Disney Pixar Cars Peterbilt Truck

Mattel unveiled the soon to be released New Cars Trucks at Comic-Con! The first I want to discuss is the Peterbilt Truck that was voiced by the late Joe Ranft. There is a cool story about this truck that I just recently found out about. The Peterbilt was the truck that Lightning chased down Route 66 in the dark thinking he was Mack.

If you recall, you'll remember that the Peterbilt was hauling car batteries. The battery pictures on the trailer were actually done by John Lasseter's boys! I think this is such a cool fact. I didn't suspect anything like this. Matter of fact, I thought the style they were done in was similar to the cartooning we saw at the start of Monsters. This toy will certainly mean a lot to John due to Joe and his kids.

Although the Peterbilt was briefly in the film, he stuck with me because of his look and his annoyed demeanor when Lightning thought he was Mack. I believe his line was, "Mack! I ain't no Mack! I'm a Peterbilt!" Then he drove off and left Lightning there in the dark.

This is just one of the many Cars Trucks that will be released in the future! They will be die-cast and are going to retail for $13.00! More to come about the Cars Trucks.

http://CarsDieCastToys.Blogspot.com

SOTS Official Letter & What Number I Got

I'm back home and very tired after my Red Eye flight. I arrived home to find my "Official Letter" from Mattel with my holographic numbered sticker. I received a low number, but not one linked to anything significant. I got Number 23! I'm not aware of any racer with that number. Here's the letter and my sticker. Half awake at home and off to unpack.


http://CarsDieCastToys.Blogspot.com

Disney Pixar Cars Darth Mater Unveiled at San Diego Comic-Con 2008

I've been writing updates based on what's relevant to collectors. There's much more to come about New toys such as the fan Cars, the old days Cars, the trailers, pitty's, and the goings on at San Diego Comic-Con 2008, so come back for more. Tonight as I finish my trip in San Diego, I thought it was a good time to talk about Darth Mater! On Thursday, July 24, 2008, Darth Mater was unveiled at the San Diego Comic-Con at Mattel's booth. This one-of-a-kind work of art was the collaboration of Mattel's fantastic design team. It will be auctioned off at this year's Children Affected by Aids Foundation's Dream Halloween event on October 25, 2008. Want to know more about this great organization? Visit this link Children Affected by Aids Foundation so you can bid on Darth Mater.

Darth Mater is nothing short of incredible! He's about the size of one of the many talking toys Mattel has released. He wields his light-up light sabre while Star Wars music plays. At the time of the unveiling he had no voice. He will have a recording added with his alter-ego Larry the Cable Guy saying something choice to be sure. The floor lights up as well. You can see two acrylic plaques in front that are signed by John Lasseter and George Lucas.

Are you drooling? I wish I had the kind of money needed to be able to win this great piece. Oh, well! I'll just have to wait until the smaller version comes out in October. Yes! I was given indication that a smaller die-cast version is a very strong likelihood for Halloween!! I'll certainly keep you all posted as info is made available to me. Live from San Diego Comic-Con 2008. I'm out for tonight.

http://CarsDieCastToys.Blogspot.com

SOTS Holographic Numbered Stickers Arriving

A quick entry to let you know that if you have a Motor Speedway Of The South (SOTS) set, the individually numbered holographic stickers started showing up in mailboxes yesterday! As you were told, they are randomly numbered with an accompanying letter telling you were to put them.

As of this writing, I couldn't find any showing up on Ebay. Why would they show up on Ebay you ask? Because people who get Numbers such as 1, 95, etc. may try to sell them because the numbers represent the Number One in a set, Lightning McQueen, the King, or another racer. Over my years of collecting, I've only seen specific numbered items bring about 10% more than a comparable item. Not that life altering if you ask me.

If you didn't get yours yesterday, it will probably show up tomorrow or Tuesday.

http://CarsDieCastToys.Blogspot.com

Pixar Cars Todd, the Pizza Planet Truck

Picking up where I last left off...New Character releases! I left you discussing Todd, the Pizza Planet Truck. This Cars character is one I personally tie closely to John Lasseter because it has been in all the Pixar films from Toy Story up and through Cars. I heard John was very excited about the die-cast toy being produced as well. You were probably not aware it was in the films, or even saw it, but it was there. Want to see the screen captures? Sure you do!

