The Oshkosh Snowplow– 1983 to Present

From model train layouts to playing in the sandbox, the Oshkosh Snowplow has been a popular casting for many different types of small-scale collectors. Hot Wheels released its first rendition in 1983 as part of its Workhorses series of vehicles, and it has continued to produce it to this day in many different variations.

- MIKE ZARNOCK

Hot Wheels original casting of the Oshkosh was done in three separate parts. First was the hood, interior and the four fenders as one piece, then cab and sander box together as another, and the chassis as the third piece. The front V-Plow is molded in orange plastic. The body pieces were all painted in bright orange enamel and riveted onto an unpainted metal Hong Kong chassis rolling on all large construction tires with wheel centers painted orange. The country origin on the chassis was later changed to Malaysia.

For the 1984 season Hot Wheels released it again as part of the “Extras” series. Extras were vehicles that had an extra part available to attach. For the Oshkosh, it is its large front V-Plow blade, which incidentally, has always been included in the package. There is also a little-known variation to the Extras Oshkosh with chrome wheel centers of the construction tires. The card is also marked “New Model” whereas the orange wheeled trucks have “Moving Part” labeled on the card. This one is quite rare and won’t ever show up on an orange one again.