Hot Wheels Cement Mixers Can Help Build a Tiny Construction

I have been living in the countryside for two months now. While I yearn to take the FC RX-7 back to the racetrack, I also want something else in life. A pickup truck would be great for carrying stuff back home. And a tractor would do wonders for work around the house. And you can bet that you can find scale models of said vehicles if you know where to look for them.

And once you get going, it's hard to stop. If you buy a tiny bulldozer, you might as well get a cement truck, too. Finding larger-scale models is relatively easy, but I wanted to see what I could find in the Hot Wheels line-up. I found five cement trucks that you may like in your collection.

Cement Mixer

The first item on the list is the Cement Mixer. It's the oldest casting, as Ira Gilford designed it for its 1970 debut. Mattel developed 12 variations that year, 11 of which had a Spectraflame finish. If you've been reading my previous Hot Wheels stories, this vehicle may look familiar to you.

It shares a similar design with castings like the Racer Rig, the Moving Van, the Fire Engine, and the Team Trailer. This way of drawing unlicensed vehicles works better than the fantasy castings we're getting today. The only thing I dislike about the 1970 Cement Mixer is that all the variations use Redline wheels, and I've never been fond of those.

Finding all 12 models in perfect shape may be impossible, given they're over half a century old. You can try, but it won't come cheap. I only spotted one carded model, and the seller priced at $295. One other person is asking $395 for his. Seeing these vehicles feels like traveling through time; you can only imagine what they've been through all these years.

Judging by the listings I saw on eBay, the complete 1970 Cement Mixer collection could easily cost more than $2,000. And it doesn't stop there. Mattel brought the casting back in 2009 for the HotWheelsCollectors Series 9. It still had a metal base, a Spectraflame Copper finish, and New Redlines wheels to match the theme. It was now the "Cement Truck" with a limited run of only 5,000 units. The good part is that you can find them for $50 or less. But what would you do if you decided to buy into similar castings from that era?

Peterbilt Cement Mixer

As much as I like Ira Gilford's design, Larry Wood's Peterbilt Cement Mixer is much more exciting. There's more realism here, and the playground would look much more natural. But you're dealing with the same problem. Mattel only built these vehicles between 1980 and 1991.

Diversity is not a word I would use to describe this line-up, as all these trucks featured Black Wall wheels and had a white rear section. At least they all had a metal base back then. Price-wise, I've seen plenty of offers on eBay, typically in the $5 to $65 range.

The best part about it is that you get a tilting rear section. And if you can get your hands on multiple iterations, you could probably remove that altogether to create a slightly different machine.

Oshkosh Cement Mixer

The Oshkosh Cement Mixer had a similarly long stint but came after the Peterbilt machine. It debuted in 1992, featuring a red, white, and blue finish and the same Black Wall wheels.

Mattel used a yellow and black combo for the following few iterations while oscillating between wheel setups. The 5-spoke and 7-spoke rims were some of the most interesting designs, but the best was yet to come. After 11 variations, it was time for the Oshkosh Cement Mixer to retire.

And I'm happy the designers opted to give it a nice send-off in 2002. It featured an intriguing transparent green finish rolled on Real Riders wheels with "Super Tumbler Cement Mixer" tires. It's great that you can still find plenty of carded variations, and they're not all that expensive.

Mobile Cement Mixer

The Mobile Cement Mixer is a Corgi Toys design that debuted in the 1994 Construction 6-Pack. Auto-City feels like the best way to kickstart a construction site, featuring pretty cool machinery such as the Tipping Lorry, the Digger, and the Sandstinger. These were all yellow and black, which makes for a familiar sight when talking about heavy machinery.

While the first iteration of the Mobile Cement Mixer still had Corgi-designed wheels, Mattel switched to 5-spoke wheels for the second model. It arrived in 1997 and was the final hoorah for this short-lived casting.

Winnie the Pooh

What does Winnie the Pooh have to do with cement mixers? I'm trying to explain, but sometimes it's just tough to understand Mattel's marketing decisions. Running out of ideas can happen after 50 years of designing so many castings. Sometimes, "hybrid" vehicles have a shot at capturing the imagination of kids.

A cement truck alone might not be enough to persuade someone to buy it these days, but attaching a familiar name to it may profoundly affect the buyer's perception. Bryan Benedict designed this casting for its 2018 release, which featured a pretty cool yellow and green color combo. It was part of the Disney Character Cars line-up, a rather interesting concept if you think of it.

I'll dive deeper into it in a future story. Until then, I'm outraged that I spotted an iteration of Winnie the Pooh with an asking price of over $100 on eBay. I strongly suggest overpaying for Hot Wheels products: do your research and find a fair price; otherwise, you'll end up in financial ruin.

If you insist on paying $20 for a non-premium item, that's your choice, and I can't argue with you about it. But you'll be better off setting aside a budget of $10 at most. All this talk about older Hot Wheels castings makes me think I'll need a separate room for diecast cars in my future house.