We first saw the Pizza Planet truck in Toy Story back in 1995

Here's Todd's appearance in A Bug's Life

Toy Story 2 Had Todd Coming Back for the Sequel

Monsters Inc. had Todd in the Shadows of the Bayou!

Then He showed Up Keeping Dry in Nemo

Todd was a Blur and Hardly Recogonized in The Incredibles

Finally, We see Todd's Face in Cars!

He's sure to be another very popular character that will be hard to track down. I don't have any info on when he'll be released. If I get any, I won't tell you until I get mine, then I'll let you know! ;-)

http://CarsDieCastToys.Blogspot.com

Disney Pixar Cars New Releases Part Two

When the blimp Al-Oft came out, collectors were annoyed by the scale and size of him. When Barney Stormin' was released collectors were upset he wasn't made of die-cast metal. Well, your complaints were heard and resolved in a way you all should be happy.

Take a look at the New design of Al-Oft. He is about twice the size of the original! Whether the new one will have "Over Sized" on the packaging, or that is just the working verbiage at Mattel doesn't really matter. What matters is you got what you wanted, a larger and more accurate scaled version of Al-Oft. I've been told he's being tooled and will be one of the first released.

Did you ever get a Barney Stormin', or have you still been trying to get a hold of one? The great thing is that he has been redesigned and will be re-released in die-cast metal! Take a look at the New Barney Stormin' on top of a bluff near Radiator Springs! He will be the same size as the plastic version, but will be considered part of the "Over Sized" line. He will also be one of the first to be released.

We can be happy about these changes because I've been told John Lasseter himself wants the line to be of the highest quality and detail! John carries his belief that quality matters in the tradition of the great Walt Disney.

Now, for the pièce de résistance! What character has been one of the most eagerly anticipated? One who rocks with Sheryl Crowe! One who is a hunk a hunk of burnin' love?! I present to you...ELVIS!!!!!! Elvis is going to be part of the "Over Sized" line. The quality and detail is super as always. When can you get Elvis? At this point, I don't know. I've been told he won't be out until Spring of 2009.


There are a few other characters who'll be in the "Over Sized" line. One is in front of Elvis, Marco the Jet and he will be die-cast as well! There are plans to make the other two Jet as well (there were three Jets in the movie). I've also been told the Security Vans from the race track will be in the "Over Sized" line as well. That does it for the "Over Sized" characters I have confirmed as certain.

I'm sure you recognized another long anticipated character in the photos with Elvis. I'll pickup my next entry by discussing some of the highly sought after characters such as Todd the Pizza Planet Truck! Don't forget to subscribe to this blog and get some of the most accurate info on Disney Pixar's Cars to come!

http://CarsDieCastToys.Blogspot.com

Disney Pixar Cars New Releases Part One

It is always cool to see prototypes of New Releases. I'm going to show you a ton of upcoming Cars die cast toys! You are going to be very excited, and you better start saving your pennies, 'cause there's a lot you're going to want to buy!

Hmmmm, where would you like me to start...the New Die Cast Trailers? How about the Over sized releases to come? Maybe, you'd like to hear about the Chase Cars? Oh, wait, you want to hear about the characters you've been dying to be released forever?! I gotcha...enee, meenee, minee, mo...just get on with it will you Joe! My name's not Joe, but here we go! Yeah, I'm a bit punchy after days of Comic-Con.

Ok, ok, let's start with the Chase Cars. "Chase Cars" are Cars that will be randomly inserted into distribution. They will have subtle differences and have a limited run of 20,000 per Chase Car. That means they are rare and will be tougher to find. The first two we should see very soon are Stickers McQueen and Stickers Fred. Stickers McQueen will have bumper stickers on his rear end, while Fred will have them on his sides. You have to be on the lookout to find them with their subtle differences. They are expected to be released at a one per month frequency.

We should see Chase Cars of DJ, Wingo, Snot Rod, Boost and Lightning McQueen with the ole Denver Boot on them! Quite the motley crew aren't they? These are hilarious!

We should also see Piston Cup Trophies as Chase from what I was told. The cool little accessory should come packaged with Lightning McQueen, The King and Chick Hicks as the Piston Cup Champs! I was told they'd look like they were gilded in gold by being made with a special finish.

