My Want List: 2021 Hot Wheels Case K - Not Complete Part 1

Alright everyone, it's time for another edition of My Want List. This time, it's the releases from this year's Hot Wheels case K. As you can see from the title, I was unable to find everything I wanted from this case. I'm actually quite surprised that I found anything at all. I don't know how it's been for you, but it hasn't been easy for me to find any Hot Wheels products as of late. The diecast rows at most of the stores in my area are just about empty, and it seems like the managers have no interest in how their stores look. This is the main reason why I don't do Heads-Up post anymore. Anyway, that's enough with that little rant. Now it's time for me to share my thoughts on the releases I was able to get. 

The Formula E Gen 2 Car, is the first release I want to talk about. I really like the design choice that was made for this year's second one. Instead of making it an actual recolor, they decided to give it an entirely different livery. And once again, it's based off of an actual one. Like the card says, it's based on the Tag Heuer Porsche sponsored car. Vodafone, a British telecommunications company, is one of the other sponsors that's seen on this and the real car. I never thought I see their logo on a Hot Wheels car. 

I think it's kind of interesting how this is one of the cars that's always left behind when the stock comes in. Personally, I have no issue with that, because it makes it easier for me to find these. I just think folks are missing out on getting a very collectible car. Sometimes, to spot a gem, you have to look past all the hyped up releases, as well as the JDMs.  Just look at all of the details that were applied to this and the previous releases of it. There are some premiums that don't have as many decals as this mainline car. 

Checked off of my list next, is the recolor of the 2020 Koenigsegg Jesko. As you know, the Hot Wheels designers chose to finish the debut release in silver. At the time, I felt that it was an okay color choice, but it wasn't quite the color I wanted to see on it. After I acquired that release, I took to the internet to do some homework on the real car. While searching, I came across a few articles that talked about the paint that was used. Supposedly, the company used thirty-four layers of paint for it's exterior. Based on the pictures I've seen, the color looks white, and that's the color that was chosen for this release.

To be fair, silver is an okay color for any exotic car, so I don't hate the debut release. I just happen to like this one a little more. In fact, it's now my favorite release of this casting. Of course, that could change with a future release, but they'd have to use a color that makes me say wow. Although... even if they did, I'd probably still like this one more anyway. I really like how the thirty-four layered paint looked. So obviously, I'm going to really like a release that's finished in a color that looks just like it.   

As you all know, last year's mainline featured the debut release of the McLaren Speedtail, and it wasn't released again after that. Obviously, this is because it was released toward the end of the 2020 mainline. Earlier this year, Hot Wheels gave us a second release, and I though that was going to be it. Thankfully, I don't have to wait till next year for another one, because they've decided to give us a nice recolor. As I've already said, silver is an okay color for any exotic car, and the Speedtail definitely looks nice finished in the color. There's nothing else I can really say about this release. Basically, it's flawless.

The next release I got, is the recolor of the Gumball 3000 Ford GT-40. This is actually the third color of this release. The second one, which I don't have, is a Walmart exclusive Zamac. Some of you might like that one the most, since it is a store exclusive, but I think this one is just as good. The decision was made to use metallic black, white, and gold for this third release's color scheme. These three color will always go great together, and the combination is perfect for the Gumball livery featured on it. 

Personally, this one is a little better than the Zamac one because of the stripe design's colors. Like the first color, the Zamac release's stripe is red. I know the other sections of the design are a different color, but it's not enough of a color change for me to care about trying to get it off of the secondary.

The wheels are the last thing I want to talk about. As you can see, the designers chose to give this release gold 5SPs. The first release as well as the Zamac release, were both given wheels that are black with a colored rim. While there's nothing wrong with that, it is nice to see this Gumball 3000 themed release with a wheel that's one color.

The Formula E Gen 2 Car and the GT-40 aren't the only cars racing around the boulevard today. The recolor of the 2018 Bentley Continental GT3 is setting the fastest lap times in today's 1:64 Scale GT group three race. In all seriousness, this is truly another great release, and I was surprised to see that it was finish it in matte white. Initially, I thought they chose to use gloss white, and that would have been fine. But I happen to think this was the better choice. After all, matte paints aren't used as much as the other paints. 

As for the livery, the lower half of it is still black, which is absolutely fine. Personally, it's the perfect color to go with the acid green that was used for the other section of the livery. 

