Rayz-HWC

Yes....it's Larry Wood, the Man himself aka 'Mr Hot Wheels'....here's a little article written and posted @ HWC.com. Quite a nice read and about the man himself and his collection, career and life. ps* I had to cut the article into 3 different post in the same thread - too big Hot Wheels Designer Larry Wood Announces Retirement “Mr. Hot Wheels” Bids Farewell To Mattel by HWC Gary 03-27-09 The year was 1969, the year of the first lunar landing by Apollo 11. The president of the United States was Richard M. Nixon, and the nation was involved in a military conflict in Viet Nam. The median household income was just over $8,000 per year. It was the year of Woodstock, and the Beatles were still together. The New York Jets won the Super Bowl that year, and the New York Mets won the World Series. Popular television shows included Gunsmoke and Bonanza, and Sesame Street would launch that year. Among the items which did not yet exist in homes were the microwave oven, the VCR or DVD player, compact discs, video games, cell phones, digital cameras, the PC, and there was no World Wide Web. And at Mattel, Inc., a promising young designer would begin working on the successful new Hot Wheels line of die-cast cars. He would go on to design more unique vehicles than probably any other person in the world, earning him the nickname “Mr. Hot Wheels.” Change is one thing you can count on and, forty years after he began his unparalleled run designing miniature toy cars, long-time Hot Wheels designer Larry Wood has decided it is time for a change. At the 2009 9th Annual Hot Wheels Collectors Nationals in Reston, Virginia, Larry Wood quietly announced to the public his intention to retire. With his retirement announcement still pending at the time, I recently caught up with Larry at his garage/workshop in Long Beach, CA to ask him about his Hot Wheels legacy, what plans he might have for the future, and how the blazes had he managed not to burn out over that forty-year run. HWC Gary: Has your official last day on staff already gone by now? Larry Wood: Yeah, basically the first of the year so I could say I worked there forty years. It worked out for the company and myself that that was the best timing for it. I’m available as a consultant. I’m still doing cars. I’m still doing interviews, and I’m still doing conventions. So I’ll be around a couple more years as a consultant. HWC Gary: So you’re not at the office anymore. You’re gonna be working here in your shop, mostly doing real things? Larry Wood: I’ll be in the shop most of time, yeah. The C.O.E. is done; I’ve got the trailer to work on. You always have things to do. In fact, everybody has told me that -- when you’re retired -- you’re busier than when you were working. I always said I didn’t see how that could happen, because eight hours a day, you’re at work. I gotta tell ya -- it’s only been two months, but I haven’t had an hour off. I have been doing things -- probably things you wanted to do, but you’d only do for a few hours on weekends that you could now do for a day. It’s not always work on cars… it’s work around the house, or maintenance on family cars, or going on a trip… You never even think about it until you’ve actually got the time. I thought I’d be not knowing what to do with myself, but I’ve been so busy. It’s been great. I do go to work a couple times a week for a while. I do have a couple cars in the system, so I have to go in and make sure that they’re coming along. Some of the first shots are coming in on some of the cars that I did last year, so I gotta check on that. It’s perfect, ‘cause I’m just kinda easing my way out. HWC Gary: Still not burned out, huh? Larry Wood: Nah, it’s too much fun. The best thing now is I can work down at my garage, work on real cars, go and do trips, and things like that, and still get some time at work to do a couple cars a year. It’s another phase of the job. HWC Gary: How do you not burn out in forty years? Larry Wood: Actually, that’s fairly easy, because I like to draw cars. I probably have drawn as many cars at home for a hobby as I have at work. I could do this forever. Drawing cars is what I like to do, and getting ideas, and then seeing the car in actual die-cast is the pleasure. That’s the easy part. The meetings and things like that? That’s a different story. HWC Gary: So would your last staff car be the Tri Baby Too? Larry Wood: Yeah. The first car I ever did was the Tri Baby, so we thought maybe the last car I ever did as a designer at Mattel would be the Tri Baby Too. We’ve got that in the system now. There will be cars after that, but I’ll be more of a consultant from that point on. Larry’s Garage is gonna continue, and I’ll be at conventions and doing some other things, so there’ll be quite a bit more. It does take us roughly a year to build a car, so some of the cars that come out from the first of the year, toward the end of the year -- or even into the year after -- will be after I’m officially gone. HWC Gary: It’s been said that you’ve probably designed more cars than any other car designer. Larry Wood: That will probably be something I’ll have to do when I’m retired and I have a day when I’m not doing something -- which doesn’t seem to be happening yet. To sit down and figure out how many castings I did. It would be fun to know. I’ve been asked that before, so it’ll be one of those things I can add up and figure out. You’d never be able to figure out how many were made from each one, but if you’re talking products made through the years… I would tend to think nobody else is close. Obviously, the guys who came in after me are making plenty of cars, and they’re going to catch up to me sooner or later. But as of now… that 15 years when I was there by myself kind of put me ahead of everybody. HWC Gary: Is there any one thing that stands out in your mind as a high point? Larry Wood: I think the high point for me was when they decided that there was a collector line. We got to do the Legends To Life Snake Funny Car, and we got to do some of the 1:18 and 1:24 scales that were really detailed, and then the 100% line that had all of the nice detail… That got from doing toys to actually doing small cars. That was probably the best part of the job through the years -- getting to do the cars the way I always wanted to do them, without the cost restriction of a dollar car. HWC Gary: You had a lot to do with that, too, didn’t you? You helped them recognize that there was a collector market? Larry Wood: Yeah, with Mike Strauss through the years. In fact, when Mike first called me up and said, “I wanna do a book on collectors,” there was no such thing as collectors. I thought if we could start this, maybe there will be a collector line someday. It started small, and then it got to the point where we could actually sell (directly) to collectors, rather than them just buying old cars. And of course, it’s exploded…look at what it is now. What a difference from sitting there by myself, just doing six cars a year, to now, with the internet and the digital cars we make and the collector line and basic cars… Of course, Hot Wheels goes into all sorts of toy stuff, too. It’s not just a little car and a set anymore. I never thought that Hot Wheels would be one of the major parts of Mattel, but it has come from not even paying Barbie’s taxes to being one of the top parts of the company. ~End Of Part 1~

