Post by ferrari512s on Jan 7, 2014 13:23:29 GMT -5
The Unassembled Classic ’31 Ford Woody™
By Ferrari512s (a.k.a. Michael Basile)
Image courtesy of Ferrari512s
Thought I would spice up this discussion board a little by continuing with commentaries on prototypes since it has been such a hot exciting topic as of late. Well, perhaps I should clarify this now and state that my discussion is of the "unassembed" redline variety.
Many collectors tend to believe since a redline is unassembed it is a prototype and sometimes this could very well be the case. However, most of the time as in this discussion it isn't. In this case this unassembed redline artifact is classified as a "pre-production" item. Why? Because there is nothing different than the production model. It just has not been assembed or painted. These are standard production parts just waiting to be assembled. Hopefully this clarifies the issue.
This time around, I would like to focus our attention on the Classic ’31 Ford Woody™ or is it Classic ’31 Ford Woody®. No matter, I’ve seen and own both types of patent symbols and these different trademarks seem to be common with this model. Now I will be commenting on is the trademark ™ variety since I own this unassembled kind.
This redline relic was purchased from that reference and research site called eBay™ a number of years ago. It came from… where else, a previous Mattel employee collection. The story goes something like this...An employee decided to clean up shop one day and placed all these various bits and pieces of parts in a bucket. Many years come to pass and in 2006 somehow this whole bucket of redline era artifacts made it to eBay™. Many of us went on a bidding frenzy to acquire as much of these relics as possible.
Come to think of it, this reminds me of all the other pre-hype sales we discover on the bay. This site happens to be a great research tool also!
So what are the specs that make this prototype unassembed redline die-cast interesting?
This Classic ’31 Ford Woody™ prototype unassembed is...
- unspun
- unstaked
- unbaked (added that part for flavoring)
- Body, raw ZAMAC finish, unpainted, no copper or zinc plating, unspun posts
- Chassis, raw ZAMAC finish chassis, no plating
- Engine, raw ZAMAC finish, no plating, unspun post
- Unknown satanic symbol or lettering on the inside of the body (quite disturbing)
The Classic ’31 Ford Woody™ Family of Parts
Here are all the parts comprising the Classic ’31 FordWoody™. In this case It’s a rather dull family but they all get along quite well to form acohesive unit.
Image courtesy of ferrari512s
This is the assembled version of the Classic ’31Ford Woody™. It wasn’t easy to do this either. The wheels kept on slipping from the unstaked posts when the body was gently placed on the base. It is strange how this unstaked concept seems to only work on the kidney bean Camaro base. (More on this topic in future discussions)
Notice the extremely dull raw zamac finish on this frame. There is no zinc plating on the body, engine or chassis. Still looks impressive with the unpainted look since it does indeed have a smooth finish. Mattel calls this concept “first shots”. Actually the makers of Johnny Lightning die-cast cars came out with a series of unpainted cars in the early ‘90’s and also called them first shots. These were quite nice as well. Mattel followed through with this idea as well and in 1998 released a total of 30 unpainted cars at the 1998 Hot Wheels® convention. These were called “ZAMAC” cars and were extremely popular due to their limited run.
Image courtesy of ferrari512s
Here is another captivating view of this Classic’31 Ford Woody™ casting with less lighting. This definitely shows the raw lackluster finish of the cast. If there were any imperfections with the cast body finish the Hot Wheels® engineers would rework the frame until it was ready for mass production.
Image courtesy of ferrari512s
This next image is of the chassis. Notice the stock number 6251 and followed by the part number – 020. The other number in the base “2” probably represents cast number.
Did anyone else notice the letter “D” in this chassis? I wonder what this would represent. The pins holding the axles in placed are unstaked and there is no zinc plating on the chassis either.
Image courtesy of Ferrari512s
This next image is an inside view of the Classic ’31 Ford Woody™ frame interior. This also has the stock and part number 6251-050 inraised lettering beneath the engine mount area.
Image courtesy of ferrari512s
There is also some strange symbol or letter on the inside part of the roof top. This appears to be an “m” or “B” type of font lettering. Here is a close-up of this mystery script.
Image courtesy of ferrari512s
Now what the heck is that, very strange indeed. What does this bizarre script represent? Does this symbol appear on other models of the same cast?
I decided to rotate this symbol to see if I could decipher it. No such luck.
