The Spectraflame Rainbow



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	THE ART RAFFLE TRADING POST SPECTRAFLAME REDLINE STORIES

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	by Russell Bailinson
	russellb@pacbell.net



	Background
	The first five years of Hot Wheels production saw incredible success. Part of the reason for that success was that the cars looked great, distinct from any other diecast cars on the market at the time. The Hot Wheels development team had come up with a "California" look which included brilliant candy-colored paint jobs with a metallic finish, which Mattel called "Spectraflame."
	The process for achieving that great look was quite elaborate: the car bodies were polished to a mirror shine, then spray-painted with fragile but eye-catching transparent paint (this process has been duplicated for the 30th Anniversary Twinmill, Deora, `32 Vicky, Nomad, Mutt Mobile and Side Kick).
	There were fourteen colors in the palette for Hot Wheels; Mattel`s names for them were Aqua, Blue, Blue Fog, Brown, Gold, Green, Lavender, Lime, Lime Gold, Magenta, Olive, Orange, Purple and Red. The original idea was that each model would be sold in two of the colors, and these were specified in the 1968 Hot Wheels catalog.
	The two-colors-per-model plan was discarded and eventually most of the early models showed up in nearly all of the colors, although the distribution of colors for any given model is far from even.
	Because of the process of polishing the bodies and using transparent paint, there is a great deal of variation in the Spectraflame cars. Differences in the color and shine of the metal, differences in the paint dye lots and differences in the thickness of the paint all contribute to subtle gradations of color. Another important factor is the factory process itself; paint lots were often combined somewhat, when a new color was added to the painting apparatus before the old color lot was completely gone. There are also pronounced differences between the color formulations usedin the US versus those used in Hong Kong.
	The colors were reformulated in 1970, substantially changing the appearance of some colors. In some ways, one might really say that some new colors were added and others altered; also some colors were used extensively in 1968-69 but seemingly much less in 1970-72.
	I will refer to each of the basic colors as a "family" and group all shades and variations under that umbrella. I am greatly indebted to some fellow collectors for help in piecing together and understanding the big picture and the nuances of the colors, most notably I would like to thank Mark Fletcher and Dr. Kim Pershall for their assistance.
	The Colors
	Avid collectors of Spectraflame cars have assigned their own names for the typical shades of the Spectraflame colors. Although not definitive, the following information is intended to show the genesis of the colors and their relationship to the intended original fourteen.
	· · Aqua Family Please click on the image for a full-size view
	Aquas are typically a (roughly) 50-50 blue-green mixture, but can can range from dark to bright and may be shifted more to blue or green.
	Aqua: Usually a liquid ocean color, more or less dead center between Spectraflame blue and Spectraflame green.
	Teal (aka Dark Aqua): Dark (usually from thick paint), biased toward green.
	Cyan: Brilliant, biased toward blue.
	Ice Aqua: Very pale (usually from very thin paint) and somewhat smoky, can look almost like ice blue.
	Different shades of Aqua were used more or less continuously from 1968 to 1972.
	· · Blue Family
	Typically a medium sapphire blue, but can range from nearly navy to a bright, slightly greenish blue, usually depending on how thickly the paint was applied.
	I`m not aware of any special terminology for blues, other than prepending adjectives such as "light" or "dark" to be a little more descriptive.
	Blues were used more or less continuously from 1968 to 1972.
	· Brown Family
	Spectraflame brown has a very wide range of shading, and is easily subdivided into three distinct varieties.
	· Copper is a very pale brown, often looking almost like the metallic copper you see in electrical wiring, etc. The HK version is usually smoother-looking; US copper cars often have a somewhat spotty look, as if the paint went on a little too dry.
	· Root Beer Brown is a medium to fairly dark brown, usually with a wet, very transparent look and strong red highlights (most easily visible along sharp edges).
