Hot Wheels Street Wiener, Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, Surf ‘n’ Turf, and Roller Toaster

It is summer time at least in the northern hemisphere of the earth at that means hot days, afternoon storms, ice cream, and cook outs.  These four represent the summer months (although I’m not sure about the toaster) and are all replicated generics from Hot Wheels with the exception of the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile.

Oscar Mayer Wienermobile and Street Wiener

Yes, yes keep it up with the wiener jokes but these two are very awesome and pay resemblance to the hot dogs most commonly consumed in the summertime.  The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile is actually based on the real truck that was first created in 1936 by Oscar Mayer’s nephew Carl G. Mayer and was designed to advertise Oscar Mayer’s meat products across the nation.  The platform is based on a Chevrolet RV motorhome chassis, though earlier versions were based on the Jeep Willys platform, to handle the weight and was powered by a V6 motor, later replaced with a Chevy 6.0L V8 motor and 4-speed automatic transmission.  The Wienermobile has been through a few major changes over the years in response to lack of power and suspension upgrades due to problems with the suspension from the excessive weight of the custom-fabricated wiener body.  This Hot Wheels version is based on the 1995 model that has Pontiac Grand Am headlights and Firebird Trans Am taillights at the rear, and with several companies overseeing the construction of the Wienermobile this 1995 version was made by Harry Bentley Bradley of Fresno, California.  The Wienermobile can seat several people inside and enough equipment to hold demonstrations on the road, while the drivers and riders are certified hotdoggers trained by the company to drive and represent the brand.

It was something else to see a replica of the Wienermobile on store pegs in 1993 when Hot Wheels released a replica of the vehicle and since then the casting has seen very few modifications mostly sticking to the original release of a red wiener and yellow bun.  The yellow base has an upper metal body with a plastic lower body that houses blacked-out wheels (the wheels have different variations, but you’ll have to look closely to see them), while the upper red wiener is red plastic and features a rised rear tail and a wrap-around front windshield that connects to the four oval windows on the sides.  The door opening is outlined on the metal base and connects to the yellow center ban with Oscar Meyer logos.  The 2006 release was the first release of the casting in nearly a decade and still centers on the same design though this time the base is red, the wheels have gold chrome, and the yellow on the base is lighter than before.  Then there’s the sole off-shoot version from 1995 in the Chrome Finishers series where everything but the wheels and the yellow center stripe is chrome.  Either way this is surely one unique casting and so far Hot Wheels has been the only diecast manufacturer to offer the Wienermobile and that’s an unique trait.

Of course, Hot Wheels wanted to continue that trend with a non-licensed version called Street Wiener.  Based on a dragster this has the look of an actual hot dog, with toppings, in a basket and other unique touches.  The front spoiler is in the shape of a spatula for flipping burgers, the wheels are green to resemble relish, the basket has a nice checkerboard tablecloth design for the basket, while the driver sits inside the red plastic wiener with plastic yellow buns and an assortment of toppings as the tampo on the wiener.  Out back there’s a neat feature with the lid of the grille acting as a rear spoiler and can be pushed in the closed position, propane tanks below the grill and above the flat-six engine with incredible detailing.  For 2018 the hot dog deco is replaced with a chili dog deco and the color of the wheels changed to match.  While the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile has style, this Street Wiener has lots of cool details and functionality to go with it.

Roller Toaster and Surf ‘n’ Turf

Another summertime car is the Surf ‘n’ Turf, a woody wagon based on the classic 1950 Ford and Mercury Woody bodystyles and does it with a toonish look to the casting.  Still, it looks pretty cool in red or teal with woodgrain tampos on the sides of the vehicle.  The front has round headlights and a large chrome grille spanning the width of the front, while the large supercharger and intake scoop poke out of the hood and join large side exhaust in chrome and larger rear tires.  The back end has the wood panel details, split rear window, and spare tire of a classic woody but there’s no details and the spare tire is part of the chrome bumper so I had to finish off the detailing myself as best as I could.  Another cheap shot is the clear roof that also includes the surfboard though in this version the surfboard has a detailed board print, but then again it does provide a look of the interior with front and rear bench seats and what appears to be another surfboard on the bench seat.  Might not be for everyone but this Surf ‘n’ Turf has character and close proximity to a real vehicle that it might employ a sense of popularity seen in the Kool Kombi casting.

While on the other side is another appliance with useful features: Roller Toaster.  Based on the shape of boxy compact cars sold in the 2000’s this Toaster takes a look on the, well, real toaster.  This chrome version for 2018 looks more realistic with side graphics deplicting peanut butter and jelly with a toast man that looks familiar to the toast man from the cartoon “Ren and Stimpy.”  The front has turning knobs for where the headlights should be, a chopped look to the roof with a toaster shape, and a side cord on the right side, while the rear has dual exhausts and a rear spoiler that also acts as the toast release handle: push down on it and the two pairs of toast up top go down and releasing the handle pops the toast back up.  If only the toast look “toasted” it would be cool, and yes there’s no interior but hey it’s nice to see a functioning vehicle based on an appliance every once in a while!