Since my laptop's battery is getting low and
I'm getting hungry, this is it for this entry. I'll continue with Oversized releases in my next entry LIVE from Comic-Con!

http://CarsDieCastToys.Blogspot.com

Lightning Storm McQueen Flies at Comic-Con!

The months of buzz about Lightning Storm McQueen was certainly warranted. I was fifth in line on the evening of July 23rd for the Preview night at Comic-Con and got the amazing piece! People were buying him up at a "Kachow" pace. It was funny to see the Mattel booth all nice and clean with stocked shelves at the start of the night, and then come back later and see it bare with the staff looking like they just survived an attack by Orcs. They worked hard and Lightning Storm flew out the door.

I met Senior Product Design Manager, Martin Arriola who was psyched about the release and will be featured in an article soon. Martin's passion and love for Lightning Storm was clearly evident.

Believe me when I tell you that Lightning Storm McQueen is going to be a highly sought after collectible for years! The finish is a wonderful metallic blue. As many of you have come to know, it is a "Rangsburg" blue paint job. The detail in the car and the stand are outstanding! The way Martin and his team designed it, they created a piece that almost looks like a trophy! If you don't have one, when you see it, you'll most definitely want to obtain one. You'll covet him like Gollum and his precious!!

I met John Lasseter's right hand man Ben Butcher. Ben put me on the spot by asking me if I could only grab ONE of my Cars die cast toys while my house was on fire, which would it be?! Such a tough question. I finally told him it would probably be my Blu-Ray Rangsburg McQueen. Since turnabout is fair play, I had to put Ben on the hot seat and asked him the same question. He squirmed about as much as I did, and told me it would probably be the Lightning Storm McQueen because of the entire presentation of it. I agreed and am curios to see how he does in the future.

Now, a little tease...even if you can't get the San Diego Comic-Con Lightning Storm McQueen, there will be a store released die cast Lightning Storm McQueen done in his Dinoco Blue colors coming out. It won't be on a stand, it will have a different finish, but you will be able to get one of those. That will just be your 90th Cars die cast toy you had to get! No biggie! ;-)

http://CarsDieCastToys.Blogspot.com

Mattel Launches Collectors Site July 28, 2008

Mattel's New collectors site, MattyCollector.com goes Live at 11:00am P.S.T. on July 28, 2008! I don't know what to tell you folks! I interviewed one of the people who deals with MattyCollector.com and he told me 8:00am E.S.T. I went to him yesterday before leaving Comic-Con and he then tells me it is Noon E.S.T. Now, I go to the site and it states 11:00am P.S.T.

Matty has grown-up and is now your source for News updates, Collectibles and Vintage Toy Galleries! Membership is something we all like...FREE! Visit the link above and register to be part of a New age of Mattel collecting.

On July 28, 2008 you'll be able to purchase the four Comic-Con Exclusives...

1. Disney/Pixar's Cars Lightning Storm McQueen















2. DC Universe Classics Lobo



















3. DC Universe Justice League Giganta



















4. Masters of the Universe Classics King Grayskull



















Something I've been a strong advocate for will be implemented on MattyCollector.com, Purchase Limits. Members will be able to purchase a maximum of 2 of each item. This will be great for collectors, and help keep dealers from buying up massive quantities.

After this initial release, expect New items in October. There will be NO New Cars items UNTIL February of 2009. The four main lines that will be featured on MattyCollector.com will be...

1. Disney Pixar's Cars
   
2. Masters of the Universe Classics
   
3. Justice League Unlimited
   
4. and DC Universe

News Updates will be posted by Matty every 2 weeks after the initial launch.

Some other things you may like to know are...

• Items will not necessarily be "Limited Editions."
  
• Items released on MattyCollector.com will not appear in stores.
  
• Say you miss an item that had a run of 1000, Mattel may run another 1000 with a slight variation in packaging to give you a chance to get the item, but help hold collector value of the original with the variant.
• There may be a Membership for ongoing releases such as Masters of the Universe due to a monthly release.

Digest all this great News and take a look at MattyCollector.com on July 28, 2008!

http://CarsDieCastToys.Blogspot.com