	· Chocolate Brown is a very rich, deep brown. Lighter examples can look smooth and very transparent; exceptionally dark examples can look almost black unless seen under intense lighting.
	Copper was used more or less continuously from 1968 to 1971; it`s unclear whether it was still in use in 1972. The deeper browns seem to have been used only in 1968-69, with occasional usage on 1970 model-year cars (presumably early introductions).
	· Gold Family
	Spectraflame gold ranges from a pale, somewhat silvery gold to a rich saturated yellow gold tone. The differences seem to be primarily from dilution of the paint batch and thickness of application.
	I`m not aware of any special terms for different gold shades. Since there aren`t any really any major variations of hue (just of saturation, it seems), it generaly suffices to say "pale gold" or "rich yellow gold."
	Gold was used more or less continuously from 1968 to 1972. On the 1968-69 cars, the US formulation for gold often (but not always) has a grainy or slightly cloudy texture, whereas the HK formulation was usually very clear and bright.
	· Green Family
	Spectraflame green is usually a bright emerald green. Green has less shade variation than most Spectraflame colors.
	· Green: Usually transparent and bright, but cars with thick paint will appear to be a darker green and will have less metallic texture to their finish.
	· Blue-green: This rare variant is seen occasionally on early-production cars. This is a clear, watery shade which is noticeably more blue than the emerald greens, but much greener than Spectraflame Aqua. Blue-green cars often look like they`re sun-faded somewhat (although they usually aren`t) and the color may appear uneven or change quite a bit as lighting conditions change.
	Greens were used more or less continuously from 1968 to 1972.
	· · Ice Blue Family
	A pale, sometimes misty or smoky sky-blue, originally called Blue Fog (and sometimes referred to, rather confusingly, as Light Blue. The problem with this nomenclature is that it makes it unclear whether one is referring to a light shade of Spectraflame Blue or the completely unrelated Ice Blue). Ice blue cars can be very striking, but the paint is so pale that it doesn`t hide flaws as well as the more saturated colors.
	Some US-made ice blue cars have a cold purple cast to them, whereas other have more green in them and look almost like pale Aqua. Some early HK ice blue cars look very grey and foggy (hmm…).
	Ice Blue appears to have been used more or less continuously from 1968 to 1971; it`s unclear whether it was used in 1972. Ice Blue is not the most common color on any model.
	· · Lime Family
	This is a bright green, really more reminiscent of a Granny Smith apple than a lime, but that`s life! Lime is known to some collectors as Light Green (but this nomenclature presents the same problems as "light blue"). It`s usually very transparent-looking with a strong metallic texture.
	I`m not aware of any significant variations on lime which have distinctive names of their own. However, it is significant to note that this color was reformulated in 1970 and the difference between the first- and second-generation versions is quite pronounced. The first-generation formulation is rather more yellowy and also tends to look watery, with uneven color. The second-generation version is better-blended, sometimes with a slightly foggy texture but usually very even color.
	· · Lime Gold Family
	Lime Gold is, in general, a transparent yellow with a green cast to it. But it has very distinct variants of shade and texture, partly due to the 1970 color reformulations.
	· · Antifreeze Antifreeze is a lime-yellow color with a strong green cast and a satiny, non-transparent texture. It appears to have been created by adding some green pearl to the paint. Antifreeze lets you see through to the body, but it looks as though the metal has been brushed to a semi-matte finish.
	It has been argued that true antifreeze was made only in the US, and that a similar (but different-textured) shade called "lime bright" was as close as they ever came in the HK factory.
	Antifreeze (and lime bright, if you will) are first-generation colors and were not used after early 1970.
	· · Yellow Yellow is usually very transparent and may have just a hint of green. Yellow cars can look a lot like gold cars under certain lighting conditions, but if you put them side-by-side, the difference is usually obvious - the gold cars look a bit more orange, the yellow cars look more greenish.
	· Lime Gold is, in general, transparent and very similar to Yellow, but with a strong green cast to it.