Image courtesy of ferrari512s
The Chassis
The Chassis is has an unspun rear post and unspun engine post.There is no plating on either side of the base. Did I happen to mention it is an extremely worn, pitted and quite the dull base. I wasn't too impressed with the quality and finish to this undercarriage. Perhaps this could have been rejected parts. Nonetheless I am very pleased to own a redline artifact of this type.
Image is courtesy of ferrari512s
Here is another Ford Woody from this "Bucket Find".
Image courtesy of UglyBaby, CFR
Another Ford Woody from the "Bucket Find" surfaced as well...
Image courtesy of redlinemanJK, CFR
What could that satanic symbol be? Some responses on this tipic was the following...
So you also believe the "A" was ground off and the B was added over top of this. Does this mean this is the "rare" transitional piece we've heard so much about but never surfaced until now?
Hey, as long as this Woody wasn't used in a Satanic Ritual I'm quite relieved.
I've provided you with another view hopefully revealing the mystery.
I now see a symbol of a pyramid in the "B". It wasn't there before.
Image is courtesy of ferrari512s
Randy, UglyBaby also provides the following information...
the b is the revision number for the body
if you look inside of the b you can see the faint remains of an A that was ground off then the b was placed over it the is why it has the extra little marks actually pretty common for casting marks.
my base is a "1" mold d revision
my body is a d casting revision
i think the body and base of your car may have been lightly polished at some point maybe a little steel wool action.not real sure looks sweet though.mine is dark and rough you can see swirls in it where the metal flowed its kinda cool
randy, Uglybaby, CFR
Jerry, twintracks also provides us with further information....
50% of the Woodies out there are a "B" body. The only "A"s found to date are on a few early unspuns, and the brown Woodies. Of the the other 50% of Woodies; 18 out of 20 are "D" bodies, and the rest are "E"s. To date, no "C" bodies have been found. This is from a board wide survey I did a few years back. The "sample" was about 250 Woodies in total.
All of the "B"s look like a B over an A, just like that. They are not transitional, they all look the same.
When those unpainted, unplated, unassembled,unstaked Woodies were first found, and sold off, there was a large bucket full of these. Mostly Woodies, but some other castings thrown in there, too.
In my opinion, this is an early run (B), not a prototype. Parts is parts.
Jerry, twintracks, CFR
When further information is available on this unassembled Classic ’31 Ford Woody™ I shall add it to the discussion.
By Ferrari512s (a.k.a. Michael Basile)
Image courtesy of Ferrari512s
Thought I would spice up this discussion board a little by continuing with commentaries on prototypes since it has been such a hot exciting topic as of late. Well, perhaps I should clarify this now and state that my discussion is of the "unassembed" redline variety.
Many collectors tend to believe since a redline is unassembed it is a prototype and sometimes this could very well be the case. However, most of the time as in this discussion it isn't. In this case this unassembed redline artifact is classified as a "pre-production" item. Why? Because there is nothing different than the production model. It just has not been assembed or painted. These are standard production parts just waiting to be assembled. Hopefully this clarifies the issue.
This time around, I would like to focus our attention on the Classic ’31 Ford Woody™ or is it Classic ’31 Ford Woody®. No matter, I’ve seen and own both types of patent symbols and these different trademarks seem to be common with this model. Now I will be commenting on is the trademark ™ variety since I own this unassembled kind.
This redline relic was purchased from that reference and research site called eBay™ a number of years ago. It came from… where else, a previous Mattel employee collection. The story goes something like this...An employee decided to clean up shop one day and placed all these various bits and pieces of parts in a bucket. Many years come to pass and in 2006 somehow this whole bucket of redline era artifacts made it to eBay™. Many of us went on a bidding frenzy to acquire as much of these relics as possible.
Come to think of it, this reminds me of all the other pre-hype sales we discover on the bay. This site happens to be a great research tool also!
So what are the specs that make this prototype unassembed redline die-cast interesting?
This Classic ’31 Ford Woody™ prototype unassembed is...
- unspun
- unstaked
- unbaked (added that part for flavoring)
- Body, raw ZAMAC finish, unpainted, no copper or zinc plating, unspun posts
- Chassis, raw ZAMAC finish chassis, no plating
- Engine, raw ZAMAC finish, no plating, unspun post
- Unknown satanic symbol or lettering on the inside of the body (quite disturbing)
The Classic ’31 Ford Woody™ Family of Parts
Here are all the parts comprising the Classic ’31 FordWoody™. In this case It’s a rather dull family but they all get along quite well to form acohesive unit.
