MUNCLE MIKES · CASTING GUIDE
’37 BugattiFenders and wheels separate the blue cars
The Hot Wheels ’37 Bugatti has a long hood and fenders that are worth more than a passing glance. Several blue-and-gray releases share collector number 28. The fender color and wheels help tell those cars apart from each other and from the dark-blue Treasure Hunt.
Earlier black, red and yellow combinations
The 1981 black-and-red car has no red on the hood. The 1982 entries add red there. Yellow-and-red versions follow, including a 1988 Classics car with yellow fenders and blackwalls. Related #28 entries in 1990 have blackwall or whitewall wheels.
A familiar two-tone finish may have appeared in more than one presentation. Keep the package year separate from what can be established on a loose car.
The blue-and-gray #28 family
The 1991 blue-and-gray record includes yellow fenders with blackwalls or whitewalls, and blue fenders with whitewalls. The 1995 blue-fender version is recorded with blackwalls or seven-spoke wheels. These entries have chrome-colored interiors and unpainted Malaysia bases.
Take a low photograph showing the full fender and both wheel faces. Repeat it on the other side. Inspect the fender ends and running boards for cracks or repairs instead of judging completeness from the roof and hood alone.
A separate dark-blue Treasure Hunt
The 1996 Treasure Hunt is collector #439 and series number 12. Its dark metallic-blue finish accompanies a red interior, white-and-gold rear logo and Pro-Circuit six-spoke wheels.
The package in the photograph belongs to that later release. A blue #28 with changed wheels does not inherit its identity. Ask about any work on a loose car and save the underside photographs.
Look closely at the headlights, grille, glazing and rear spare-wheel area. Small missing parts are easy to overlook in a distant side view. Check a sealed car through more than one angle of the blister.
The Auburn 852 guide covers another period classic with fender-color differences, using its own release details.
