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Author
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Topic: Mattel's Hot Wheels Mars Rover Curiosity
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Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 48830
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 08-01-2012 12:47 AM
   
collectSPACE Hot Wheels on Mars: Mattel to land NASA's Curiosity rover on toy store shelvesSoon after NASA's Curiosity rover lands and becomes the hottest set of wheels on Mars, it'll debut as the latest Hot Wheels to land on toy store shelves. Mattel, Inc., makers of the die-cast line of Hot Wheels toy cars, is ready to release the car-size Curiosity as its latest 1:64 scale miniature in September. The Hot Wheels "Mars Rover Curiosity" set is part of Mattel's assortment of 247 toy cars for 2012.  |
starhopper
Member Posts: 58
From: Kathleen, GA, USA
Registered: Aug 2005
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posted 08-01-2012 12:26 PM
In my humble opinion, that be one ugly model!  |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 48830
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 08-01-2012 01:51 PM
To be fair, the photos provide no sense of scale. Looking at the model in-person (Mattel sent us a sample), it is strikingly small, which explains some of the lack of detail. It is also priced to be just $1, which means it has a better chance of ending up in the hands of many more kids — which is a great thing... |
Fezman92
Member Posts: 1031
From: New Jersey, USA
Registered: Mar 2010
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posted 08-01-2012 02:50 PM
I must get this. |
Jay Chladek
Member Posts: 2272
From: Bellevue, NE, USA
Registered: Aug 2007
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posted 08-02-2012 03:17 AM
I think what Hot Wheels needs to do is release the Curiosity Rover in a two pack with a Mini Cooper, since NASA and the press had fun comparing its size and capabilities with a certain terrestrial based car of a similar size.  |
Ronpur
Member Posts: 1253
From: Brandon, Fl
Registered: May 2012
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posted 08-03-2012 10:43 AM
I will get this one and try to add some detail to it. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 48830
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 09-02-2012 06:29 PM
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's store is now taking pre-orders for the Hot Wheels Curiosity at $5 each. The toy however, will not ship from JPL until November. Please order separately from other items as the rovers will not ship until they arrive in November. |
bthumble
Member Posts: 277
From: Houston, Texas
Registered: Nov 2007
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posted 09-10-2012 02:40 PM
Has anyone found them in the stores yet? I have been looking at Target, Walmart, Toys R Us, etc and no luck so far. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 48830
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 09-10-2012 02:52 PM
The message boards at Mattel's official Hot Wheels collector's site includes several reports of finding them at Walmart, but it seems to be hit and miss. Some stores have several, some none. |
jjknap
Member Posts: 299
From: Bourbonnais, IL USA
Registered: Apr 2011
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posted 09-24-2012 09:35 PM
Finally found several at WalMart south of Chicago (Bourbonnais, IL where I live). They were in a cardboard floor display piled high with Hot Wheels. There were several "Angry Bird" themed cars in the group, so those must have come out in the same series. |
the clocks running
Member Posts: 382
From: Rochester, NY
Registered: Jan 2012
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posted 09-24-2012 09:47 PM
Found mine in Rochester, New York at a Wegmans grocery store. I just happened to walk by the toys and found the only one of these Hot Wheels Mars Rover's in the store. The best $1.00 that I spent all week! |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 48830
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 01-11-2014 01:01 PM
Almost missed this...Mattel re-released the Mars Rover Curiosity as part of its 2014 Hot Wheels lineup. This time it is not part of a limited distribution but there are two variants.  Pictured are the two new 2014 sets and the 2012 set for comparison. The only difference between the 2012 and 2014 models are the color of the wheels. Two years ago, the rover toy was released with black wheels. This year's model has reddish-brown "dirty" wheels, indicating the science laboratory has been busy roving Mars. The second 2014 variant has the original black wheels. These were apparently seeded to stores (Kmart in particular) in November, so may be harder to find "in the wild" now. As to be expected, they can be easily found on eBay. And while on the subject, there were several different packages for the original 2012 model. The U.S. (domestic) original packaging is pictured above, but there was also international packaging that did not have the QR code promo and was labeled "2012 HW Premiere." There was also a "short card" with the backing card half the size (there are short card editions of the 2014 variants, too). |
GoesTo11
Member Posts: 1355
From: Denver, CO
Registered: Jun 2004
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posted 01-12-2014 03:33 PM
Just picked up the 2014 release with the "dirty" wheels on eBay (I already had the 2012 model). Thanks for the heads-up on this, Robert. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 48830
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 08-06-2022 12:27 PM
From Jessica Watkins, Expedition 67 flight engineer and former member of the Mars Science Laboratory team at the Caltech (via Twitter): On the Mars Curiosity rover team, scientists and engineers across the world work hand-in-hand to take giant leaps, find creative solutions, and accomplish the impossible daily, and we strive to do just that here on the International Space Station. Happy 10th landing anniversary, Curiosity!  |
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