The Custom Camaro, the first Hot Wheels car introduced in May of 1968, is an icon of the
Redline era—a period named for the red-striped tires found on the cars.
Mattel’s inaugural run of sixteen Hot Wheels cars set the toy market on fire in 1968, revolutionizing the die-cast car industry and leaving competitors like Corgi and Matchbox scrambling to play catch-up.
The Hot Heap features all the goodies of a fine 1960s Model T street rod in pint-size cool.
Mattel co-founder Elliot Handler entered the die-cast car business after playing with his children in 1966. The die-cast cars they played with were clunky and not all that much fun. Handler figured Mattel could do better. So, he challenged his design team, which included a General Motors car designer and a rocket scientist, to create a toy car that was cooler and performed better than anything on the market.
The famous Ed “Big Daddy” Roth custom was immortalized in the Beatnik Bandit.
They answered with the first-ever trackable toy car. Handler was so impressed by the car’s groundbreaking new wheel design and performance that his first response when he saw it rolling along the floor was: “Those are some hot wheels!”
The Custom Corvette, shown here in rose, featured an opening hood.
Soon, deals were in place to re-create muscle cars from the Big Three car makers, along with a patented independent suspension to complement the speedy wheel design. The suspension in the original Hot Wheels cars utilized a thick gauge music wire as the axle, which, when lubricated and coupled with a unique plastic bearing, allowed the wheels to roll and spin freely with minimal friction, making them far faster than Corgi and Matchbox toy cars. The design team also zeroed in on making the cars eye-catching, accomplished through the unique “Spectraflame” paint jobs the cars sported. By polishing the car bodies down to an almost mirror shine and spray-painting them with transparent colored paint, the result was a candy-colored, metallic finish, the likes of which had never been seen before.
Custom Volkswagens were offered from 1968 to 1971, and nearly all featured an opening sunroof.
The first line of Hot Wheels die-cast cars introduced were called “The Sweet 16” and made their debut at the International Toy Fair in 1968. “The Sweet 16” were just that: sixteen cars whose designs were inspired by California muscle cars and hot rods. The first Hot Wheels toy car offered was the Custom Camaro, sold on May 18, 1968 – Hot Wheels’ official “birthday.” Following the Custom Camaro, the 15 other cars in the line were the Beatnik Bandit, Custom Barracuda, Custom Corvette, Custom Cougar, Custom Eldorado, Custom Firebird, Custom Fleetside, Custom Mustang, Custom T-Bird, Custom Volkswagen, Deora, Ford J-Car, Hot Heap, Python (now called Cheetah) and the Silhouette. Those first toy cars were radically different than anything else in 1968. Today, “The Sweet 16” remains among the most valuable and collectible toy vehicles ever made.
1. Custom Mustang, 2. Deora, 3. Python, 4. Custom T-Bird, 5. Custom Volkswagon, 6. Custom Firebird, 7. Hot Heap, 8. Custom Cougar, 9. Custom Camaro, 10. Custom Barracuda, 11. Silhouette, 12. Custom Eldorado, 13. Ford J-Car, 14. Custom Fleetside, 15. Custom Corvette, 16. Beatnik Bandit.
Produced in numerous series by Mattel from 1966 to 1971, these tiny dolls still bring big fun … and prices.
By Kris Manty
While Barbie is having an immense cultural (and marketing) moment, thanks to the live-action Barbie movie that has grossed a whopping $1.4 billion worldwide as of October, according to Box Office Mojo, there are other dolls Mattel made in the same era that were also hugely popular and deserve some attention: Liddle Kiddles.
A 1968 Peter Paniddle doll from the Storybook series.
He was the only male doll in the series and came with
a crocodile and a tiny Tinkerbell: $190. Courtesy of rl2u/eBay
Inspired by small children in neighborhoods across America, Liddle Kiddles, taken from the phrase “little kids” and ranging between one to four inches high, offered immense fun. Sporting big hair and 1960s false eyelashes, the miniature dolls came with unique accessories like animals, furniture, or vehicles or were enclosed in a locket or perfume bottle.
Liddle Kiddles’ debut at the New York Toy Fair in 1966 caused a sensation in the doll world, and numerous other companies soon created their own tiny copycats. They became the gotta-have toy for children and charm collectors today.
