AboutMichael Zarnock Expertise I am able to answer questions about Hot Wheels toy cars and accessories.
Experience
Michael Zarnock (born April 21, 1958 in Utica, New York) is an American author and columnist, who writes collector guides and articles about Hot Wheels toy cars and accessories. Michael's knowledge and his massive Hot Wheels collection has earned him notoriety around the world. Whether it be because of the 7 books and countless articles that he has written about Hot Wheels toys or the sheer size and diversity of his collection, this extensive knowledge has earned him the label, "One of the worlds leading Hot Wheels authorities." Michael is also a 2 Time Guinness World Record holder! First in 2003 and then again in 2007! He is in the record books for owning the "Largest collection of different model cars".
This record is listed in the 2006 Guinness Book on page 65.
Michael was under contract with "Toy Cars & Models ®" Magazine from 2002 until it's last issue in 2008. There he wrote a monthly column and Hot Wheels ® Variation Price Guide. His column talked about the most current Variations to be looking for along with collecting trends and pricing.
Bibliography
2002 to 2008 Toy Cars & Models Magazine, Hot Wheels column and price guide.
2002-The Ultimate Guide To Hot Wheels Variations
2002-*The Standard Catalog of Die-Cast Vehicles II
2003-Warman's Hot Wheels Field Guide
2004-Hot Wheels Variations, The Ultimate Guide 2nd Edition
2004-*Toys & Prices 11th Edition
2005-Hot Wheels Accessories, The Ultimate Guide
2005-*The Standard Catalog of Die-Cast Vehicles III
2005-*Toys & Prices 12th Edition
2006-Hot Wheels: A Warman's Companion Guide
2006-*Toys & Prices 13th Edition
2007-Hot Wheels Variations, The Ultimate Guide 3rd Edition
2007-*Toys & Prices 14th Edition
2007-Warman's Hot Wheels Field Guide 2nd Edition
2008-*Toys & Prices 15th Edition
* denotes (Hot Wheels Collector Number chapter only)
All of these publications are available at Bookstores around the world.
Awards and Honors September 2003 brought great joy to Michael as he was awarded a Guinness World Record ™ for his collection of 3,711 Different Model Cars. Although Michael has more than 15,000 toy cars in his collection, that record was for 3,711 different Hot Wheels model cars. The old record was 1,500. In 2006, Michael's record was broken by a man in Argentina with 7,000 different models cars. Michael has since brought his title back to the USA in February 2007 with 8128 different Hot Wheels model cars! Part of this collection is on display at the Childrens Museum in Utica, New York.
Expert: Michael Zarnock Date: 6/19/2008 Subject: First Editions 2006
Question My son has almost collected his first set of Hotwheels First Edition 2006.
He has approx 8 in long card and 30 in short card.
From a collecting point of view should he make the whole collection in short cards with all the variations?
Answer Hi Hazel,
Do you live in the US or Canada? In the US, it's the long US cards that are desirable. In Canada, it's the short cards. If he has so many on short cards, I would try to complete the set on short cards including variations. Now remember.... the variations that are on International Short Cards are different than those on the US Long cards.
Mike
