Like most of us, I have a pile of Hot Wheels and have always struggled to find a good way to display them. I tried keeping them in a shoe box, but couldn't see them. I tried keeping them on the floor, but kept stepping on them at night. I even tried keeping them on the kitchen table but Mrs Logdog kept yelling at me for making the Jeeps climb spaghetti mountains. So I needed a better solution.
I know there are all sorts of displays available but what's the fun in buying something. Plus they tend to be a little pricey. So I made a trip to Home Depot and walked the aisles.
I ended up with 3 pieces of 1/4 inch all Thread and 12 little hobby Boards (the ones by the dowel rods). I stopped by the TSC to buy a pound of nuts and washers. There was no way I was paying HD prices for hardware. All in I have about 30 bucks in material. Could have saved a bit by buying a thicker board and ripping it down, but I was lazy.
The dog rode to the store but as usual, when it came time to work, she wanted no part of it.
I drilled a hole in each end and one in the center. I really need to pick up a drill press.
After drilling the holes I lightly sanded each one and then painted the boards black.
After they dried I started assembly. I used a roll of duct tape as a spacer.
I took the project inside so I could watch the Browns game. It was a little tedious running all the hardware down the all thread. The game was a little tedious too!
Here it is all finished, mounted to the wall, and with some cars on it. I dig the look. The cars stay in place pretty good. If they start to move or become cat toys I may put a little piece of tape on the bottom of each car.
I also found this interesting mushroom house at HD
I love it! Now it just needs an acrylic door to keep the dust out. 
We need to come up with a good, cheap, DIY solution to ones still on the cards.
Maybe I should put this in the score thread, but this is my new favorite. I picked it up this weekend.
Why wouldn't this work for ones on cards? Just tuck the card behind the shelf above the car, or space them further apart if you want to see the card.
Ive always been an impatient 5 year old with Hot Wheels so they don't tend to stay in the package too long after leaving the store. If I was going to display ones in the package, I would make the shelves farther apart and maybe space the it off the wall a hair so the bottom lip of the package would fit between the board and the wall.
I mounted this to the wall very tight. I installed some drywall anchors with screws and made hangers out of pieces of wire. Using a couple washers as spacers, I think it would still be tight, but allow enough room for the package bottom.
