stated above...and these is another reason too? Anyone care to answer this?
Check out the base of this Maverick! Notice the lack of text on the base? This could have been the evil and crazy "Mad Maverick"...
Check out the cool screws holding this prototype together. Mattel never ceases to surprise me with these interesting details.
This picture is courtesy of Bruce Pascal / www.redlineprotos.com
The Mad/Mighty Maverick Brass Prototype Revisited…
What an interesting development. I was planning to show one of the few Mad Maverick prototypes that are still in existence when I received an unexpected email from Bruce Pascal, the owner of the white Maverick Brass Prototype. I decided to shift gears and present this first.
The picture is courtesy of Bruce Pascal / www.redlineprotos.com
For clarity, I have transcribed the contents of this “Letter of Authenticity”, written by Bob Rosas, former Manager of Hot Wheels Product Development for Mattel Toys.
(We actually saw this prototype when we visited Bob Rosas in 1998)
May 27, 2004
I am writing this letter to confirm that the brass Mighty Maverick is original and from my personal collection.
The brass proto-types took over two hundred hours to make each one. The brass parts, usually the body and chassis, sometimes an engine were pantographed from the original 4 times size wood and epoxy patterns. They were scaled down by using a tracer stylus on the pattern and a cutter like a router bit, cutting into a solid block of grass. The top was usually done first, then the set up would be disassembled and the patter turned on its side as well as the brass block. This process would repeat for the front rear and bottom to core out the body. The chassis would usually only require the bottom the inside surfaces but sometimes a grill would require a third set up. Finally the brass parts would be detailed and polished. For the window and interior this was a different process in that an actual model shop aluminum injection mold would be made to make the parts in the proper material. K-resin was used for the windows and usually polypropylene for the interior. A similar pantographing process occurs to make these except in a mold they made in the negative side or the cavity and core to produce injection molded parts.
The brass parts were painted and assembled with the plastic parts and wheel assemblies to make a looks like car months before the actual first shots were available from the production molds in Hong Kong.
These brass protos were then used for catalog shots and commercials which needed to be done far in advance of the release of the new car. One of the most important reasons for making the car in brass, is that it was similar in weight to the zamac allow and could be tested in sets and determine ahead of time of there would be any problems to anticipate and make corrections on.
As an avid collector of Hot Wheels, I know you will enjoy this car which has been in my possession for more than 30 years.
Former Manager of Hot Wheels Product Development for Mattel Toys.
Bob Rosas
This picture is courtesy of Bruce Pascal / www.redlineprotos.com
Where on earth did this archeological find take place?
Does Indiana Bruce have anything to do with this?
Well I present to you the Mad or Mighty Maverick in a Brass material! Yes don't you love these prototypes!
Me too!
This picture is courtesy of Bruce Pascal / www.redlineprotos.com
Who would have thought and who would have even guessed our beloved Hot Wheels redlines were actually cast in brass for quality test purposes. I first heard of Brass Hot Wheels from Larry Wood and I was pleasantly surprised and shocked by this revelation.
The development of Brass Hot wheels for testing probably began in 1969. Nearly every Hot Wheels model released as well as unreleased (there has to be some too since Larry has quite a few in storage) were first cast in brass. The brass material was similar in weight and atomic structure (just kidding
) to zamac which happens to be the die-cast material Hot Wheels are composed of. The Mattel engineers ran countless tests using these Brass prototypes which went through the all the track accessories, like...The dreaded Super-Charger...
The evil Banked Turns...
The scary Loops...
The frightening Jumps...
The Spills...
The Chills...
The Thrills...
Well, you get the picture I'm trying to paint here.
Once these Brass prototypes passed the exhaustive track tests then they were ready for actual production. When some of these models didn't quite make the grade, they were re-tooled, refined and put through the tests again.
What about that white enamel paint? A really quite pale shade and not suitable on redlines in my opinion.
Did you also happen to notice the white paint used on this Hot Wheels Maverick? These prototypes were painted white enamel by the Ransburg electrostatic-paint spray guns. When these white enamel paints dried you could detact any flaws in the design and thus these were then corrected. It appears the spectraflame translucent paints were not forgiving at all and caused major issues before a Hot Wheels redline car was released for final production.
Did you know Hot Wheels were also test painted with black enamel paint? The reason given is stated above...and these is another reason too? Anyone care to answer this?
Check out the base of this Maverick! Notice the lack of text on the base? This could have been the evil and crazy "Mad Maverick"...
Check out the cool screws holding this prototype together.
Mattel never ceases to surprise me with these interesting details.This picture is courtesy of Bruce Pascal / www.redlineprotos.com
The Mad/Mighty Maverick Brass Prototype Revisited…
What an interesting development. I was planning to show one of the few Mad Maverick prototypes that are still in existence when I received an unexpected email from Bruce Pascal, the owner of the white Maverick Brass Prototype. I decided to shift gears and present this first.
The picture is courtesy of Bruce Pascal / www.redlineprotos.com
For clarity, I have transcribed the contents of this “Letter of Authenticity”, written by Bob Rosas, former Manager of Hot Wheels Product Development for Mattel Toys.
(We actually saw this prototype when we visited Bob Rosas in 1998)
May 27, 2004
I am writing this letter to confirm that the brass Mighty Maverick is original and from my personal collection.
The brass proto-types took over two hundred hours to make each one. The brass parts, usually the body and chassis, sometimes an engine were pantographed from the original 4 times size wood and epoxy patterns. They were scaled down by using a tracer stylus on the pattern and a cutter like a router bit, cutting into a solid block of grass. The top was usually done first, then the set up would be disassembled and the patter turned on its side as well as the brass block. This process would repeat for the front rear and bottom to core out the body. The chassis would usually only require the bottom the inside surfaces but sometimes a grill would require a third set up. Finally the brass parts would be detailed and polished. For the window and interior this was a different process in that an actual model shop aluminum injection mold would be made to make the parts in the proper material. K-resin was used for the windows and usually polypropylene for the interior. A similar pantographing process occurs to make these except in a mold they made in the negative side or the cavity and core to produce injection molded parts.
The brass parts were painted and assembled with the plastic parts and wheel assemblies to make a looks like car months before the actual first shots were available from the production molds in Hong Kong.
These brass protos were then used for catalog shots and commercials which needed to be done far in advance of the release of the new car. One of the most important reasons for making the car in brass, is that it was similar in weight to the zamac allow and could be tested in sets and determine ahead of time of there would be any problems to anticipate and make corrections on.
As an avid collector of Hot Wheels, I know you will enjoy this car which has been in my possession for more than 30 years.
Former Manager of Hot Wheels Product Development for Mattel Toys.
Bob Rosas
This picture is courtesy of Bruce Pascal / www.redlineprotos.com