Collector Spotlight March 2009: Jon Kohan

A.k.a. "sandcrabjk" at HWC™

03-10-09

It’s a good thing Jon Kohan’s girlfriend likes cars because Jon, a 47 year-old mechanical drafter from Wallingford, Connecticut, not only has a collection of 7,000 Hot Wheels® cars, he sleeps on Hot Wheels™ bedding AND has a HotWheelsCollectors.com sign above his bed! Meet Jon and find out why it’s actually Star Wars that’s responsible for his obsession in this month’s Collector Spotlight.

HWC: How long have you been collecting and what got you started?
JK: I have been collecting for 16 years now. I started in 1993. A friend of mine I worked with was into collecting Star Wars figures and he would always have the latest issue of a toy magazine. He was always looking for more figures to add to his collection and checking the values of the ones he had as a kid. After I mentioned to him that I played with Hot Wheels® when I was a kid and wished I still had them, he said there were always a lot of people buying and selling, and how valuable the original Redline® cars were.

Well, after looking through the magazine one day and seeing all the cars I used to have, I got the urge to bring back some of my childhood memories. On the way home from work, I stopped at a Toys ‘R Us and purchased the first 20 cars or so of my new hobby. And I still enjoy collecting today as much as when I first started!

HWC: Do you remember what was in the batch of 20 cars? Why did you choose them, and which one was your favorite out of the group?
JK: When I bought those 20 cars or so it was toward the end of the "blue card" era and at that point only certain collector numbers were available. If they weren't the original 20, they were close to it and definitely some of the earliest cars in my collection. I remember cars like the white/turquoise ‘32 Ford Delivery, the turquoise ‘56 Flashsider®, and the Yellow Wheel Loader.

There really wasn't any particular reason for the ones I chose. I figured I would just collect everything that came out. I thought to myself, well, how many cars can they actually put out in a year? Can't be that many. Boy, was I in for a surprise! After buying those first few cars, I was definitely hooked on Hot Wheels®. I hit the stores a lot in those days to pick up whatever new cars I could find. Some of my early favorites were the ‘32 Ford delivery, T-Bucket, Nissan Hardbody, and the ‘57 Chevy®. I don't hit the stores as much, but here it is 16 years later, and I still try to collect all the mainline cars that come out for the year. The one thing I don't do is variations. I don't go crazy looking for every single variation that's out there. If it's a casting I like, I'll buy the obvious variations, like color or wheel changes.

HWC: How many cars do you have and how do you keep track of them?
JK: I just recently got around to counting all my cars and I have about 7,000. My tracking system is to buy everything that comes out, that way I know I have it -- LOL! Like most collectors, I'm sure, the majority of my cars are in plastic storage bins. They are stored in order by collector number and the bins are stacked in order, but I don't have every single car written down. So in reality, not much of a tracking system – LOL!

Actually, the bins are labeled with the range of numbers and the year they came out. That's all mainline stuff. Other lines, like the Classics Series, Since ‘68™, etc., have their own bins. I do make a list of needs when I get close to completing a set, that way I definitely know when it's done. At this point, it's only Treasure Hunts I need to complete most sets!

HWC: What does your family think about your collection?
JK: My family and friends are pretty impressed with my collection, and are very supportive because they know how much I enjoy it. At first, I was a little reluctant to tell anyone how many cars I had when they asked because I figured they would think I was crazy for having that many cars. And I figured they would put 2+2 together, meaning, okay, about a dollar a car times the amount of cars = a lot of $! So, for the longest time, as my collection was growing quite quickly, my generic response was that I have about 1,500 -- even though it was probably twice that -- LOL! My mother has the best comment, though. She says my condo looks like a toy store because I have so much on display!

My biggest supporter is my girlfriend, Patty, who is also a Red Line Club™ member and will be attending her first Nationals in Reston! She was actually into cars before we met. She belonged to a car club in high school and used to own and race her ‘69 AMX. When other girls were out buying clothes and jewelry, she was out buying racing tires for her AMX. That's pretty cool! And she's usually along with me when I do my usual Saturday morning Hot Wheels® hunting!

The bedroom in the picture is mine. As you can see I like everything Hot Wheels®, not just the cars. The poster board above the bed is actually from the first Nationals I went to in Reston! It was brought by Mattel to advertise HotWheelsCollectors.com. I was able to acquire it for a donation to their charity at the time. It is actually signed by Larry Wood, Carson Lev, Miq Wilmott, Phil Riehlman, and Darryl Starbird!

