Tuesday, November 10, 2020

My Want List: Team Transport Case J

Alright diecast collectors, welcome to another edition of My Want List. In today's review, I'm going to be going over the newest Hot Wheels Team Transport combinations. This time around, there were only three that I wanted. And they are the three that most would've wanted, as they are the only ones from this assortment that were new. So with that said, let's jump right into today's post.

Up first is the Custom Corvette Stingray Coupe and Fleet Flyer combination. Back in September, I did a Looking at  post where I covered the Hot Wheels Fast and Furious Quick Shifters assortment. In that post, I made mention of how my garage was seriously lacking in C2 Corvettes. Which of course has now been remedied with the release of this new Corvette casting. So as you can imagine, this was the car/hauler combination that I wanted the most.

Since the F&F one was plain, I really like how the Hot Wheels designers decided to go with a racing theme for the second release of this casting. And one of the best things about it for me, is how they chose to make it blue. As far as the design goes, the car features white stripes with a red outline. And the sides feature a racing number circle that is also white with a red outline. Completing the theme on this release, are it's real-life aftermarket sponsor decals. This aspect is one that I love seeing on a race themed Hot Wheels. The decals used are Bell and Goodyear.

The Fleet Flyer is not too bad. The cab was painted in the same blue that was used for the Corvette. The cargo section of it is white with a blue stripe that is positioned horizontally across the box. The stripe has a red outline which makes it match the theme on the Corvette. "Corvette" and the Goodyear Tires decal are the two details that were applied over the stripe. Now personally, if I was one of the designers, I would have made the cargo section blue and the stripe white. This would have made the truck completely match the car.

The second new one from this assortment, is the Volkswagen "Baja Bug" and Wide Open combination. I really like this combination. In fact, this appears to be the first off-road themed Team Transport release. Most of the releases so far have had either a road racing or drag racing theme. So it's nice to see a different style of racing being used for a Team Transport release.

The "Baja Bug" was given a somewhat subtle but nice livery, and I like the overall color scheme that was chosen for it. The car itself is gloss white, which was a great choice as it allowed the use of red and green for the stripe design along it's sides. It's doors feature a racing number circle with the number 52 applied over it. I think it was a neat idea to make the number bigger than the circle. Finishing off the theme on this model, are three sponsor decals that were applied vertically on it's sides. Looking at what type of vehicle this is, I feel it was a great decision to use Goodyear, K&N, and Koni. The only details applied to the top are lights and green stripes.

I really like how the decision was made to use the Wide Open for this set. As you all know, this hauler's bed features non-removable spare tires. I feel this fits the off-road theme perfectly. The theme on the car is cool, but I really like what the Hot Wheels designers did with the theme on this hauler. Like the car, this hauler was given red and green stripes. It was also given all three of the sponsor decals that were featured on the car. Now then, unlike the car, this hauler features what appears to be a fantasy team name. "Down South Buggin" with a cactus behind it, was applied over the green section of the design on the sides of this hauler's bed section. In my opinion, the cactus behind the team name was a nice touch as it complements the off-road theme perfectly.

The last of the new combinations from this assortment, is the '68 Dodge Dart and Horizon Hauler. This combination is also the debut of the Horizon Hauler. And I have to say, that I really like how this truck looks. I'm not entirely sure if the cab is based on a specific truck, but what I do know, is that it has the looks of a truck from the late '60s.

I like the drag racing theme that's featured, and it's cool how pink was chosen for these vehicles exterior color. I feel pink makes these two unique. In case you're new to the boulevard, the you should know that I consider certain Mattel diecast releases to be unique. For me, unique releases are the ones that are finished in colors that aren't used as much like pink or paint finishes like matte. So far, this is the only Team Transport release to utilize pink. And it's not a bad shade of pink either.

No designs were applied to the '68 Dart, however, it was given enough details for me to consider it's drag racing theme complete. I love how it was given lots of real-life aftermarket sponsor decals. The decals on it's fenders are Dodge, Goodyear, and Holley. "Swingin Thing" was applied to it's doors. And it's quarter panels feature Autolite, Hurst, and B&M. Since pink was the color chosen, I feel the name of this Dart is very fitting. "Mariposa Speed Shop" and "El Segundo Ca" were applied to the back half of the quarter panel. This is a great detail to have, as it lets the spectators know who built the "Swingin Thing."

"Mariposa Speed Shop" and "El Segundo Ca" were the only details from the Dart that were applied to the Horizon Hauler. It's fenders were given the number 2031. This detail is basically like a video games Easter egg. 2031 is an actual address. To be specific, 2031 E Mariposa Ave is the location of Mattel in El Segundo California. This for me was a neat little addition to the overall theme.

Okay... so that's all three of the new car/hauler combinations from Team Transport case J. I hope to eventually see another off-road themed Team Transport release. The "Baja Bug" and Wide Open came out great. As such, it would be interesting to see what they could come up with for another off-road themed release. I also can't wait to see what the future holds for the Horizon Hauler, as there are so many Hot Wheels castings that it could be paired with. The racing version of the '68 Mercury cougar is one such casting that might make for a cool road racing themed release.

Welp that's all for this edition of My Want List. As always, feel free to let me know your thoughts on these models down in the comments section. And with that, thanks for reading and happy diecast collecting.

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