Hot Wheels: Kroger/Ralphs Exclusives

Okay racers, welcome to another diecast feature. For today's post, I'm going to be sharing two of the three Kroger/Ralphs exclusives, that I was able to find. Sadly I wasn't able to get my hands on the silver Porsche. However, after seeing pictures of it, I kind of don't care for it. This is due to me liking the yellow release, with it's black lace wheels more. At the end of the day, I'm just glad that I was able to add two of the ones that I wanted to the boulevard. With that said, let's jump right into today's diecast feature.

You know the slogan, ''It's not the same without the flame,'' and that's definitely the case with the Hot Wheels Custom Ford Maverick. This exclusive release, was given a wild color scheme, and I love each and every one of it's aspects. Like matte, I love when Hot Wheels releases a model with a satin finish, which is the finish this release has. And I must say, this Maverick looks spectacular with the satin light blue that was used.

As a whole, the design's colors created one eye catching Ford Maverick, and it's all thanks to this design having three color sections. The main section of these flames is black. After that, a burnt orange was used. Finishing off theses flames, is the yellow outline. Like the black release, this too features the Hot Wheels logo finished with the last color that was used used for the flame design.

There are two additional aspects, that contributed to how cool this release is for me. The first of those, is the windshield plastic. The Hot Wheels designers decided to use yellow, which goes along with the design nicely. The last aspect that I like are the wheels. Like the first release, this too has the Hot Wheels PR5s. This time, they chose to make them black and yellow, which also goes nicely with the design's colors.

The '76 Greenwood Corvette, is the one that I wanted the most. Before I get to the main aspects of the release that I like, there is one detail this model features that I really like. In a past post, I made mention of how I got the turquoise recolor of this release, because of the updated Michelin decal. With the initial gold release, the Michelin decal didn't feature the Michelin Man. This was changed with the turquoise release. With that said, I'm happy to see how this releases also features the Michelin decal with their company character. Okay... now that I got the decal out of the way, it's time for me to go over the next aspects that I like.

Though not a flashy color like the first two releases, I do like how this model was finished in gloss white. The main reason for that, has to do with the colors that were used for the stripe design. In a way, this model has a patriotic look with it's red, silver, and blue stripes. For this releases wheels, the Hot Wheels team used their MC5s. As an adult, I would've preferred for this to have chrome lace wheels, which in my opinion, would've gave this model a completed race look. However... a child might find black wheels with a red lip cool, as it goes with the red stripe. And let's not forget, that these are toys designed with children in mind.

I have a few final thoughts on both of these. With the Custom Ford Maverick, I have to say, that I still like the black release just a tad bit more. But that's just because it has more of a realistic appearance. In other words, it's what you might see actually driving around. With the exclusive release, it's colors make it a great looking toy, and one that a child might really enjoy. With the Greenwood Corvette, this exclusive release is now my favorite among the three. And no, it's not because if it's exclusivity, it's all because of the overall color scheme.

Okay racers, before you get back to racing, I want to know how you feel about these Kroger/Ralphs exclusive releases. Also, were you able to find all four? If so, go ahead and let me know down in the comments section. Okay everyone, back to racing! Until next time, thanks for reading and happy collecting!