Image courtesy of ferrari512s
This is the assembled version of the Classic ’31Ford Woody™. It wasn’t easy to do this either. The wheels kept on slipping from the unstaked posts when the body was gently placed on the base. It is strange how this unstaked concept seems to only work on the kidney bean Camaro base. (More on this topic in future discussions)
Notice the extremely dull raw zamac finish on this frame. There is no zinc plating on the body, engine or chassis. Still looks impressive with the unpainted look since it does indeed have a smooth finish. Mattel calls this concept “first shots”. Actually the makers of Johnny Lightning die-cast cars came out with a series of unpainted cars in the early ‘90’s and also called them first shots. These were quite nice as well. Mattel followed through with this idea as well and in 1998 released a total of 30 unpainted cars at the 1998 Hot Wheels® convention. These were called “ZAMAC” cars and were extremely popular due to their limited run.
Image courtesy of ferrari512s
Here is another captivating view of this Classic’31 Ford Woody™ casting with less lighting. This definitely shows the raw lackluster finish of the cast. If there were any imperfections with the cast body finish the Hot Wheels® engineers would rework the frame until it was ready for mass production.
Image courtesy of ferrari512s
This next image is of the chassis. Notice the stock number 6251 and followed by the part number – 020. The other number in the base “2” probably represents cast number.
Did anyone else notice the letter “D” in this chassis? I wonder what this would represent. The pins holding the axles in placed are unstaked and there is no zinc plating on the chassis either.
Image courtesy of Ferrari512s
This next image is an inside view of the Classic ’31 Ford Woody™ frame interior. This also has the stock and part number 6251-050 inraised lettering beneath the engine mount area.
Image courtesy of ferrari512s
There is also some strange symbol or letter on the inside part of the roof top. This appears to be an “m” or “B” type of font lettering. Here is a close-up of this mystery script.
Image courtesy of ferrari512s
Now what the heck is that, very strange indeed. What does this bizarre script represent? Does this symbol appear on other models of the same cast?
I decided to rotate this symbol to see if I could decipher it. No such luck.
Image courtesy of ferrari512s
The Chassis
The Chassis is has an unspun rear post and unspun engine post.There is no plating on either side of the base. Did I happen to mention it is an extremely worn, pitted and quite the dull base. I wasn't too impressed with the quality and finish to this undercarriage. Perhaps this could have been rejected parts. Nonetheless I am very pleased to own a redline artifact of this type.
Image is courtesy of ferrari512s
Here is another Ford Woody from this "Bucket Find".
Image courtesy of UglyBaby, CFR
Another Ford Woody from the "Bucket Find" surfaced as well...
Image courtesy of redlinemanJK, CFR
What could that satanic symbol be? Some responses on this tipic was the following...
So you also believe the "A" was ground off and the B was added over top of this. Does this mean this is the "rare" transitional piece we've heard so much about but never surfaced until now?
Hey, as long as this Woody wasn't used in a Satanic Ritual I'm quite relieved.
I've provided you with another view hopefully revealing the mystery.
I now see a symbol of a pyramid in the "B". It wasn't there before.
Image is courtesy of ferrari512s
Randy, UglyBaby also provides the following information...
the b is the revision number for the body
if you look inside of the b you can see the faint remains of an A that was ground off then the b was placed over it the is why it has the extra little marks actually pretty common for casting marks.
my base is a "1" mold d revision
my body is a d casting revision
i think the body and base of your car may have been lightly polished at some point maybe a little steel wool action.not real sure looks sweet though.mine is dark and rough you can see swirls in it where the metal flowed its kinda cool
randy, Uglybaby, CFR
Jerry, twintracks also provides us with further information....
50% of the Woodies out there are a "B" body. The only "A"s found to date are on a few early unspuns, and the brown Woodies. Of the the other 50% of Woodies; 18 out of 20 are "D" bodies, and the rest are "E"s. To date, no "C" bodies have been found. This is from a board wide survey I did a few years back. The "sample" was about 250 Woodies in total.
All of the "B"s look like a B over an A, just like that. They are not transitional, they all look the same.
When those unpainted, unplated, unassembled,unstaked Woodies were first found, and sold off, there was a large bucket full of these. Mostly Woodies, but some other castings thrown in there, too.
In my opinion, this is an early run (B), not a prototype. Parts is parts.
Jerry, twintracks, CFR
When further information is available on this unassembled Classic ’31 Ford Woody™ I shall add it to the discussion.