About This Stamp
In 2018, the U.S. Postal Service® celebrated Hot Wheels, the iconic die-cast cars that for the last 50 years have ignited the imaginations of generations of children around the world. Today, kids and adults alike still play with and collect these outrageously speedy scale models.
The idea for Hot Wheels was formed in the late 1960s. Mattel co-founder Elliot Handler set out to create a toy car that looked cooler and performed better than anything else out there. Until that point, toy cars had often been tiny reproductions of models that lacked pizzazz and speed.
Handler enlisted Harry Bentley Bradley, who had been working as a car designer at General Motors, and Jack Ryan, a former Raytheon rocket scientist. Together, they changed how kids play with toy cars. Inspired by the rebellious spirit of his own striking, customized yellow Chevrolet El Camino, Bradley drew modified versions of the era’s most visually appealing hot rods, muscle cars, and one-of-a-kind show cars.
From Bradley’s plans came a new breed of toy car: mini speed demons with bulging engines. Translucent, candy-colored paint that Mattel dubbed Spectraflame was applied directly on the cars’ zinc alloy bodies to give them an eye-catching metallic look. An aggressive appearance was important, but the tiny vehicles also needed to function like their real-life counterparts. With that in mind, Ryan helped design and build toy cars that were both agile and fast. The vehicles were equipped with space-age, red-striped, friction-resistant plastic wheels and independent suspension.
When Handler saw his team’s first die-cast car rolling along the floor, he said, “Those are some hot wheels,” and the brand name was born. By early 1968, Hot Wheels already had begun selling out of stores. Mattel soon introduced its iconic orange tracks, which provided children unlimited ways to test out stunts and racing skills. Today, children and their parents still love racing the eye-poppingly colorful, lightning-fast cars.
Arranged in diagonal rows, the 20 stamps showcase photographer Len Rizzi’s images of 10 Hot Wheels® cars — two of each design — speeding along a bright orange track. Each stamp features the name of the vehicle shown in either the top left or top right corner and the words “USA” and “Forever” in either the bottom left or bottom right corner. The iconic curvy Hot Wheels logo appears in the top right corner of the pane. The back of the pane displays the Hot Wheels 50th anniversary logo.
The miniature speed demons depicted are:
First row (left to right):
The aptly named Purple Passion (1990), a super sleek metallic purple and green model. The car remains a favorite of collectors.
Equipped with a roof-mounted rocket, the Rocket-Bye-Baby (1971) is one of the most aggressive racers in Hot Wheels history.
Perfect for Halloween, the spooky Rigor Motor (1994) is a coffin-shaped hot rod that is powered by a huge engine adorned with two skulls.
A spectacularly powerful version of a classic muscle car, the Rodger Dodger (1974) has a giant engine bursting out of its hood.
With a twin turbo V6 hybrid engine and wide front air intakes built to look like a predatory fish, the Mach Speeder (2018) is a true 21st-century racer.
Second row (left to right):
The Twin Mill (1969) is one of the most iconic Hot Wheels cars of all-time. The speed machine features dual big-block engines.
The distinctive Bone Shaker (2006) is a hot rod with a fierce-looking skull for a grille. The car has a massive short-block engine made to rattle your bones.
The HW40 (2008), a car introduced to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Hot Wheels, features a jet turbine engine. The space-age vehicle features a futuristic glass hood.
The original surfboard-toting Deora (1968) was included in the very first Hot Wheels line. The souped up Deora II, showcased on the stamp, came out in 2000.
The Sharkruiser (1987) is a carnivore on wheels. The completely unique design features fins, a tail, a sharp-toothed grille, and a roaring V8 engine.
William J. Gicker was the project’s art director. Greg Breeding designed the stamps and was the typographer.
The Hot Wheels stamps were issued as Forever® stamps. These Forever stamps are always equal in value to the current First-Class Mail® one-ounce price.
Stamp Art Director
William Gicker
William Gicker served as Director of Stamp Services for the U.S. Postal Service from 2020 until his retirement in 2023. In that position he oversaw stamp development, stamp products and exhibitions, stamp manufacturing, stamp fulfillment, and the Postmaster General’s Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee (CSAC).
Gicker began working for the U.S. Postal Service in 1998. Initially assistant editor of USA Philatelic, the quarterly stamp catalog produced by Stamp Services, he soon became editor where he oversaw the catalog’s award-winning program until 2013.
Named creative director of stamps in 2001, Gicker became manager and creative director of Stamp Development in 2015. Working closely with Postal Service art directors and CSAC, he managed the creative development and quality control of more than 800 stamp issuances and 1,700 individual stamp designs.
He has served as art director for some of the most popular stamps issued by the Postal Service: the five-year Art of Disney series; Star Wars; Holy Family; Harry Potter; and Hot Wheels. As both art director and designer, Gicker lists among his many stamps, Holiday Baubles; the first international rate Global stamp in 2013; and the Gifts of Friendship joint issuance with Japan. He was also art director for the first stamp to celebrate Diwali, eight more Global Forever® stamps, and several Christmas Madonna and Child issuances, the most recent in 2024.
A native of Pennsylvania, Gicker graduated from West Chester University with a bachelor of arts degree in English Literature. He and his family live in Washington, DC.
Stamp Designer and Typographer
Greg Breeding
Greg Breeding is a graphic designer and principal of Journey Group, a design company he co-founded in 1992, located in Charlottesville, Virginia. He was creative director until 2013, at which time he began serving as president and continued in that role through 2023.
Breeding’s fascination with modernism began while studying design at Virginia Commonwealth University. His affinity with the movement continues and motivates his ongoing advanced studies at the Basel School of Design in Switzerland most every summer.
As an art director for postage stamp design since 2012, Breeding has designed more than 100 stamps covering a diverse array of subjects, from Star Wars droids and Batman to Harlem Renaissance writers and the transcontinental railroad.
His work has been recognized in annual design competitions held by Graphis, AIGA, PRINT magazine, and Communication Arts.
Breeding lives in North Garden, Virginia, with his wife and enjoys nothing so much as frolicking on the floor with his grandchildren.
Photographer
Len Rizzi
Len Rizzi has been a photographer in the Washington, D.C., area since the mid-1970s. He began his career in 1975 in the graphics department of a Post-Newsweek TV station. In 1980 he went out on his own and started a practice in commercial photography. Throughout the 1980s, he shot for advertising agency and editorial clients. He photographed most of President Reagan’s cabinet for editorial clients not only in the U.S., but also in Europe, Africa, and Asia. His commercial work was recognized for his use of a large-format (8x10) film camera and the excellent high-quality results achievable with this large film size.
One of the first photographers worldwide to make the transition to digital in 1991, today Rizzi shoots mostly digital, but still creates work with his original 8x10 camera.
Now retired, Rizzi lives in Bethesda, Maryland, and works from a small studio in his home where he continues to bring concepts to life for a few select clients.
The 2018 Hot Wheels stamps are his first project for the U.S. Postal Service®.