#856 HOT WHEELS - PLANET MICRO - SPORTS CARS SERIES #1 (1997)

Another big brand that tried to follow the Micro-trend started by Galoob in 1987 was Mattel´s Hot Wheels!. I would say this Planet Micro series came too late, and would have done much better in terms of sales and popularity if it had been released before, in the late 80s.


HotWheels probably thought they could start their own line of micro cars, in a larger scale than Micro Machines (see Mini AutoMagic / Micro Color Racers, #), but unfortunately, it didn´t worked, and there were only a few dozens of models made. Years later, Hot Wheels decided not to innovate and release cars in a compatible scale/size, in similar packaging, similar price category, and grouping cars by some common characteristica.

The result are very nice models with metal base and plastic bodies looking absolutely great. One difference is that Mattel decided to present the models in some kind of customized plastic base (or "Micro Scape") related to the theme of the car series. In this case, all cars are attached to stands, like it was a car fair or something like that. This "feature" was only available for the first sets, later, the model were simply attached to the cardboard interior, just like Micro Machines.

Among all collections, this was probably one of the bestsellers, since it has so cool cars, all in one package:

• Ferrari F50 (red)
• Jaguar XK Cabrio (green)
• Porsche Boxter Cabrio (white)
• Mercedes SLK Cabrio (orange)
• BMW Z3 Cabrio (silver)

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: PLANET MICRO - SPORTS CARS SERIES #1
• Scale: 1:150 aprox.
• Year: 1997
• Company: Hot Wheels! - Mattel (U.S.A.)
• Size: approx. 2 cm