Hello collectors! Welcome to another edition of My Want List. Things just keep getting better and better with the Hot Wheels mainline. I can honestly say that I really like what was offered in this case. Sometimes, a case might have four releases that I want, while other times there will be more. And this is one of the cases where there was more. So without further ado, let's get started.
Checked off of my case E want list first, is the brand new '67 Ford GT-40 MK IV that's apart of this year's HW Race Day mainline set. I still remember how I literally jumped up out of my seat with excitement when Hot Wheels showed this over on Instagram. And I was even more excited with the fact that it was going to be in the mainline. Being in the mainline makes it a much easier model to get multiples of, and you already know I was going to get an extra one of these to open.
The best thing about this first release, is that it's a 1:64 scale replica of the actual #1 GT-40 MK IV. I love how Hot Wheels was able to re-create the exact livery on this 1:64 scale model. I personally think they did a good job with the side stripe. I also like all of the details that were applied to the top half of it.
The headlights are one of this castings aspects that I really like. Now I've mentioned this a few times before, but I think it's great when Hot Wheels makes a model with headlights that are apart of the windshield piece. For me, this gives the model realistic looking lights, and I think it's a much better design. I mean... I still would have liked it even if it was designed the other way, but this is much better than needing a tampo.
Now since Hot Wheels doesn't have a basic wheel that looks anything like the real wheels, they decided to use the 5SP wheels. I could care less about what wheels were chosen, as I'm just happy we got this car. On a side note, a picture of this car out of it's pack will be posted to my 1:64 Scale GT Approved gallery.
If you're not new to the boulevard, then you might have read one of My Want List post where I reviewed the vehicles I wanted from last year's Matchbox case F. As you probably remember, that was the debut of Matchbox's stock C8 casting. In that post, I made mention of how Hot Wheels was going to be releasing some C8 goodness. Well... their C8.R casting is out, and it's the next vehicle that was checked off of my want list.
The C8's from Matchbox and Hot Wheels, are a prime example of why I think it's great that Mattel has these two brands. One brand gives us the stock version of a vehicle, while the other brand gives us a customized or race car version. And I think Hot Wheels did a pretty good job with the overall design of this casting.
Like the GT-40 MK IV, Hot Wheels chose to base this first release's overall appearance off of the actual race car instead of making a fantasy livery. With the yellow that was used, I'm not entirely sure if it's correct, but it looks close enough to me. The tampo details that were applied are great, and I like how the top of it was given details as well. I only wish the rear end was given details too.
Now for some reason, it doesn't feature any of the sponsor decals that are seen on the real car. After going to Google Images, I found a picture of the #3 C8.R that has the Michelin Tires decal. Based on some of the recent Hot Wheels releases, Mattel does appear have the legal okay to use them. So I feel it would have been nice to see at least Michelin featured on this release. Oh well, maybe a future premium release will have more decals.
Black 10SPs are the wheels that were chosen for this release. These are nice, but from the pictures I'm seeing, they are not the right spoke shape. Based on the picture I found, Hot Wheels should have used their Y5 wheels instead. At the end of the day though, the wheel choice is not that big of a deal.
Checked off of my want list next, is the Subaru Impreza STI 22B that's apart of this year's HW J-Imports mainline set. To say this casting made it's debut in last year's mainline, it has sure had some great releases. And this year's release is just as good. One of the reasons why I like it, is due to it being another plain release. It would be cool to eventually get one with a rally style livery, but for now, I'm loving these plain releases.
Not having a design is all fine and dandy, but a model could ultimately not be cool if the color choice is bad. Of course this is Hot Wheels we're talking about, so the color is not bad at all. For this release, the designers chose to finish it in a very dark metallic blue. It looks absolutely fantastic when a light is shined on it. What's funny, is that I thought it was black when I found it. That's how dark this blue is. Anyways, I think it's a wonderful color for this car.
For the most part, this release was given the same front and rear details as the previous mainline releases. However, this one's front end was given one additional detail. That detail is the STI decal done in white.
Like the previous release of this casting, this too was given gold wheels. Now this is completely fine by me, since the wheels are different. The PR5s are what they went with for this release, and I think they helped to make this release look nice.
Up next, is the '98 Honda Prelude that's right at home in this year's HW J-Imports mainline set. After last year's release, I thought this next one might feature some kind of design. Thankfully it doesn't! I mean... I'm sure the designers could have come up with a nice looking one for this model, but it's nice to have another stock looking one that's finished in a cool color.
Unlike the previous releases, Hot Wheels decided to go with a bright color for this release. The decision was made to paint this release yellow. Being a brighter color than the last two really helps to make it stand out more. That of course, doesn't mean that I no longer like the first two.
Now despite not having a design, it was given one detail that makes it look like it's been slightly modified. The decision was made to make this release look like it has a carbon fiber hood. This decision also helps to make this release stand out more from the previous ones.
