| Hot Wheels is not just about cars, but also produces otherworldly and weird vehicles that some might not comprehend the concept that only kids would understand. In those early days of the brand’s life, they were popular with bright colours that broke the traditional way diecast cars were made similar to their real-life counterparts.
To expand and continue to be on top in keeping their relevance in the toy aisle they also have to make other types of vehicles, and in the early days, one of them was not even in four wheels, but has given kids the imagination to fly. In 1990 Hot Wheels introduced the Propper Chopper, a play on words designed by the great Larry Wood. It might not have the same popularity as a Corvette or a Mustang but it took flight and had a follwoing for longtime collectors. |
The Propper Chopper is a Hot Wheels original, and some called it generic for not being a licensed helicopter. But with the features of a standard new chopper with spinning blades, it’s rare for anyone who collects cars would even care to notice its relevance to the Hot Wheels brand that became part of the idea that they’re not just producing cars, but also airplanes, boats, and even helicopters.
For those not keeping track, the Propper Chopper would be twenty-four years old as it has been produced since 1990. But over those years you think the casting would stay the same? Unfortunately, with the cost of materials changing they have to retool it as the original has a retractable tail and folding blades.
In the last six years, the Propper Chopper was pretty much absent from the mainline, and the last time it was produced was in 2017. Before that, it was retooled in 2015 that made some changes by making the tail permanent and no longer retractable while the rotor blades no longer fold together. For those who have grown up with the Propper Chopper some had thought that Hot Wheels would discontinue this casting and the release was it.
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Return for another Flight
Surprisingly, the Proper Chopper made its return in 2024 that’s a 7-year gap from its last release. It's not like an old casting of a Honda or Nissan would be sought after, but the return is welcome news since having one, which was a 2015 version that I found in a dumpster on the way to school while living in Adelaide would get me interested in a Hot Wheels generic that nobody cared.
This 2024 goes back to its roots of being introduced as a News TV Chopper, and not an aerial rescue vehicle. The deco/livery shows a large “68” tampo that is from HW Sky News with a tiny “Hot Wheels” badge on both sides. The body is painted yellow while the base/interior is blue plastic. The rotor blades are cast in black plastic permanently no longer folding as they are now in one piece.
It’s a design that aged quite well for something that originally debuted in the 1990s with minor changes to fit with the budget cost while at the same time retaining that helicopter functions of the rotor blade still a moving part.
Giving you Aerial Views
The latest iteration of the Propper Chopper is not like you can get two or three per case, but it is quite a hunt if you want to get one. It’s not like it’s uncommon, but it sure looks like you can only find this one in a case where it was part of the assortment. It is not a popular casting for someone who collects licensed cars, but sometimes you have to add a variety of machines if you’re not only into land vehicles.
It’s rare for Hot Wheels to produce vehicles like boats or planes as the most recent ones are purely made out of fiction whereas the Propper Chopper has a silhouette of a Bell Helicopter to avoid having those signature looks to pay for the license the Hot Wheels team made sure it would still be a realistic depiction of a known helicopter.
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