	Lime Gold and Yellow are the second-generation successors to Antifreeze, and did not appear until late 1969 or early 1970.
	· · Magenta Family
	Magenta is, in general, a red and blue mixture with an emphasis on the red. Spectraflame magenta has an extremely wide range of variation, easily grouped into three distinctive shades.
	· Pink Rose can vary from a brilliant pink to a more saturated red-blue tone. Pink Rose cars are never dark, and usually the finish looks very transparent.
	Pink Rose was the only first-generation magenta and appears to have been used, at least intermittently, through 1972 (it`s well-known on various 1971-72 models).
	· Red Rose Rose is a deep, reddish color with a somewhat grainy texture and a great deal of apparent depth. Red Rose has enough blue to differentiate it from Spectraflame red, although sometimes a side-by-side comparison is necessary to make the difference obvious.
	· Magenta ("true magenta," to some collectors) is transparent but is much more saturated than the rose shades. Magenta cars can range from a boysenberry color to a deep black raspberry, and are often so saturated that they show metallic highlights only under direct light.
	Red Rose and Magenta are second-generation magenta shades. It is not obvious whether all three magentas were used simultaneously; it`s conceivable that Pink Rose was shelved and Red Rose was used only for a while, then Pink Rose was resurrected. (Perhaps because Red Rose and Magenta are too similar?)
	· Olive Family
	Spectraflame olive has a wide range of variation, both in hue and in texture.
	· Olive Green can be semi-matte or a distinctly military flat (Olive Drab). The main difference appears to be how thickly the paint was applied.
	Olive Green ia a first-generation color formulation and does not appear to have been used after 1969.
	· Golden Olive is a very liquid brownish-green (almost a mushroom color). It usually has a very transparent texture and a high shine. Under poor lighting conditions, golden olive can look a lot like pale Spectraflame gold.
· Ice Olive is a very pale shade with cold, metallic appearance and usually a very even color. In hue Ice Olive appears very similar to Olive Green, but usually Ice Olive has a very smooth texture, as if the paint is very thin.
Golden Olive and Ice Olive are second-generation color formulations and do not appear to have been used until 1970.
· · Orange Family
Spectraflame orange can be one of the brightest colors and can really stand out in a case or on a shelf. Orange doesn`t appear to have been changed much in the 1970 reformulations, but there are pronounced differences between US and HK orange paint jobs.
· Orange: US cars may range from a coppery red-orange (like a sunset) to a brilliant shade with strong yellow-gold highlights, creating a "sunshine" effect.
HK orange cars range from a coppery red-orange to a bright yellowy orange, similar to US "sunshine" orange but less saturated.
· Burnt Orange: This is a darker red-brown orange, produced ony in HK.
· Pink Family
The pinks have a very wide range of variation, mostly in differences between the first-generation (1968-69) and second-generation color formulas (1970-72).
· · Creamy Pink (originally called Lavender) has a satiny or oily sheen to it and is usually not very transparent. The purple highlights are less pronounced on some cars, replaced with redder highlights and sometimes known as "strawberry pink." Creamy pink was not used much in HK production, but when it was, it looked brighter and more saturated (sort of like Pepto-Bismol), more pink and less purple than the US version.
Creamy pink is a first-generation color only and was used only until late 1969 or early 1970.
· · Hot Pink is a very bright (almost retina-searing) iridescent pink, often with pronounced orange highlights. This effect appears to be produced by the addition of orange pearl to the paint mixture. Hot pink is usually very transparent, with a strong metallic texture.
Hot Pink is a second-generation color formulation and was not used until late 1969 or early 1970. In some ways, it appears to have been the successor to the first-generation magenta formulation Pink Rose (see the Magenta Family entry for details).
· Pale Pink (or Light Pink) is a subdued variation of Hot Pink, less iridescent and much less saturated. Light pink can look like a Hot Pink which has faded with age or sun exposure, but that`s not necessarily the case - some cars really did come from the factory as pale pink.
