Bywayman / Power Plower (Piranha Livery) – Hot Wheels Model
Here we have another model from the depths of my toy box. Unfortunately for this model I don’t have many great memories of playing with it nicely – it was always considered a rough play car which meant it spent many days in the garden. However with this considered the little truck’s paintwork has held up remarkably well with the only issue being that both axles are buckled.
This is the first fantasy model that I have covered here on the website, however it is clearly based on a 1970s Chevrolet C/K truck. The odd thing about this model is that the baseplate has no name printed on it – just Hot Wheels (C) Mattel Inc. 1977 Malaysia – however through the wonders of the internet I have managed to work out that this is a Bywayman or Race Truck or Power Plower. I feel that it might be more the latter as it was apparently released in 2000 as part of the Attack Pack Series. This is contrary to my first assumption that this model might be a promotional ‘freebie’ due to the lack of name plate.
The first thing I always notice with this model is how heavy it is – with a die-cast body and base this model is no spring chicken. The base is a general dull silver colour but this doesn’t obscure any of the finer details along the front.
Details on this model are concentrated to the front and the bed, with a very faint tail-light outline present on the rear of the truck bed. The front grille is nicely moulded with clear headlamps, bull-bar and a winch. The detail in the sickly orange plastic bed includes a very basic mould of a light bar and spare tyre.
The model has a clear glass windshield, sunroof and rear window – which give visibility to the lacklustre interior which contains just two simple chairs in the same sickly orange colour as the bed. This is a shame as there is so much light let into the cabin with this model.
I think one of the reasons I always disregarded this model as a child was because I absolutely hated the colour scheme. I don’t have anything against the colour purple, but the dark purple here offset with the sickly orange plastic (that reminds me of cheap Halloween cakes) just turns my stomach.
The base is attached with one rivet to the front of the model, with a clip holding the rear of the car together. The underside is reasonably well detailed with moulds of the drive-train visible.
Four wheels are present on the model and spin freely on their axles, they adopt the HW ORSB design which give a nice chunky off-road aesthetic to the vehicle. The axles are set low in the base to give the model some ground clearance – however there is no suspension present so the axles are prone to being bent – which is the fate for my model.
The quality of my model is not terrible – the paint work has held up well but the base shows some signs of corrosion. Both axles are very bent and the model barely moves under its own weight. Taking this into consideration it is likely the truck will be dismantled, the body resprayed and wheels removed to be used as part of a diorama.
Model Status – In Collection 
Model Details
| Model Manufacturer | Hot Wheels |
| Model Scale | 1/64 (?) |
| Year of Manufacture/Copyright | 1977 (Copyright) 2000 (Release) |
| Country of Manufacture | Malaysia |
| Model of | Chevrolet C/K Truck |
| Identifiers | No identifiers |
| Variant/Speciality | Piranha variant |
| Colour | Purple |
| Decals | Piranha |
| Feature | No feature |
| Body Material | Die-cast metal |
| Base Material | Metal |
| Base Colour | Silver |
| Interior Material | Plastic |
| Interior Colour | Orange |
| Glass Colour | Clear |
| Wheel Material/Style | Plastic/HW ORSB |
| Suspension | No |