As far as front and rear tampos are concerned, this release basically has the same ones that were applied to the blue release.
Contributing to the modified appearance of this release, is it's interior color. The designers chose to give it a red interior, and what's great, is that the red is not too bright. I feel it's the perfect shade to go with the yellow exterior.
Finishing off this release nicely, are the MC5 wheels. I think it was a nice touch to make them white, as that further contributes to the modified appearance.
Up next, is the '15 Mazda MX-5 Miata that's apart of this year's Then and Now mainline set. Now I'm sure everyone remembers the blue one from the 2019 Nightburnerz five pack. Basically, this release features a design that's somewhat similar to that one. Like the the aforementioned release, this too has a side stripe that's paired with a thin stripe above it. And like the blue one's stripe, it ends on the door. Thankfully this one's design only has one thin stripe, whereas the blue one had three above the main stripe. If the design had just one more thin stripe, then I might not have decided to get this release, as I would have felt that it was way too similar.
The placement of "MAZDA" is another one of it's aspects that's similar. The only difference, is that they chose to make it smaller than the one that's on the five pack release. In my opinion, instead of using the same decal as the blue one, they could have chose to put the Yokohama Tires or Advan decal there instead. And if not that, they could have just chose to put nothing.
Not everything about this release is similar. The top of this one was given some details that weren't given to the five pack one. First, the decision was made to apply a stripe to this casting's passenger side. Then, a tampo coating was applied to the hood latches, as well as the Mazda emblem. I'm glad they did this, as it helps to make this one look slightly better in my opinion. Sadly, no details were applied to the rear end, but that's alright since this is just a $1 mainline.
The wheels used for this release, are the 10SPs finished in white. Since some of the details are similar to the last release of this casting, I feel it was a good idea to not use the same wheels.
The 2019 Kia Stinger GT is the next vehicle that got checked off of my want list. I still think it's nice to finally see one of Kia's vehicles as a Hot Wheels casting. Now since Mattel has the legal okay to use this company's name, I hope we'll eventually get to see some of their other vehicles too. I don't know how you feel, but I feel Kia makes some okay looking rides. Personally, their K5 GT doesn't look too bad. Anyways, that's enough about that. Let me get on with this year's HW Turbo release of the Stinger GT.
So like the first two releases of this casting, this too does not feature any design, which is a good thing in my opinion. A model like this looks just fine without one. Now if they do decide to ever make one with a design, then I feel a simple stripe along the sides is good enough.
For this release's color, the designers chose to finish it in a cool shade of red. Now obviously red is one of the colors that's available for the real car. And upon doing some research, I found out that's it's a color called HiChroma red. From what I'm seeing though, the color used for this release is darker than the actual color offered by Kia. Now if the designers wanted it to be Kia's color, then it might just be that my model got a darker version of the paint. At the end of the day though, I really don't care about the accuracy of the color. In my opinion, the red that's on my model looks great.
Once again grey Y5 wheels were used for this casting. These are honestly one of the best mainline wheels for this casting, as they are somewhat close in appearance to the real wheels. So I will never grow tired of seeing them being used for this model. I'm only hoping that they'll eventually use a different color for them. I personally think a black Stinger GT would look nice with black or chrome wheels. So fingers crossed.
The last vehicle for part one of this review, is the '20 Jeep Gladiator. I can honestly say that I'm glad I decided to expand upon the type of vehicles that I like. Had I continued to only like cars, then I would be missing out on cool looking models like this, and I still like how Hot Wheels decided to make their version's pickup section feature dirt bikes.
Now this release's color is the sole reason for me putting it on the want list. The first two colors are still just as great, especially the matte tan one. But since blue is my favorite color, there's no way I wasn't going to add this dark blue one to the collection.
Unlike the Kia, this year's release of this Jeep was given a design. And I like how it's not too wild. Flashy off-road designs can be saved for a later release. The overall design consist of a few aspects. A simple stripe that starts after the front wheel arch, and ends after the rear wheel arch. The front doors feature a "DIE-CAST BUILT TO LAST" decal, and the rear has a skull design. Now if the skull on the rear is based on anything, or has some kind of off-road meaning, feel free let me know down in the comments.
Nothing really need to be said about the wheels, as they're the same as the ones that were used for the previous two releases of this casting. What I can say though, is that I hope to see a release of this casting with one of the other off-road wheels that Hot Wheels has. Unlike the Kia, this Jeep will look okay with a customized appearance, and I would definitely buy some custom off-road wheels for my Gladiator if I had one.
Okay collectors, that's all for this first part of my case E want list. As always, be sure to let me know your thoughts on any of these releases down in the comments section. Be sure to come back to the BLVD tomorrow for part two. Until then, thanks for reading, and happy collecting!
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