#8 & #9 a tale of two

As you know, I was able to get the Hot Wheels Gulf Ford GT-40 from GameStop. That made me want to stop and take a look at the Matchbox version. Both brands have released a Gulf Racing GT-40. Lets start with the Hot Wheels version.

The Hot Wheels one is the #8. It has the real life sponsor decals of Firestone and Autolite. The paint is gloss. The stripe is only on the top, and does not wrap around the front. The decal placement is a little off though. The Gulf decal on the back, is supposed to be on the front. The Firestone decal on the front should be where the Gulf and HotWheels decals are. The Gulf decal below the Hot Wheels decal should be on the door. Those details aren't that important for me though. Next lets take a look at the Matchbox version.

The Matchbox one is the #9, and it also has the real life sponsor decals. The paint on this one is flat. Unlike the #8, this one has a stripe that wraps around the front. Although for some reason, Matchbox chose not to paint the front half of the bumper. The decal placement is better than the Hot Wheels release. The Gulf logo on the door has the checkered flag behind it. Matchbox also included the Koni sponsor decal. Lets see them together.

The Hot Wheels casting does appear to be a little wider. Matchbox included some details on the back of the car. All in all, I really like both. Where one is bad in one aspect, the other one makes up for it. For example, the Hot Wheels casting has side rear view mirrors, while the Matcbox one doesn't. So are you driving the #8 or the #9? As always, happy collecting!