Starting this feature off right, is the white Custom V-8 Vega. I won't lie, this is the main one that I wanted from this second assortment. And it all has to do with the stripe designs featured on it's sides. In total, there are two different designs. The main one starts after the front wheel arch, and finishes on this car's quarter panel. What I like about it, is how it features three great colors. Orange, red, and black, combined flawlessly to make a design that is straight out of the '70s. The second design, is a thin orange stripe, that starts on the front half of the fender. It then continues along the top of fender to ultimately finish on the door.
Another aspect that I like about this Vega release, is how it's Hot Ones wheels are gold. This wheel color, complements the overall theme on this model's exterior nicely. Continuing with the flashiness of this model, is the interior. For this release, Hot Wheels made the interior red. This for me, livens up this release even more. The top of this Vega doesn't feature any design, which is fine by me. I mean... it's not as if this release needed a design on it's top anyways, as the side stripes are good enough.
Up next, is the '96 Nissan 180SX Type X. After the Vega, this is the second one that I wanted the most. And no, it's not because it's a JDM. The main reason that I wanted it, was due to it's color, which is a nice metal flake purple. Before this release, there were eight other 180SX releases from Hot Wheels. One of which, was a premium. Three of those releases were black, two of them were white, the initial one as well as the Forza one was red, and the HW Race Team one was blue. If you look at these releases, you'll notice how black is currently the most used color for this casting. With that said, it's nice to see one with a color that hasn't been used before.
The HO wheels, are another reason that I wanted this 180SX. Just like the Hot Wheels DD8 wheels, there are certain Hot Wheels models, that I feel would look great with these Hot Ones wheels. And this 180SX is one of them. At the end of the day, it's nice to see newer castings with some of the older Hot Wheels wheels. For this releases interior, Hot Wheels decided to go bold by making it yellow. Though wild, this is a very good thing for this casting, especially if it's intended to be a show car.
Despite being simple, I really like the design that is featured on this 180SX. Along it's sides, are three stripes that start after the front wheel arch, and end on the door. The top strip is green, the middle one is yellow, and the bottom one is white. Another thing that I like about these side stripes, is how they aren't the same length. The green stripe is the longest, with the yellow one being nowhere near as long. The white one is ultimately the shortest of the three. Underneath the green stripe, is a yellow 180SX decal. Finishing off the sides is a green Hot Wheels decal on it's quarter panel.
The top of this release features the stripe design from it's sides. On it's hood, the stripes are done in a similar fashion to how they are done on this model's sides. In other words, the green stripe is the longest, the yellow stripe is shorter, and the white stripe is even shorter. However... there is one difference with the white stripe on it's top. Instead of just being on the hood, the white stripes continue onto this model's roof. The other two stripes are only on the hood.
The Volkswagen Caddy is up next, and it is one heck of a nice looking model. I really like the shade of green that was used for this release's exterior. I also like how it was given a yellow interior. This for me, further completes that ''Flying Customs'' look. Like the 180SX, this is another newer Hot Wheels casting that feel looks great with the older Hot Ones wheels. But these aspects aren't what I like the most. The best aspect for me, is the stripe design.
Along the top half of its sides, is a simple green design that's outlined in a dark green. As a whole, this design is separated into three sections. The first section starts just after the front fender flares, and ends before the door handle. The second section stars after the door and ends before the rear fender flare. After the rear fender flare, is where the last of the three sections is. Paced on top of this section, is a dark green Hot Wheels logo.
Along the lower half of this models sides, is the second design. This one is a simple rectangle that was placed in-between the front and rear wheel arch. This is another of of those triple colored designs that I like. This rectangle like design, features three different shades of green, and the first two lighter shades are outlined in dark green. The dark green is ultimately the third and final color in the center of the design. Completing this model off nicely, is the hood, which received the stripe theme from it's sides. The center part of the hood features the rectangle design. And next to it, are simple green stripes that are outline in dark green.
