The phrase First 16 means a few different things to me.
For one its the first sixteen redlines in the Hot Wheels range. I'm pretty sure I had a few if not most of them in 1968 and 69. Its hard put into words how much I loved Hot Wheels and the first sixteen will have been the wonderful debut of these cars in my young world. The metallic colours were the palette of childhood and no other toy car could really fill those hues. Nowadays their value is astronomical. I don't have any, never see any and my life is the lesser for it. By way of a compromise I collect the poor man's wheels, Superfast.
Those first redlines were part of my own first sixteen years, that fabulous launch of the young human form we all enjoy before landing on the planet where adults dwell. The final year of high school brings those years to an iconic close and the tentative steps we take from there into the unknown is a rite of passage that helps define us. My life was sweet up to the age of 16, a candied hamper of family, telly and toys and it was all good, as I hope and expect it was for most children. I'm glad I had that time, which shaped who I am. Sadly it ended seismically in my last year of secondary school when my Mum died tragically young and things would never be the same again.
The other first 16 - or maybe its the last - concerns Star Wars figures. I'm slowly gathering a handful of the 1977 releases again, after buying and selling many of them before in the past. Then it was as a dealer acquiring large collections and selling them on my toy stall and later on Ebay. Nowadays it's pure chance as forces align to put me in the right space at the right time to get just a few. I think I have now Darth Vader, Chewbacca, Stormtrooper, Boba Fett and a Taun Taun. Its fun to let luck just bring them my way and I'm taun about what to do next. Find more figures or succumb to the dealer still inside me.
Does the first sixteen mean anything to you?
Those first 16 Hot Wheels models are also referred to as the Sweet Sixteen. I do not recall having any of these early Hot Wheels, and it would be the 1990s before I began collecting die-casts when I got my first examples.
ReplyDeleteI'm gathering a collection of early Hot Wheels, not the Sweet 16 per se, just the exotics and really unusual models. Ive got a few on the bench at the moment awaiting restoration. Still got my very first Deora, which is showing its age now! Also got the full range of standard Star wars figures, including the first 16!
Delete'Taun' about what to do next ?! I would say 'trust your feelings' and keep hold of them. These early figures are iconic pieces of toy history nad something to show MB Junior when he's older. Conversely, due to their mass market nature, loose versions won't realise big money on the secondary market. Collectors demand MIP or rare variants before they will part with their cash in Star Wars merchanise. There was so much of it produced, that the market is saturated. Unless Darth has an extending lightsaber or Boba has a firing missile, I wouldn't plan your retirement just yet. Hot Wheels are a similar issue, although certain production variants can bring prices into the region of a full size car, you really need a spotless paint job, MIP or rare colour variations before you get into the big money stakes. At the end of the day, toys are meant to be played with and enjoyed as playthings, not accumulated as a means to get rich quick.
ReplyDeleteWell that's telling me! Making a little money is OK though isn't it Mister? We are after all mere mortals with a few old toys.
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