For his exact models of customers’ cars, Jon Wood of Custom Diecast Replicas is inducted as the Model Customizer of the Year for 2024 by the Model Car Hall of Fame.
For the last quarter century, Mac Ragan has been one of the most influential people in the diecast industry, From his involvement with Johnny Lightning and related brands to GreenLight to Round 2. MCHOF recently sat down with him to check in on the now-retired Inductee in the Model Car Hall of Fame.
Majorette has maintained their spot as a big player in diecast without foolheartedly trying to overexpand for 60 years. For that unwavering adherence to their mission, Majorette is the MCHOF Model Car Brand of the Year for 2023.
Paolo Rampini’s mission to keep the history of the hobby alive is beyond admirable. For his efforts, Paolo Rampini is our Model Car Historian for 2023.
If youâre just getting started in the hobby, Electric Dreams makes it impossible to have an excuse to not race slot cars. For their unwavering enthusiasm for the hobby, Electric Dreams is our Model Car Dealer of 2023.
Every year, the Model Car Hall of Fame honors the best model vehicles, the most innovative and influential people, and the most significant brands in the industry. Nylint and Tootsietoy are the Brands of the Year for 2023.
Remember Nylint toys? You may have owned some big Tonka construction vehicles when you were a kid, such as the Mighty Dump dumper, and the front loader. They were made of pressed steel for all the strong parts. And of course, there was Nylint, filling in for the same purpose, the same scale. They also […]
Hot Wheels’ ’61 Impala ’72 Chevy Ramp Truck set combines two perfectly designed vehicles in one package, and earns the title of Model Car Hall of Fame Truck of the Year for 2023.
Every year, the Model Car Hall of Fame honors the people behind the diecast collection hobby. The folks who inspire the models, the people who run the companies, and the individuals who participate most fully in the spirit of this past time. Here are our Inductees for 2023. Entrepreneur of the Year – Vincent Tang […]
Lothar Wunsch, who scratch builds the most detailed large-scale models you will ever see, Is the Model Car Hall of Fame’s Customizer of the Year for 2023.
Add up all the hundreds of illustrations he did for Matchbox, multiply that by thousands of copies of each kit or car, and Huxley had a very prolific career. Kids and collectors may not have known his name, but they sure loved his art. For those memories, Roy Huxley is our Artist of the Year for 2023.
For evolving into a fun car company that also makes more mainstream offerings, Toyota is the 2022 Automotive Brand of the Year for the Model Car Hall of Fame.
Tomica/Tomy has been one of the most resilient brands of model cars over the past several decades. Their ability to make basic toy cars in 1/64, along with more detailed collector models and highly-detailed plastic kits puts them in good graces with everyone from toddlers to adult hobbyists. The Takaratomy website, based in Japan is […]
John Kuvakas of My Take, a devoted diecast collector, really appreciates the detail and care that goes into creating accurately scaled models. For his attention to detail about, well, detail, he is the Model Car Hall of Fameâs Content Creator of the Year for 2022.
Alex Whalley hacks and chops and fabricates miniature diecast miracles. For that artistry, Alex Whalley is the Model Car Hall of Fameâs Customizer of the Year for 2023.
Brooklin Models will celebrate their 50th anniversary in 2024, which is a long time, but for them, it feels kind of short. As they approach that milestone, The Model Car Hall of Fame thought they would be a good choice as Historic Brand of the Year for 2022.
Every year the Model Car Hall of Fame inducts brands that have made huge contributions to diecast collecting, whether they made a big new splash or have historic innovators for decades. Here are this year’s Inductees. Brooklin Models – Historic Brand of the Year Since their roots in the early 197s0s making 1930s-1960s American cars […]
Scalectrix covers all the bases with their Blues Brothers Dodge Monaco Police Car slot car. This bad cop ride is the Model Car Hall of Fameâs Slot Car of the Year for 2022.
Tthe spirit of creativity that resulted in some of the batshit crazy custom designs of the ’60s era cannot be replicated. So the Model Car Hall of Fame bestows the honor of Model Kit of the Year for 2022 to the revival MPC Californian Toronado.
Creating a mold for a new diecast vehicle is not cheap. Thatâs why companies do exhaustive research into the potential popularity of a model, not to mention the number of easy variants they can create. If you can release a model of the, say, the same Porsche 917 in a dozen different liveries, the initial […]
For their attention to detail for an instantly recognizable movie car, the Greenlight Rain Man 1949 Buick Roadmaster is the Model Car Hall of Fameâs 1/18 model of the year.
Schuco has created a massive 1/12 scale model of the Love Bug, and it is a joy to see. It is also the Model Car Hall of Fameâs Large Scale Modle of the Year for 2022.
