Grass Hopper

Description[]

The Grass Hopper is a Hot Wheels casting designed by Larry Wood which debuted in the 1971 Hot Wheels range of vehicles. It is based on the tried & true Willys MB US Army Jeep. It is a modified 'hot-rodded' version with not one, but two blown V8 engines. One in the front and one in the rear bed. It features a removable white plastic roof and an assortment of tools cast into the side of the vehicle: pick, shovel, canteen, gas can, tool box etc.

Its initial release was only manufactured at the USA production facility and all came with a black interior and a light-gray tinted glass. It came packaged with a metal or plastic 'Collector's Button'.

It was painted in a variety of Spectraflame colors. Due to shade differences in the Spectraflame painting process, the existence of Spectraflame Olive and Spectraflame Brown versions receive skepticism by collectors. It is unknown whether they are separate colors rather than darker shades of Spectraflame Yellow and Spectraflame Red.

In 1974, the Grass Hopper was re-tooled without the second rear engine and removable roof, and in 1975 it was re-tooled again without any engines. Both the 1974 and 1975 versions also had the tools removed. The 1975 version was released in Italy by Mebetoys in a small cardboard box.

In 1975, a modified version was released called the Gun Slinger. This vehicle was modeled after the 1975 version with no blown motors, except this time it had an enormous machine gun mounted in the rear.

The Grass Hopper was re-tooled and re-released in 2010 for the HotWheelsCollectors.com Series 9 Neo Classics. It was modeled after the 1974 version with only one motor and renamed 'Mountain Goat'.

Grass Hopper Description[]

The Grass Hopper released in 1974 is a reissue of the cast Grass Hopper (1971), with major changes. The Cast lost the rear motor and canvas canopy, released in Enamel paint and with a large motor in front. A major change to the body removing all of the miner's tools that were part of the old body and Tampo's were added to the sides . Odd history with all that retooling of the casting. The very next year was the last we would see of the Grass Hopper, not before another casting change with the loss of the front motor. Aww but what other cast shows up in the line up? The Gun Slinger without the motor.

The blister pack for 1974 was changed to a white back ground with cars (Baja Breaker,Heavy Chevy & P-917) Flying off the card. The Card itself was 7" x 4.5"

Gun Slinger Description[]

The casting of this Gun Slinger is very similar to the casting for the Grass Hopper of 1971. The chief differences being that this model omits the hole in the hood for a blown engine to show through like it did in the earlier vehicle and the windshield is now just a frame and part of the interior piece. It has a huge, swivelling gun mounted in the rear and sticking out well past the front of the vehicle.

1971 Versions[]

The Grass Hopper has come out in the following 1/64 scale versions:

Year	Series	Color	Base Color / Type	Window Color	Interior Color	Wheel Type	Toy #	Country	Notes / Variations
1971	1971 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame Light Blue	ZAMAC	Tinted (Black)	Black	RL	6461	USA	Hard to Find
1971	1971 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame Blue	ZAMAC	Tinted (Black)	Black	RL	6461	USA
1971	1971 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame Aqua	ZAMAC	Tinted (Black)	Black	RL	6461	USA
1971	1971 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame Green	ZAMAC	Tinted (Black)	Black	RL	6461	USA
1971	1971 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame Light 'Apple' Green	ZAMAC	Tinted (Black)	Black	RL	6461	USA
1971	1971 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame Olive	ZAMAC	Tinted (Black)	Black	RL	6461	USA	Speculative
1971	1971 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame Yellow	ZAMAC	Smoke tint	Black	RL	6461	USA
1971	1971 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame Red	ZAMAC	Tinted (Black)	Black	RL	6461	USA
1971	1971 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame Rose	ZAMAC	Tinted (Black)	Black	RL	6461	USA
1971	1971 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame Pink	ZAMAC	Tinted (Black)	Black	RL	6461	USA
1971	1971 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame Salmon	ZAMAC	Tinted (Black)	Black	RL	6461	USA
1971	1971 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame Purple	ZAMAC	Tinted (Black)	Black	RL	6461	USA
1971	1971 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame Magenta	ZAMAC	Tinted (Black)	Black	RL	6461	USA
1971	1971 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame Brown	ZAMAC	Tinted (Black)	Black	RL	6461	USA	Speculative
1971	1971 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame Yellow	ZAMAC	Tinted (Black)	Black	RL	6461	USA

Grass Hopper Versions[]

The Grass Hopper has come out in the following 1/64 scale versions:

Year	Series	Color	Tampo	Base Color / Type	Window Color	Interior Color	Wheel Type	Toy #	Country	Notes / Variations	Photo
1974	Flying Colors	Enamel Light Green	Orange Stripe with 'Grass Hoppper' on side	ZAMAC	Tinted (Blue)	Black	RL	7622	Hong Kong
1975	Flying Colors	Enamel Light Green	Orange Stripe with 'Grass Hoppper' on side	Black / Plastic	Tinted (Blue)	Black	RL	7622	Hong Kong

Gun Slinger Versions[]

The Gun Slinger has come out in the following versions:

Year	Series	Color	Tampo	Base Color / Type	Window Color	Interior Color	Wheel Type	Toy #	Country	Notes / Variations
1975	Flying Colors	Olive	White "Army" tampo on hood	Black / Plastic	N/A	Black	RL	7664	Hong Kong	No clip on windshield for gun
1976	Flying Colors	Olive	White "Army" tampo on hood	Black / Plastic	N/A	Black	RL	7664	Hong Kong	Clip on windshield to hold gun
1977	Flying Colors #29	Olive	White "Army" tampo on hood	Black / Plastic	N/A	Black	BW	7664	Hong Kong	Clip on windshield to hold gun

2010 Re-tooled 'Mountain Goat' Versions[]

The Mountain Goat has come out in the following 1/64 scale versions:

Year	Series	Color	Tampo	Base Color / Type	Window Color	Interior Color	Wheel Type	Toy #	Country	Notes / Variations	Photo
2010	HWC Series 9 - Neo-Classics 2/6	Spectraflame Antifreeze	Light green pinstriping, "Mountain Goat", & goat head on sides, "JEEP" on rear, "BYE♥YALL" on rear California license plate	Chrome / Metal	Tinted (Blue)	Black	NCRL	R8393	Thailand	5,000 produced Base code(s): C10