Unspun Hot Wheels – Error Hot Wheels
First off, I must warn you before you read further. This guide uses both acetone and boiling water. If you can’t handle either one of these, please DO NOT attempt this.
I’ve seen a lot of the same unspun Hot Wheels being sold recently. They all had one thing in common. The base was metal while the body was plastic. After seeing a post on a Facebook group today, what was going on became clear to me. This method has been around for some time but I feel it’s time it get’s out.
Please understand that I’m not inferring that every unspun Hot Wheels error on a plastic body is fake, but with a little bit of time and a few things from around the house, an unspun error can be easily FAKED. People seem to do whatever they can to make money in the hobby. I am simply trying to bring this to light so no one gets ripped off.
Supplies needed:
Hot Wheels Car – Plastic Body/Metal Base REQUIRED.
Pot
Heat Source (Stove Top)
Water (As needed)
Heat Resistant / Waterproof Gloves
Tongs
Optional Supplies:
Acetone
Brush / Cotton Swab
The first thing you need to do is find a casting with a metal base and plastic body. For this article, I chose the 2014 Maximum Leeway Treasure Hunt. What more RARE than an unspun Treasure Hunt… LOL
Removing the car from the blister is the next step. If don’t intend on reusing the blister, just rip it open and skip this portion. This is easily accomplished using some acetone. All you need to do is apply the acetone to the back of the card, around where the blister attached. Only apply the acetone to 3 sides. You want to leave the top attached to aid in realignment when reattaching the blister to the card. Apply an ample amount of acetone to the three sides and let it sit for a minute or so. Slowly pull at the blister and remove it from the card.
If done correctly, the blister will pull away leaving the card undamaged. Slide the car out.
After you have released the car, now it’s time to give your soon to be unspun Hot Wheels a bath. Fill up a pan with water.
Please note, I have placed a rock in the pan. The car is placed on this to keep the wheels of the car from melting when touching the bottom of the hot pan. Start boiling the water. By the way, I did this tutorial on the fly and at the time, a rock is all I had at the moment. LOL
Once the water is boiling, place the casting on the rock using the tongs. Let the car boil for around 10 minutes.
After the 10 minutes has passed, put on your gloves and remove the vehicle from the boiling water using the tongs. Holding the body in one hand, slowly pull the metal base. If done correctly, the base should release from the body easily.
That’s it! You’ve just made an unspun Hot Wheels.
Now all you need to do is return the unspun Hot Wheels to the package. Slide the car in whatever form you want back into the package. It can be assembled. Disassembled. Backwards. Whatever you like. Apply some glue (Elmers works fine) to the three loose side of the blister. Clamp the sides down using clothes pins or whatever other method you may have. The glue is applied white / cloudy but it dries clear.
Please only use this tutorial for good, not evil. This hobby is meant to be fun. Don’t take advantage of collectors who may not know any better.
If you care to check out the Hot Wheels 2014 Maximum Leeway Treasure Hunt, here is a link to a post I did a while back. Hot Wheels Maximum Leeway Treasure Hunt