.....so now one of our member posted, but no comments. So really guys...sometimes don't terlalu....ask nicely and you shall receive, but don't take for granted - PPL have to make you happy meh! Come on that's not friendly. No pics post let it be. If others wanna share or have their own situation then support them la, or patient wait for some other to post, if not post sendiri ones lo....really I don't mind showing my haul - A LOT TO SHOW! but no camera ...anyone care to borrow? ...heheeheeh but anyways by now...most guys would've taken their sweet times removing all price tags and mostly stored away, never to see light again LOL...like some of mine hehehe

hmmm...how about showing us the direction to the drivers exclusive toilet, we guys go hunt them down there LOL HAHAHAHAHAHA.... Spoken to my boss to let me at least go for a while, but cos I've got another event on the same day @ Taylors at 12noon...so either skip Pav or go there only in morning...hmmmm was thinking since Jo mentioned they may be taking a helicopter off....wonder if they can drop me off @ Taylors ...heheheheeh

WOOOHOOOOO sHiOK-nya ....

Will we try to take that day off and show up to support them, show them we meant what we preach in this HWCM community and believes that what goes around will come around, we pat their backs they pat ours in future

heytang....means x1 VW Fastback = for x2 EVO (any 2 color?)

That's the way to recycle the black foam Mario WTG

What are the carded Ferrari Racer behind Mario? ...

Dang sinclair...i want x1 DD too!

jumping...like Mario Bros lol

Ha...how about hor...you can pass one those DD to sinclair bring home for me can ah ...hehehe...I settle with sinclair when he back lo *wink*...hehehe Now that we have a 'represent' in Down Under ...wonder if I'll hear any complaints about not finding anything at their area over @ HWC.com or other international websites. Sure they 'bengang' why can't find new stuff, got also all too late...cos....*tADa* a M'sian troop has landed! muah ha ha ha ha...LOL

No Mario...oh ok...bt just show them the exhaust ...LOL hahaha

USA -> Canada -> Euro -> SEA -> then M'sia.....heY! WhAt GiVEs!!

Happy Birthday to our member!

...well am happy to make a grown man Happy LOL....hahahaha and on top of that...but I have to THANK Mario heaps too for being a pal, been helping me out with WAY too many HW items! You tHE BoMB!! Marie you should've seen his face when he received - about to open - while going thru - and the aftermath!! hahahaha

Wow...imagine mainline cars have our HWCM logo on it...then ltr we have our logo on online sales items...then ltr Convention....

Well just to share a bit more on top of 'hokuan'...and yes I totally agree on what he said. Also on the subject - it's the retailers marketer/purchaser in the company that decides on the items he/she wants to retail at the stores. Sometimes even Mattel offers at cost price (which is quite low at most times) after calculations and all, including market trend and customer expenditure behaviors - retailers try and will always not bring anything not worthwhile. Even you see some stores locally for eg. The Store...used to bring in HWs at all their dept stores, now you hardly see it. On top of that even Jusco / C4s / Giants / Tesco etc...kinda dread it when pegwarmers pile up and not moving, but due to the cost price & some marketing gimmick (for every 10 cases free 1 case etc) Mattel salesman offered - can't-refuse! So when the trend changes, then only Mattel will see that their market share has now been shared among Jada (New) Tomica etc....they might just lower their cost and we'll start to see new items offered, but until the day when all collectors are able to afford, not much la but look at the current offerings in stores, no newer or nicer series by Mattel will be introduce into the market here. But I've to say otherwise about Thailand/Indonesia etc...market there is so saturated, but yet they quite +ive about selling them higher priced toys then us in M'sia..hmmm so most times it's difficult to make a group happy but instead why not make the community (which is the majority in this hobby case) happy

Mario I believe this set has not reached our shores yet ...but once it does get here, unless you haven't got it there, I'll pick it up for ya

Since the USA has 'Chip Foose design' .....we have our very own 'Gee's DeSiGn' ....

Hey I remember this JoKe-mOBiLe ....

Very creative use of natural recycled supplies .....

Awesome Charger RT Mario....I too am collecting this casting. Only a handful out there...easy to achieve to find all ...

me also! i like 427/sc very much! but i only have around 6 iiam. show ur 427/sc collections, i wanna admire them Dude which are the x6 you have? ...come see see

sanlino...where else other than TRU and 7-11s?

Means I'll have to get members feedback and get a list of sizes