Maelstrom

Description[]

The origins of the Maelstrom started in 2001 when Hot Wheels Director Of Design Nathan Proch, gave Fraser Campbell a design brief to create the ultimate vehicle for the European Hot Wheels market. Hailing from the United Kingdom himself, this was Fraser's first vehicle attempt for the Hot Wheels basic line. His first idea was to have the engines up front and the cockpit over the rear wheels. There was a concern however that it beared too much resemblance to the existing Twin Mill and Twin Mill II castings, so a change was needed. Back at the drawing board and wanting to keep the elements of "big engines, big power, and big attitude", Fraser continued to toss the layout of his design around. Eventually, his final forward cockpit and mid-engined design made it into production as 2001 First Edition car called the Maelstrom. The Maelstrom has been said by some to resemble the Hairy Hauler or the Vulture. It also tends to bear some similarities to the Vector M12.

It is playable in Hot Wheels: Burnin' Rubber, Velocity X and Unleashed 2.

Versions[]

The Maelstrom has been released in the following 1/64 scale versions:

Col #	Year	Series	Color	Tampo	Base Color / Type	Window Color	Interior Color	Wheel Type	Toy #	Country	Notes
024	2001	2001 First Editions 12/36	Dark Blue	Grey Flames	Chrome / Plastic	Tinted	Chrome	3SP	28754	Malaysia	Playable in Hot Wheels Burnin' Rubber and Velocity X
233	2001	Mainline	Neon Yellow	Orange Flames	Black / Plastic	Black	Chrome	5DOT	53762	Malaysia
	2002	Crash Curve	White	Grey Flames	Chrome / Plastic	Tinted	Chrome	3SP	69554	Malaysia
	2002	Metro City Police	Red	Grey Flames	Chrome / Plastic	Tinted	Chrome	3SP	89090	Malaysia
	2002	Pavement Pounders	Black	Grey Flames	Chrome / Plastic	Tinted	Chrome	3SP	89043	Malaysia	Came with Tilt Cab
	2002	Power Launcher	Yellow	Black Flames on Front, Black Lines on Sides, Silver HW Logo only on Right Side	Black / Plastic	Tinted	Chrome	PR5	47378	Malaysia
221	2002	Mainline	Silver	Octopus design	Red Chrome / Plastic	Red	Red Chrome	PR5	54436	Thailand
	2002	Hot Wheels Originals	Black & Chrome	Red, Blue Stripes	Black / Plastic	Tinted	Chrome	PC5	56026	Malaysia	Target Exclusive
	2002	Toy Fair	Red, White, Blue	Stars, Flame Outline, "Toy Fair 2002"	Chrome / Plastic	Light Blue	Chrome	PR5		Malaysia	2500 produced Palm Desert Toy Fair Exclusive
	2002	Octoblast 5-Pack	Silver	Octopus design	Red Chrome / Plastic	Red	Red Chrome	PR5	54435	Thailand
	2003	Cop Squad 5-Pack	Red-Orange	Bomb Squad designs	Black / Plastic	Tinted	Chrome	SB	57042	China,Thailand
								PR5
								5SP
	2004	Mutant Biotronic Kingdom Set	Purple	Mantis design	Black / Plastic	Orange	Chrome	PR5	C4560	Thailand
	2004	Zero-G 5-Pack	Metalflake Light Blue	Circuit Board designs	Black / Plastic	Light Blue	Chrome	PR5	B3589	China
149	2005	Mainline	Black	Red Flames	Red / Plastic	Red	Chrome	5SP	H9057	Thailand
149	2005	Mainline	Black	Red Flames	Red / Plastic	Red	Chrome	PR5	H9057	Thailand
149	2005	Mainline	Black	Red Flames	Red / Plastic	Red	Chrome	PR5	H9057	Malaysia
	2005	2X Power Launcher	Blue	HW Logo & Flames	Black / Plastic	Light Orange	Gold	PR5	H6996	China
	2005	Toys 'R Us Track Set	Flat Neon Yellow	Flames	Chrome / Plastic	Tinted	Silver	PR5	H7047	China	VHTF Short Run
	2006	Crazy Croc 5-Pack	Teal	Swamp Rocket designs	Black / Plastic	Green	Chrome	5SP	J3294	China
	2006	Crazy Croc 5-Pack	Teal	Swamp Rocket designs	Black / Plastic	Green	Chrome	OH5	J3294	China
	2006	X-Pandables: Pizza Palace	Teal	Swamp Rocket designs	Black / Plastic	Green	Chrome	5SP	J2549	China
	2007	Quickshot Launcher	Silver	Flame designs, "06"	Red Chrome / Plastic	Red	Chrome	3SP	J2560	China
094/196	2008	Web Trading Cars 18/24	Red	Orange, Yellow & Blue designs	Black / Plastic	Blue	Silver	PR5	M6996	Malaysia	Base code(s):
094/196	2008	Web Trading Cars 18/24	Purple	Orange, Yellow & Green designs	Black / Plastic	Green	Silver	PR5	M6996	Malaysia	Base code(s): A33, A42
	2008	Crash Curve	Flat Light Blue	Brighter Circuit Board designs	Black / Plastic	Light Blue	Chrome	PR5	H6291	Thailand	Base code(s):
	2008	G-Force	Darker Teal	Swamp Rocket designs	Black / Plastic	Green	Chrome	5SP	M1018	Thailand	Base code(s):
	2008	Black Friday 10-Pack	Dark Blue	HW Logo & Flames	Black / Plastic	Orange	Gold	PR5	N8256	Thailand	Wal-Mart Exclusives Base code(s):
	2012	Multipack Exclusive	Gray	Orange, Yellow & Blue designs	Blue / Plastic	Light Blue	Gold	PR5	54886	Malaysia	Base code(s):
	2012	Multipack Exclusive	White	Red, Teal& Blue designs	Blue / Plastic	Red	Gold	PR5	54886	Malaysia	New Base Text Style Base code(s):
	2013	Mystery Models 12/12	Orange	Orange, Teal & Blue designs	Blue / Plastic	Light Blue	Gold	PR5	Y8135	Malaysia	Base code(s):
	2014	High Speed Racing Wheels 9/25	Metalflake Maroon	Black, Blue, Red, & White stripes & tampos on top and sides, "51" on hood and sides, White skull on rear wheels	Tinted / Plastic	Dark Blue	Chrome	Red & Blue HSRW	BDW30	Malaysia	Base code(s): F51
	2015	Track Aces 5-Pack	Dark Blue	White & Blue designs	Yellow / Plastic	Clear	Chrome	PR5	CDT20	Thailand	Base code(s):
	2016	Special Edition 4/4	Lime Green	White & blue Stripes, 68 on side	White / Plastic	Clear	Chrome	PR5	DLH90	Thailand	Kroger Exclusive Base code(s):
	2016	Mystery Models 11/12	Green	White & blue Stripes, 68 on side	White / Plastic	Clear	Chrome	PR5		Malaysia	Canada Exclusive Base code(s):
	2017	HW Easter 6/6	Green	Dark purple, yellow & white stripes on sides, 'Easter' '2017' on sides.	Yellow / Plastic	Tinted (Pink)	Chrome	purple & yellow OH5	DWC04	Thailand	Base code(s): J49

2008 card[]

From the back of the 2008 card:

Born: 2001
Birthplace: El Segundo, CA, USA
Designer: Hot Wheels^®
Specialty: With twin engines, top and side exhausts, and a mid-body scoop, this car was made to attack from all sides.