Produced in numerous series by Mattel from 1966 to 1971, these wee vinyl dolls remained wildly popular until the global oil crisis in 1970 cut them short. Here’s a closer look at a few of the lines popularly collected:
The Original Liddles
The first line of dolls from 1966-67 included ten characters, nine of which were available in stores, and one was a Sears exclusive. Renowned artist Martha Armstrong Hand designed three of the four head sculpts for these first Kiddles. They had soft vinyl bodies with wire armatures inside and swivel necks that made them poseable, rooted and brushable hair, and brightly painted features in different variations. They ranged in height between 2-3/4 inches tall without their shoes on to 3-1/2 inches tall wearing them. Packaged on blister-pack cards, each doll came with themed clothing and an accessory, a hairbrush or comb, and a Kiddle Komic.
Bunson Burnie, one of the first ten Liddle Kiddles from 1966.
He’s wearing his original fireman outfit and comes with a
red fire truck that has its hard-to-find ladder: $49.95. Courtesy of ksjmsell4/eBay
The first dolls lived in Liddle Kiddle Land and included Babe Biddle, who came with a sportscar; Howard “Biff” Boodle, who had a yellow wagon; firefighter Bunson Burnie, who had a miniature firetruck; baby Liddle Diddle and her crib; Greta Griddle with a table and chairs for hosting tea parties; cowgirl Calamity Jiddle who came with a rocking horse; Lola Liddle came with a sailboat; Florence Niddle had a doll carriage; and Millie Middle came with a sandbox. The Sears Exclusive was musician Beat-a-Diddle, who came with a guitar and microphone.
These Liddles, with their fun personalities and imaginative details, captivated children and became so popular that Mattel created fourteen new characters, including Sizzly Friddle with a barbecue grill, Freezy Sliddle with a blue sled, and Rolly Twiddle with a pink plastic pail, shovel, and orange wagon.
A 1968 Rah Rah Cheerleader doll from the Skediddle Kiddles line.
These dolls have a wheeled attachment that simulates walking.
When the device is attached to a doll and pushed from behind,
the legs, arms, and head move, giving the appearance of the doll
moving on its own: $75. Courtesy of birdsinhand/eBay
Lucky Locket Kiddles
The next Liddles series Mattel produced from 1967 to 1970 was the Lucky Locket Kiddles, which let kids wear their favorite doll around their neck. Two inches tall, these came in a clear plastic bubble locket with different colored frames decorated with other colored stones. All 13 dolls had names starting with L, like Laverne Locket, Lilac Locket, Lola Locket, Lorna Locket, and Louise Locket.
There were several series of dolls and lockets: Gold Lockets, 1967, and Pastel Lockets, 1968, each featured seven dolls—Lois Locket appeared in both series. The Gold Rush Lockets, 1969, had bright gold frames and six dolls: Laverne, Lorelei, Loretta, Lottie, Louise, and Luana.
In 1975, Mattel reissued six “Lucky Locket” Dolls (dropping the Kiddle name) made of harder vinyl than the originals.
Storybook Kiddles
Characters from children’s favorite nursery rhymes, fairytales, and other stories came to life in tiny doll form with Mattel’s Storybook Kiddles in 1967 and 1968. The seven dolls in the series were all three-and-one-half inches tall, had big blue eyes, and came with 24-page illustrated storybooks and accessories.
The series featured Alice Wunderliddle and the white rabbit, Cinderiddle with two outfits—a “poor girl” dress and a glamorous white poofy ballgown, Liddle Biddle Peep and her sheep, Liddle Middle Muffet and the spider, Liddle Red Riding Hiddle and the wolf, Peter Paniddle with Tinker Bell and a crocodile and Sleeping Biddle asleep in her recliner. Cinderiddle and Sleeping Biddle also had later playsets: a vinyl palace case for Cinderiddle and a vinyl castle case for Sleeping Beauty.
Kozmic Kiddles
The four dolls in the Kozmic Kiddles line from 1969 were a far-out departure from the others. They resembled little psychedelic-designed aliens with bulbous glow-in-the-dark heads, two antennae, and different colored spaceships perched on space rock stands. Around an inch tall and made of soft plastic, they were Bluey Blooper, Greenie Meenie, Purple Gurple, and Yello Fello.
Each Kozmic Kiddle sits in a small spaceship in assorted Day-Glo colors that kids could detach and fly around or roll across a smooth surface and pretend it was the terrain of an unknown planet. The spaceships also unlatched so the dolls could be taken out and played with, which resulted in many delicate antennas being accidentally broken off, much to the chagrin of collectors who prize these hard-to-find cosmic dolls.