Every year the Model Car Hall of fame sorts through hundreds of worthy models to find the best diecast offerings of the year. Here are our winners for 2022!
When you think of early products from Lesney, you probably donât think about components for real cars. Jack Odell and his business partners started that way, but eventually, they stumbled into the diecast model business. For that genius move and everything since, Jack Odell is the 2022 Model Car Hall of Fameâs Legend of the Year.
Every Year the Model Car Hall of Fame inducts people behind the products that bring joy to diecast collectors. Sometimes they make the models, sometimes they make the real cars. Here are our inductees for 2022.
Consider the popularity of slot car events of that era to be like an Overwatch video game tournament today. Now consider how lucky he was to be involved at that time. For helping to popularize slot cars for the masses, Jon Cukras is our Slot Car Racer of the Year for 2022.
The Model Car Hall of Fame is proud to announce the 2021 class of inductees for several categories. Each person or brand is worthy of their inclusion because of current or historical contributions to the model car collecting world.
The Model Car Hall of Fame is proud to announce the 2021 class of model vehicles for several categories. Each model represents the finest achievements in detail, innovation, and character for various scales.
Longtime Matchbox and Hot Wheels designer Ryu Asada has died of cancer at 42 years old. Asada started with Mattel in 2004 designing mostly licensed, not-too-outrageous vehicles based on real cars. Even his original Matchbox concepts were vehicles that looked like they could be miniatures of actual production cars. In 2009 he started âguest designingâ […]
Most people spent 2020 looking for ways to make life seem ânormalâ even when that was not really possible. One of our favorite diecast projects, CastHeads Magazine, really hit that mark in 2020. For their ability to make the diecast collecting world feel a little more âreal,â CastHeads is an inductee in the Model Car […]
Building plastic models of cars is fun and rewarding, but how many people would call it relaxing? A video channel on YouTube presents an argument that assembling and customizing models can be downright Zenful. And for that, Junâs Mini Garage earns a spot in the Model Car Hall of Fame. Jun (the only name he […]
Car shows and diecast conventions were one of the sadly missing real-world events in 2020. Lucky for fans of such things, the Isolation Island Concours dâElegance stepped in to fill the void. As one of the most fun online âconventionsâ and a showcase of astonishing model making, Isolation Island gets a spot in the Model […]
Itâs good to have a hobby during downtime. Theodore âTedâ Grayâs hobby is documenting the early and often obscure history of Hot Wheels products. And his latest book, published in 2020, is just the thing Redline Hot Wheels enthusiasts needed last year. For that, and all of his other endeavors to preserve history in miniature, […]
The diecast world is full of model cars from the United States, Europe, and Asian countries. If you visit a retailer based in Japan, you are likely to find a higher concentration of Japanese models, including many that are not widely available elsewhere. But thatâs just the northern hemisphere. Australia has a long history of […]
In the uncertainty of the COVID crisis, one could argue that the safest, most freedom-loving thing to do was to drop the top on your car and take in some fresh air on a nice day. Jeep certainly makes a lot of vehicles that suit those needs. That kind of fresh thinking is why Jeep is our 2020 Automotive Brand of the Year.
For a magical period in the late ’60s, Cadillac managed to capture the essence of American Luxury offerings while remaining at the cutting edge in automotive engineering, largely thanks to this very car. Automodello has captured this unique period with a new 1:25 scale version in a variety of colors. Check out the full scoop […]
Luis Tanahara is a Model Car Hall of Fame inducted designer and a former designer at brands like Mattel and Jada. In his current role as design lead at MGA, he’s helped develop a new line of diecast aimed at kids, (but undeniably cool to anyone) the Wreck Royale series. With hot rod inspired designs, […]
Our friend Mike Zarnock, Hot Wheels historian, Inductee, and host of Hot Wheels TV, appears on the latest episode to show off and discuss all the details about Target’s exclusive Red Edition cars.
If you watched the TV show The Munsters or followed the custom car scene in the 60’s, you might have dreamed of owning Dragula. It’s for sale at auction!
Replicarz’ latest releasees include the 1964 McLaren Elva Mark I, Canadian GP, driven by Bruce McLaren, or the 1924 Mercedes-Benz, Targa Florio Winner.
NASCAR artist and 2012 Model Car Hall of Fame Inductee Sam Bass passed away on February 16. If his name doesn’t immediately ring a bell, his artwork certainly should. As NASCARâs âFirst Officially Licensed Artist,â he created dozens, if not hundreds of works of stock car related art for posters, t-shirts, and other merchandising. That […]
The Model Car Hall of Fame is dedicated to the people and products that make diecast vehicle collecting so special, but no brand has a bigger representation in the MCHOF than Hot Wheels. Someday, when an actual museum is built, there should probably be a strip of orange track that leads to a dedicated Hot […]