It seems like each Flying Customs assortment, will feature one Hot Wheels original casting. With the first one, it was the Audacious, which I chose not to get. With this second assortment, it is the mighty BLVD. Bruiser. To this day, this remains to be one of my favorite fantasy castings from Hot Wheels. As such, I would've gotten this release regardless of how it looked. But I must say, this release of it looks spectacular. I only wish that it had featured the Hot Ones wheels instead of the 5SPs. This casting's interior, is the only reason that I don't mind the wheel choice. The interior of this casting, features a spare wheel in the back. This wheel design is the the same as the 5SPs.
Overall, this release is sporting a racing theme, and I love how wild the design is. The side design basically created a two tone like paint job, that also has two stripes above it. The first stripe is yellow with a blue outline, and the second stripe is white with a blue outline separating it from the yellow one. The rest of the car below these stripes is dark blue. The main aspect that I like about the design, is the reverse S-curve section, that is just before the rear wheel arch. On top of this design, is a red number 20 that has two outlines. Directly outlining the numbers is a white outline, and after that, it's a dark blue outline. The sides also feature realistic looking fantasy decals, which includes a Hot Wheels logo. All of these help to complete that racing look.
Both the hood and roof of this model received tampo details. The center section of the hood, features a dark blue section, which matches the sides. The only difference being, that it isn't outlined by the stripes. Instead, the stripes are off to the sides of it. Like the sides, these hood stripes feature the S-curve as well, except they aren't reversed like the ones of the sides. Both sides of the roof were given the words ''HOT WHEELS '' in yellow, and in-between them, is the racing number. One thing that I found interesting, is how the designers changed the racing number's color to yellow. And instead of featuring two outlines, it only features one wide yellow outline. Now don't get me wrong, I have no issue with this color change.
The 2015 Ford Mustang GT is the next car from this set. Despite being released in this Flying Customs set, I really like how subtle this release is overall. Starting with the paint. this Mustang was finished in a cool grey. In my opinion, car's don't always have to have flashy colors to be cool. And personally, this grey mustang looks just as good as a blue one. Additionally, this shade of grey is a great canvas color for a design that features multiple colors, which is the case with this release.
The sides of this Mustang feature two stripes that both start after the front wheel arch, and end before the rear wheel arch. The top stripe is blue, while the lower stripe is red. Within the blue stripe, is the would-be 5.0 fender badge as well as a Hot Wheels logo. No tampos were applied to the top half of this car. I also like how it's interior is black. The only wild aspect about this release, are the gold Hot Ones wheels. This however, isn't a bad thing, since this is another newer casting with older wheels.
Okay... this next one, is absolutely fantastic! The model in question, is the '70 Ford Torino. I was happy to find out this car was getting another release. And I feel this was a great set for it to be released in. One of the reasons that I wanted this one, was due to me only have two other releases of this casting. My first one came from the 2017 Muscle Mania 5 pack, and my second one came from the 2018 Detroit Muscle Walmart set. I love every aspect about this one, and to be honest, I think this one is now my number one favorite.
The main aspect that I like about this model, is it's paint. For this '70 Torino, the Hot Wheels team decided to make it's exterior metallic copper. Blue may be my absolute favorite color, but I have to say, that copper is up there on my list. I just can't get over how beautiful this classic looks with this paint. Sadly... this release wasn't given the Hot Ones wheels. Instead, it was given the Hot Wheels 5SPs finished in gold.
Along it's sides, is a yellow, orange, and black stripe design, that is very befitting of a car like this. These colors, also make a great combination over copper. The first of the stripes, is a thin yellow one that starts on the front half of the fender and ends on the quarter panel. Sharing a similar start and stop point, is a wider yellow stripe that is underneath the thin stripe. The rest of the design starts after the front wheel arch. A wide orange stripe was applied directly underneath the yellow one, and a thin yellow stripe was placed within it. These two finish on the quarter panel. The last stripe is black, and it finishes before the rear wheel arch. Above these stripes on the quarter panel, is a orange Hot Wheels logo.
