SPONSORED BY


Found in the Letterbox
The following are e-mail responses to 'Tales of Toy Cars' and The Breithaupt Miniature Motorcar Museum. Your letters are welcome and may be submitted via the 'Guest Book'.

"Dear Doug:

Thank you very much for the nice write up on Playing Mantis/Johnny Lightning. It is very much appreciated. You are one of the few that realize how much Johnny Lightning has impacted the die cast car industry although this trend seems to be growing. My competitors who copy many of my ideas/licenses/packaging/quality/models, etc. sure are aware of the impact. If there is anything I can do for you in the future, please do not hesitate to ask. Thanks again!"

Tom Lowe, President - Playing Mantis/Johnny Lightning

Editor's response: Watch for a full interview with Tom next month.

"You have a fantastic site! I have a question...Might you be willing to identify a Hot Wheels car for me? It has the Hot Wheels name, and "Malaysia" on the bottom, but no number or other ID. I could send you a scan. I've been trying for a while to find out the make of the little car that I found. When you have time, could you please let me know if you'll accept a scan to help identify the Hot Wheels? THANK YOU!!"

Beverly, Reno, Nevada

Editor's response: B qeverly sent me the scan and it turnef out to be BMW 850i.

"Dear Doug.

I just finished the article upon Beetles in Tales of Toys Cars (ho, by the way, did I told you that it's excellent and very instructive ?). I happen to have discovered a real New Bettle VW in a commercial fair in la Roche sur Yon. The whole car is made of plastic. Front and rear lights are detailed in transparent and orange. It has a friction motor on the rear wheels, and white seats with a black wheel. Colors are black or yellow. The scale seems equal to the Concept One Matchbox, perhaps more little. Nothing is written under the car except "made in China". The car is connected to a key ring, but easy to free."

FrÈdÈric Laurent, la Roche sur Yon, France

Editor's response: I think I found the same car in the US, Here is an image of the car I found in white (shown with a Johnny Lightning (yellow) and generic wind-up bug (black). It is actually a very nice model.


"I see you have in your collection (as copied and pasted from your list) a Chevrolet Citation 1981 brown 1981 Hot Wheels 3362 $4.00. Do you have one of these for sale. My boyfriend of 3 years is a Citation fanatic and I would love to get him one. Please reply via the email address above. Thank you."

Lori Keeley - Taylor, Michigan

Editor's response: I was able to find both the Hot Wheels and Yat Ming Citation models for Lori.


"I have nine zee cars from the late 70's or early 80's I don't know how to find out there value? Their numbers are 351,352, 355, 356,363,365,370,374,376 all with the letter P in front of the numbers aand all doors open or the hood does. Can you tell me anything about these? Are they worth anything to anyone?"

Mary Nordheim - Milford, Ohio

Editor's response: I was able to identify all the Zee Toy cars Mary had and give her an idea of the value. As a thank you, Mary sent me the only one of the nine i did not have, a 1975 Continental Mark IV. Thank you Mary! Watch for an interesting follow-up story on this car in the next issue.