June 25, 2009

Hot Wheels 1/87th Scale 1966 Batmobile Car By Mattel

I have a good friend named Billy who collects Batman Toys & Memorabilia but his main focus is on the Batmobile Cars. I mean, he's totally crazy about the Batmobile! The neat thing though is that he has an amazing collection. We were talking yesterday about some of the new stuff coming out. There's a new Batmobile Toy Car being made for the Batman: The Brave and The Bold series. It's smaller than the 1st one they made & is pretty cool. There are some new 1:50 Scale Diecast Batmobiles being made by Mattel that are starting to pop-up around the retail stores. They are extremely super-cool ( in my opinion, ha ha ). And then there is the car I am featuring in this post. The photos up above show a new 1966 Batmobile TV Series Toy that is modeled after the Classic George Barris design. It's 1:87 HO Scale, which is smaller than the regular Hot Wheels size, & measures approx. 1 1/2" long. It's a tiny little car that is very detailed & kinda cute. If you have ever surfed the Hot Wheels toy isle then you might have seen these before. They sell them in small little "window boxes". Now Billy told me the reason he has had a hard time finding them ( besides the greedy idiot scalpers stalking the delivery trucks ) is that there's a rumor that there is only 1 Batmobile per case! Now, to me, this seems like total market manipulation by Mattel. Come on, you know THEY know this car will be the most popular. My guess is that latter they will flood the market with them. But who cares about all that. It's a really cool toy & one that all Batman Fans should try to get. Just don't pay the "scalper prices" on internet auctions. Some vultures are trying to sell them to losers for $30 ( they retail in stores for $1.00 ). I say, just be patient & you'll find one. During "new release time" all the scalpers end up buying them all & not being able to sell them because ALL the other scalpers have them too ( because their greedy minds lack any honor or originality, they end up cloning each other ). So, what happens is there are all these scalpers "eating their own product". Go look on "internet auctions" for items they were popular a year ago or just a few months ago. You can almost buy them for "under retail price". Like I said, CLONES. Whew! OK, sorry to vent but as a Vintage Toy Dealer for 20+ years I have learned that these Scalpers are nothing but greedy vultures...who make me sick to my stomach. The only way to stop them is to NOT buy their product. They're just in it for the greed & their fantasies revolve around screwing collectors. So, Please stop helping them, ha ha!

6 comments:

chunky B said...

Amen on the scalpers!

I'll keep an eye out around here for the amazing little Batmobile, if I find an extra one I'll send it your way for your pal.

John French said...

Tommy-
I agree about the scalpers as well and appreciate your comments about them. They truly take away the enjoyment of having a hobby. I have noticed posts on the Legions of Gotham website where they actually brag about picking up more than one item for re-sale. Makes me sick!

Anonymous said...

Excellent commentary on the scalpers. Even Toys R Us is guilty. About a year ago they had the 1:18 at $29.99 the jacked it up to $39.99. They now have them on clearance for $14.99! You can oderon ontheir website (this week, anyway as of today 7/15/09).
Some of that may be related to Mattel manipulating the distribution, but because Toys R Us offered them at 29.99 first and then increased the price (based on early demand I'm sure) indicates to me they had already paid there cost to Mattle added the markup and had a MSRP at 29.99 then got greedy. I now purchase from other other retailer's whenever possible.

Anonymous said...

This little 1/87 Batmobile. Can anyone let me know what Stores might still stock it, if/when it comes in?
Thanks, I am seeking it to.

Anonymous said...

I have been looking for the 1:87 Batmobile for awhile. Toys R Us never has them, and I've got 3 around me that I used to check on a regular basis. I wanted one for my HO (1:87) scale train table. My son and I were hoping to build the Batcave, but no point if we don't have the car! Hopefully you are right and the toy company comes to it's senses. I refuse to pay $30 for one little car, too.

Anonymous said...

The 1/87 cars can be bought at WalMart and Toys-R-Us although I belived the case that has the Batmobile has only appeared in "wave 2" of the cars that are planned to be released in the 1/87 scale. There is only 1 Batmobile per case but there are so other cars in the case where there are only one of. For Hot Wheels collectors, most of the ones that are singles are considered the 'hard-to-find' ones and the most appealing. The cars are NOT $1, they are $4 retail. Some of the lder "wave 1" series cars can be found marked down in WalMart for around $1 but that is not what they sell new for and you will not find a 1/87 Batmobile or any of the other hard-to-find cars for $1. I'm not an advocate for anything being marked up ridiculously but at the same time when you get into collectibles which Hot Wheel cars are, part of the attractiveness of the hobby is having the items that are rarer ... no different than any other hobby. If you dont find the item yourself at retial price, you will pay something usually starting at double and above (often 3 to 10 times as much) to add it to you collection. Sites like EBay at least offer the chance to complete collections in the many areas that dont even offer those folks a chance to even purchase the item at retail ... it lets them not only dream but realize their dreams.