HWC: What was the first Hot Wheels® car you had?
JK: I know I had all of the original 16. Hard to remember the actual first, but it was probably the purple Silhouette. I'm definitely bummed that I don't have my original Redline® cars. I wouldn't care what condition they were in, it would just be nice to know they were my originals. For the most part, I think they would have been in halfway decent shape. I don't recall being destructive with them, just the normal wear and tear from racing on the track sets. Unfortunately, as I got older, I ended up either selling them or giving them away to the younger kids in my neighborhood.

My original intent when I first thought about collecting was to collect the Redline® cars I used to have. I do have about 40 Redline® cars in my collection and did replace a lot of my originals. The first car I replaced was the Sand Crab™, of course! There was a consignment store in town and I went to check it out one night and couldn't believe my eyes when I saw Redline® cars for sale. There was a Custom Cougar in orange, Custom Mustang in red, and a Custom Barracuda in aqua. They weren't mint, but close. They were in excellent condition and display very nicely. I bought all three for, like, $22!

HWC: What’s the best Hot Wheels® car in your collection?
JK: Can I just list every muscle car and hot rod? I would have to say the red 1971 Camaro® that was from the Oil Can hobby series. I also really like the ‘40 Ford Coupe casting. And the Tail Dragger®. And the ‘70 Chevelle™ SS. And the ‘70 Plymouth® Road Runner. And the Dairy Delivery®. And the... LOL!

HWC: What do you think is the best Hot Wheels® casting of all time?
JK: The Sand Crab™. It was my favorite as a kid. My favorite casting now is probably the ‘40 Ford Coupe. I think the reason I like the Sand Crab™ so much, other than that it looked really cool, was that it was quite different from the other Hot Wheels® out at the time, which seemed to be all race cars and muscle cars. Plus, I really like the way the lines of the car flow from front to back. It has that long, gentle curve from front to back, very smooth. That is also one of the main reasons why I really like the ‘40 Ford Coupe. It has those same flowing lines to it and all those curves. In my opinion, I think the ‘40 Ford Coupe is one of the best old cars, if not the best, to turn into a hot rod. I love my Camaro® and won't be parting with it anytime soon, but a ‘40 Ford Coupe hot rod is probably my dream car to own. Needless to say, I was very excited that both cars made it into the Red Line Club™ lineup!

HWC: What’s your favorite Hot Wheels® memory?
JK: I would have to say sneaking downstairs early Christmas morning with my brother and sister when I was a kid, and grabbing our stockings to open. Mine always had plenty of Hot Wheels® cars!

Another big thrill was attending my first Nationals convention in Reston, Virginia, in 2002. The 2009 Nationals are my fourth! I like everything about the conventions, I really do. I enjoy the room-to-room buying and trading because anything and everything related to Hot Wheels® is possible to find. They're always run very well, plus it's just a great atmosphere to be a part of and experience. My next collecting "goal" is to make it to a convention in California!

HWC: Do you have any other hobbies?
JK: My other hobbies include playing softball. I play on a team in an adult slo-pitch league in Wallingford. This will be my 25th year playing. It's a lot of fun because most of the team has been the same group of guys from the beginning and they're all friends I've known since high school! I also enjoy running, skiing, and playing guitar. I can play bits and pieces of a lot of songs, but mostly I play Beatles, Santana, Neil Young… so basically classic rock. I wish I was good enough to play in a band, but I would be happy at this point if I could play "Black Magic Woman" note for note -- LOL!

COLLECTOR QUICKSTATS:

• DISPLAYING HOT WHEELS® CARS: “I display my cars several ways. I had six custom oak wooden displays made that hold 21 cars each (plus a row on top for 28), and those are all displayed in Kar Keepers™. These display mostly my Red Line Club™ cars and Convention and Nationals cars. I also have a bunch of display cases that hold loose cars. And I also have the picture frame displays with the rails that hold carded cars. These basically hold my Classics Series and ‘Since 68™ cars.”
• LATEST, GREATEST HOT WHEELS® RELEASE: “The Custom Otto™ comes to mind; it's a cool car. Just the fact that the original concept originated during the Redline® era, and it certainly has that style about it. To me it has that pony car look and feel to it, and a lot of attitude – LOL! It probably would have rivaled any car on the street in those days!”
• MODEL/COLOR 1:1 SCALE CAR OWNED: “My every day driver is a dark blue 2008 Nissan Sentra, although I do have a real 1:1 Hot Wheels® car. I own a 1971 Camaro® in hugger orange that I take to car shows during the summer.”

We're always looking for our next collector to spotlight. If you would like to be considered for the Collector’s Spotlight, we’d like to hear from you:

1. First, answer the questions found here: Spotlight questionnaire
2. Include at least ten photos! They should be Jpg images at 700 x 500 are the best.
3. E-mail your answers and images to us at gary.barnum@mattel.com
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You could be in the spotlight!