I really like how this release's hood features the theme from it's sides. The outer parts of the hood are black. The center of the hood, is where the orange and yellow stripes are. Like the sides, the first yellow stripe is thin, and the wider one is after that. Within the wide yellow stripe, is a thin orange stripe, followed by a wider orange stripe.
The second to last car, is the Mini Cooper S Challenge. I'm actually shocked that there hasn't been more releases of this casting. In my opinion, it's a fantastic casting that would be great for any racing themed assortment. The last time this casting was used before this and the 2019 Back Road Rally release, was in a 2014 multi-pack. Out of the few that I have, this is now my favorite, and it's not just because it's a Target exclusive. It mostly has to do with the overall color scheme, and the fact that it features chrome Hot Ones wheels.
The color scheme given to this Mini Cooper is yellow and blue. These two colors, when done right, will always combine flawlessly. The car itself is yellow, while the wheel arch trims are blue. It's sides feature a stripe design that utilizes three different colors. All three start on the fenders, but it's only the top one that finishes on the back half of the quarter panel. The blue used for the stripes, isn't the same shade of blue as the wheel arch trims. However... they are still great shades nonetheless.
The top stripe is the darkest of the two blues. The middle stripe is lighter, and has a outline that's the same blue as the first stripe. The last stripe is white. It too has the dark blue outline. On top of these three stripes, is a very dark blue racing number plate. It also has an outline that's the same blue as the first stripe. Two decals finish off the sides of this Mini, and they are a blue Hot Wheels logo on the doors, and a decal version of the Mini Cooper badge over the quarter panel section of the top stripe.
Both the hood and roof of this model feature design aspects. Both sides of the hood feature blue Goodyear tires decals. The racing number plate was applied to the center of the hood. The roof is where the stripes were applied. These were done in a similar style to the ones on the sides. The only difference with the roof ones, is that all three are the same length.
Depending on the collector, I could say that I saved the best for last. The '67 Chevy C10, is the last vehicle from this second assortment. I think you might already know what I like the most with this one. If not, then I'll tell you. It's blue! It's exterior was given a wonderful shade of blue, that would look nice on any model. And for it's wheels, the Hot Wheels designers decided to give it their 5SPs finished in chrome. To be honest, it would've been nice to see this casting with either the Hot Ones wheels or the Black Wall wheels. Despite this minor gripe, I still very much love this release.
I absolutely love the design featured on this C10, and the colors used for it are great as well. In my opinion, orange and yellow are two of the best colors for this retro theme. Along this C10's sides, are four different stripes. The first stripe design is orange, and it starts on the doors. It then finishes on the front half of the bedside panel. The next stripe is yellow, and it starts on the fender just before the front wheel arch. This stripe then runs underneath the orange stripe until it get to the bedside panels. From there, it curves up and over the rear wheel arch to finish on the back half of the bed side panel. It is ultimately the longest stripe along this model's sides.
The last two stripes, which are also yellow and orange, are much thinner than the first two stripes. These ones start after the front wheel arch, and then finish before the rear wheel arch. The back half of the bedside panels, feature a orange decal version of the Chevy badge, and a orange Hot Wheels logo. Only the hood of this Chevy C10 received stripes, which by all means is fine by me. Around the outer sections of the hood, is a yellow stripe done in a similar fashion to the yellow strip on it's sides. The cowl section of the hood, features a wide orange stripe. There is an additional thin orange strip that was placed around it.
At the end of the day, these Target Flying Custom assortments are becoming one of my favorite non mainline sets. I can't wait to see what the future holds for this line of Hot Wheels. If they do a third assortment of these, I would love to see a hot rod or two included. I also hope this line will contain some of the other Hot Wheels castings that don't get used much.
Okay racers, how do you feel about the Flying Customs that have been released so far? Feel free to let me know down in the comments, which one you like the most. Okay everyone, back to racing! Until next time, thanks for reading and happy collecting!
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