Its all in the name sometimes. The Rodger Dodger is a great
piece of Hot Wheels history. The casting continues to be featured in the
mainline including 2020 releases. With some stints out of production, the
casting has been around for 21 years! (excluding the out of production years)
The casting was
first released in 1974 [1]. It had a short run up to 1979 and then was
re-tooled and re-released in 2000. The re-tooling just brought it up into the
new century. However, in 2015 it was re-tooled again and brought the casting closer
to reality as the exhaust was relocated from the hood to behind the front
wheels and now exits below the front fenders [2]. The versions with the exhaust
pipes on the hood is really cool but not sure if I can even imagine being able
to see past them!
Rodger Dodger is
another fantastic creation of Larry Wood [3].
The latest release in the mainline (2020) is a gorgeous steam punk
livery with gold and silver accents on a matte black paint. This release also
has Grey wheels, something fairly new but really adds to the look of the steam
punk look. 2019 also saw Rodger Dodger get released in the new id series line
up (see my feature in the id series). It is an Amazon exclusive release and has
another gorgeous livery in white, black and gold.
From a collector’s
angle, this is a gem. The first releases in the flying colors line are very
difficult to track down and there is a very rare blue version of the first
release. Rodger Dodger has been featured in several collector convention
releases and the coveted treasure hunt line in 2001 and again in 2005 [4].
I personally owned a 1973 Charger SE with a
318. It was a fun, big car. It was no where near the pavement bruiser that the
Rodger Dodger represents but I do wish I had though to invest in recreating the
Rodger Dodger. I imagine the powerplant would be a 426 or 440 big block.
Reminiscing, I remember a lot of fun with this car even though it wasn’t much
on power. 70s era chargers have gained a lot of popularity in the real car
collector market and seeing one at a car show is always a treat.
Happy Hunting,
Collector Quentin
I own the actual diecast pictured in this blog post.
However, all Hot Wheels packaging artwork, Mattel logos, Hot Wheels logos, wheel
types and paint descriptions in regard to the Hot Wheels versions are
copyrights of the Mattel toy company.
Dodge and Charger are copyrights of Fiat FCA LLC.
[1] Casting information gathered from:
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