May 1, 2001 

The Latest Rear Loading Beach Bomb found in Hot Pink !

The latest in a very short list of Rear Loading Beach Bombs was found a little over a week ago, this one in one of the rarest colors ever found, Hot Pink. 

The only other Hot Pink Rear Loading Beach Bomb (RLBB 1) found is the one purchased by Bruce Pascal in recent years. He purchased it from Chris Marshall, who originally purchased it,  along with many other never-before-seen prototypes and pre-production models from a (former) Mattel employee.  

Before purchasing the First Pink Beach Bomb, (RLBB 1) Bruce did a tremendous amount of research in determining it's authenticity and validating it's origins. He went so far as to contact the original owner of the RLBB 1 and received letters of authenticity from the original owner, documenting the car's history and provenance. 

Satisfied with the car's authenticity, after these interviews and meetings with people involved in the design of the RLBB, he went ahead with the purchase, paying a record amount for the RLBB 1. (actual price has never been disclosed or published, but the original asking price was $72,000 - rumor is that it sold for less)

Since purchasing the RLBB 1, Bruce has made an extraordinary effort to continue to authenticate the car, especially since some collectors, and even one high-visibility "authority" have disputed the car's authenticity. Bruce's efforts included doing a tremendous amount of investigative work, including contacting former employees, looking up retirement rosters, older Mattel newsletters and using a referral approach to track down someone, anyone, who could verify that the car existed and why it existed. 

In Bruce's constant search for more information about his Pink RLBB, he made contact with a retired Mattel employee living in Southern California. This gentleman, a former Liaison Engineer involved in Production and Research and Development, told Bruce over the phone that he had a collection of cars from the years he worked at Mattel and one of them was a Beach Bomb. After a few questions about the cars, Bruce determined that several of the cars were Pre-Production or Prototype cars and Bruce also determined that the Beach Bomb was a Rear Loading Beach Bomb.

The retired Engineer told Bruce that the Beach Bomb was Pink, at which point Bruce figured it must be Rose or Magenta or some other color. Here's a letter from the retired Engineer:

please click on the letter

Bruce purchased the collection and when the package arrived, he was in utter disbelief as he opened the package to reveal a Hot Pink Beach Bomb! (RLBB 2)

The ironic thing about this is that the original Pink Beach Bomb (RLBB 1) was originally purchased from a Liaison Engineer, also. 

Since purchasing the original Hot Pink Beach Bomb (RLBB 1), Bruce has always believed that there must be more, even if only a few more, in existence. The letter discloses that there were probably 200 "engineering pilots" produced. This find, along with the original RLBB 1 is another historic find in the world of Redline Hot Wheels! 

In the photos that follow, you'll see the two Beach Bombs in side by side comparisons. The RLBB 1 has a transition base which is the actual production-model base (wider) and the RLBB body (skinnier). The new Beach Bomb (RLBB 2) has the correct base and body, as well as other characteristics of RLBB, clear windshield glass, rear-loading interior slots for the surfboards, smaller sunroof and other casting characteristics seen in RLBBs.

Dave Espino is the owner/operator of Redlines Online Website.