Other Liddle Kiddles Lines
Based on the massive success of the first few series, Mattel greatly expanded the Liddle Kiddles world of fun for kids. Other Liddle Kiddles series included the animal-themed Animiddle Kiddles, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Kiddles based on the four main characters of the movie, Holiday Kiddles, wearable Jewelry Kiddles (these were the smallest ones at 7/8 to 1-1/6 inches high), Kiddles ‘N Kars, Kiddle Kolognes with their own flowery scents, Kola Kiddles that came in clear plastic soda bottles, Little Baby Kiddles, Lollipop Kiddles, Skediddle Kiddles, Storybook Sweetheart Kiddles, Tea Party Kiddles, and Zoolery Kiddles.
Mattel also offered many Kiddles-branded extras, including the Liddle Kiddle Talking House from 1968, furniture, games, lunch boxes, posters, records, vinyl cases, and more.
Although Liddle Kiddles sold immensely well and were beloved by children everywhere, they were the victims of the global oil crisis in 1970 and discontinued after the rising price of petroleum spelled bad news for vinyl and plastic products, including toys. Mattel released the last Kiddles in 1970 and stopped further production a year later.
A Liddle Kiddles three-story Playhouse with
Snap Happy furniture and dolls: $350.
Courtesy of mcdaniel12/eBay
Collecting Liddle Kiddles
These cuties are highly collectible, especially with their original packaging and accessories. Younger generations are also discovering them via social media platforms like TikTok, where the hashtag “liddlekiddles” has yielded 80,000 views to date, and some videos of collectors showing off their finds have racked up thousands of views.
If you’re feeling nostalgic for any Liddle Kiddle you may have played with as a child and would like to buy one (or more) for yourself or perhaps a grandchild, that nostalgia will cost you. A look on eBay shows some of these dolls in their original packaging have been selling recently for between $200 to $500, including dolls in the original lineup, the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang set, Lucky Locket Kiddles, Kiddle Kolognes, Kozmic Kiddles, and Storybook Kiddles. Even dolls in these lines without original packaging have sold between $200-$250. But plenty of other Liddle Kiddles can be found between $25 and $100.
More information about Liddle Kiddles and a complete list of series and dolls can be found at www.dollreference.com and Fashion Doll Guide. Author and collector Paris Langford wrote a definitive price guide, Liddle Kiddles, with extensive information. Though the 1994 book is out of print and hard to find, there are some copies on Amazon and the secondary market, but this also currently carries a hefty price of between $75 to $300. Langford also has a collectors’ group on Facebook.
The pull-cord telephone with the moving eyes and a red-button nose, wooden ducks pulled through countless backyard adventures and, one of our personal favorites, a bright red music box teaching clock from 1962. These Fisher-Price toys are just a few of the ones featured in a special virtual museum on Instagram. Toy manufacturer Fisher-Price, part of Mattel Inc., is celebrating its 90th anniversary with a virtual look at all its iconic toys.
Ninety toys from each decade of the last 90 years can be found, each with a description and picture. The trip down memory lane includes the small 1966 Two Tune Music Box TV displayed on a tray with a typical 1960s TV dinner. The 7-inch TV plays two songs as two different picture stories scroll across the screen. Also featured is a 1968 Big Red Barn, with doors that trigger a “moo” sound when opened, as well as a farmer family and animals.
Fisher price toys are an inexpensive nostalgic collectible. Just remember many toys have stayed in production over the years. For more information on collecting vintage Fisher-Price toys read our sales report on Kovels.com. If you enjoyed Fisher-Price toys as a child — or still have a few of those toys in your basement or attic and want to look at their history — “mooove” on over to the virtual museum and enjoy!
Doctors, nurse, EMTs and delivery people are the new superheroes as they tend patients or keep economies running. Mattel is honoring those “essential” workers with a special edition #ThankYouHeroes line of 16 action figures — four each of doctors, nurses, EMTs and delivery drivers in varying genders and skin tones — and a five-figure set of Little People Community Champions from Fisher-Price with a doctor, nurse, EMT, delivery driver and grocery store worker
The figures can be pre-ordered through May 31 for $20, with $15 from each online purchase donated by Mattel to the Entertainment Industry Foundation, #FirstRespondersFirst, a fund dedicated to providing essential items for frontline health care workers and their families.