The USPS will debut the stamp series Sept. 29 at the Goodguys 26th Summit Racing Lone Star Nationals at the Texas Motor Speedway.
The 50th anniversary of Hot Wheels is making yet another victory lap in its yearlong celebration. Toymaker Mattel’s tribute to its free-wheeling toy cars began April 28 with a 14-city tour to seek out crazy cars for a new series.
And now the U.S. Postal Service is honoring the diecast cars with a block of 20 Forever stamps showcasing some of the most outrageous designs from Hot Wheels history.
To be sure the stamps get a strong start, the USPS has chosen the Goodguys 26th Summit Racing Lone Star Nationals, Sept. 28-30, at the Texas Motor Speedway for the first-day-of-issue ceremony.
Five Hot Wheels cars will be on display all day Saturday, Sept. 29, and a postal-service booth will sell stamps. https://good-guys.com/lsn
Arranged in diagonal rows, the 20 stamps showcase photographer Len Rizzi’s images of 10 Hot Wheels cars — two of each design — speeding along a bright orange track.
Arranged in diagonal rows, the 20 stamps showcase photographer Len Rizzi’s images of 10 Hot Wheels cars — two of each design — speeding along the orange track.
Each stamp features the name of the vehicle shown in one of the top corners and the words “USA” and “Forever” in one of the bottom corners. The Hot Wheels logo appears in the top right corner of the pane. The back of the panel displays the Hot Wheels 50th anniversary logo. William J. Gicker was the project’s art director. Greg Breeding designed the stamps and was the typographer
Hot Wheels was born when Mattel co-founder Elliot Handler challenged his design team, which included a General Motors car designer and a rocket scientist, to create a toy car that was cooler and performed better than anything on the market. Mattel soon introduced its orange tracks, which provided children unlimited ways to test out stunts and racing skills. In 2011, Hot Wheels was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame.
Fans can view the ceremony live at www.facebook.com/usps.
Social media: www.hotwheels.com/Legends, #HotWheelsLegends and #HotWheels50
NAME THE HOT WHEELS
Top row (left to right):
- Purple Passion, 1990
- Rocket-Bye-Baby, 1971
- Rigor Motor, 1994
- Rodger Dodger, 1974
- Mach Speeder, 2018
Bottom row (left to right):
- The Twin Mill, 1969
- Bone Shaker, 2006
- The HW40, 2008. Celebrating the 40th anniversary of Hot Wheels.
- Deora II, 2000. The original surfboard-toting Deora was included in the first Hot Wheels line.
- The Sharkruiser, 1987