Pale Pink is a second-generation color formulation and was not used until late 1969 or early 1970.

· · Salmon is a bright shade which is a mixture of orange and pink. It has a narrow range of variation, really a matter of saturation. Cars with thicker paint look brighter, cars with thinner paint look more silvery and less saturated.
Salmon is a second-generation color formulation and was not used until late 1969 or early 1970. It`s unlikely that salmon was a deliberately-created distinct color; it may be the result of excess orange pearl collecting at the tail end of a pink paint batch.
· · Purple Family
Spectraflame purple is, in general, a (roughly) 50-50 mixture of blue and red. Purple can range from a light violet (usually the result of very light paint application) through a clear but very saturated medium purple, to an opaque deep purple (usually this effect is from very thick paint).
I`m not aware of any special terms for different purples, other than the addition of adjectives such as "deep" or "light." There do appear to be more light purple cars from Hong Kong than from the US, at least during early production.
· · Red Family
Spectraflame red is usually a brilliant candy-apple red, but there are many variations. The differences from US to HK production are more pronounced than are any changes from first- to second-generation color formulations.
· Red: US-made red cars are usually bright with strong golden highlights, creating a slightly orange effect. HK-made red cars usually look a little more pink- or peach-toned, by comparison.
· Brick Red: A smoky, somewhat brown darker red, often (but not always) with a dull finish. Brick red seems to come only from Hong Kong.
· Ruby Red: A deep, saturated red with a very transparent texture and a lot of depth. Also known as antique red, this appears to have been one of the colors used regularly on the 1969 Fire Chief Cruiser.
· Light Red: A very striking watermelon color, apparently the result of thin but brilliant paint. Light red cars generally have a semi-matte "anodized" look, although some are fairly shiny. Light red cars were produced both in the US and in Hong Kong.
Piecing the Puzzle Together: Model-Color Combos
The color set for 1968 and 1969 differs somewhat from the 1970-72 color set, as detailed in the preceding pages. The colors were reformulated starting in late 1969 or early 1970, and the distribution of colors changed somewhat.
Most collectors try to find their favorite cars in their favorite colors. But not all models were made in all of the colors, for reasons unknown. Obviously models which ran from 1968 or 1969 all the way through 1970 (or longer) might have shown up in any or all of the first- and second-generation colors. In general, most castings which were used only in 1968-69 appear only in the first-generation colors. But…
Clearly there was a transition period, and some models continued longer over the model year break than did others. For example, there were six castings (Custom Barracuda, Camaro, Cougar, Firebird, Mustang and T-Bird) which were discontinued after 1969 to be modified and re-released as the Spoilers (the Boss Hoss was used only in Hot Wheels club kits in 1970, then put into the regular line in 1971). A few of the original "customs" did appear in some second-generation colors; presumably there were cast bodies still awaiting paint and assembly when the second-generation colors were already in use. This accounts for Lime Gold Custom Camaros, Red Rose Custom Firebirds, etc.
Conversely, some of the new 1970 models were put into production early enough so that first-generation paints were still being used. This accounts for creamy pink Mod Quads and Bugeyes, etc.
A few general notes:
· The basic colors (aqua, blue, green, lime gold, red and purple) seem to have been used in roughly similar proportions across the reformulation.
· Gold and olive seem to have been used much less frequently after 1969. Ice blue virtually disappeared, and orange was confined largely to the Spoilers and Heavyweights series.
· Lime was used much more frequently after the reformulation, and hot pink seems to have been used more than creamy pink.
· Magenta shades were much more widely used after the 1970 reformulations. There are no 1968-69 models for which rose is the most common color, but there are a number of 1970-72 models for which magenta is the most common color. Most notable in this respect are some of the rarest and most desirable models (e.g., Olds 442 and Classic Cord).