Now, when it comes to recolors of race cars from Hot Wheels, there's one detail that I've started to pay more attention to. That detail, is none other than the racing number. I know some of you won't mind, but when they do a recolor of a race car, I feel they should change the number. They could have change it to 101, or they could have made it a double digit number. At the end of the day, this is still a cool release. 

So... do you also like when Hot Wheels decides to add a premium casting to their mainline? Well, I most certainly do! And that's the case with the next release checked off of my want list. The casting in question, is the Chevy Silverado Off Road. This is also one of those castings that hasn't been used as much. So hopefully there'll be more releases of it now that it's in the mainline. 

This is actually not the first one of these in my collection. The 2017 Pop Culture release, was the only one I had before this one. But I never really liked it like that. In case you didn't know, I used to only get Pop Culture releases because of the castings used. I wasn't really into the artwork applied to them. So I'm glad to finally have a one that I actually like.

Overall, the stripe design on this release is pretty cool. I, for one, would put this stripe design on a real Silverado. The one critical opinion I have of it, is with the choice to apply the BFGoodrich decal. Although it doesn't ruin the look of this release, I do feel it wasn't really needed. By itself, the stripe design would have been good enough for this casting's mainline debut. My issue aside, this is one hot Chevy Silverado.

Today, you decided to go and relax at the BLVD's best coffee shop. Everything is quiet until a car suddenly shows up and starts revving. Well, sorry to ruin your quiet time, but I'm enjoying the sound of my newly acquired '85 Camaro IROC-Z. Actually... I'm not sorry! It's your fault for moving to the only boulevard where racing is legal. Okay, on a serious note, this is a very nice release of this casting. It was finished in a beautiful shade of red, and it features a gold and white stripe design. I also like how they decided to decorate the top as well.  

Although this is a nice release, I do feel there is one thing they could have done to make it even better. If you look at the card art, you'll notice how it shows the car with details on it's front end. I know this is a $1 mainline, so I really can't complain. But I wish they would have added details to the front and rear of this release. Even just a white stripe would have been better than nothing. 

Alright, I think seven releases is good enough for this first part. So I'm going to end it here. Do stay tuned for part two, as it will cover the rest of what I was able to find. Till tomorrow, happy collecting.

White Booth Wednesday #94

It's once again time for another Wednesday showcase here on the boulevard. Here's this week's featured vehicle.

Vehicle: '69 Corvette Racer

Series: 2016 Hot Wheels Night Burnerz

Boulevard rating: 9

How I feel about this release: The 2016 mainline featured many new models for us to collect, and this was one of my favorite ones from that year. I mean, who doesn't like Corvette race cars. Maybe they aren't your cup of tea, which is fine. After all, my love of this casting might just be because I love race cars. I, for one, think Hot Wheels does a great job at making nice looking 1:64 scale versions of them, and this '69 Corvette is definitely nice. The wild design, as well as it's unique mix of colors, made me like this release even more. Red and blue, are two colors that don't always combine well, but the designers always manage to make the combination work.

  

So, how do you feel about this week's featured vehicle? Go ahead and let me know down in the comments. Till next time, happy collecting.

2021 Hot Wheels Pickup Truck Set - The Obvious Three

Hi everyone, welcome to today's post. Not too long ago, Hot Wheels released a Walmart exclusive pickup truck themed set. I don't know the exact release date of these, but what I do know, is that I came across one remnant last month. At the time, I decided to leave it behind since it was only one, and I figured that I'd wait to see if I could find some of the other ones. As usual, it took some time, but I was finally able to find more. As you can see from the title, there were only three different ones left on the pegs. Those three, are what's being talked about in today's post. 

Now, before I share my opinion of the three that I got, I feel the need to briefly talk about the other two I couldn't get. As you know, this set features a Datsun 620 and a Mazda REPU. I've seen pictures of them, and to be honest, they really aren't releases that make me say wow. I know for a fact that I'm in the minority with that opinion. I mean... they aren't terrible, but I feel they were only taken because they are JDM castings. This is confirmed by the fact that it looked like my local Walmart got about four boxes of this set, and they were the only ones taken. Now that I got that out of the way, let's get to the three I got.

It's worth mentioning that two of the three I got, are ones I really wanted. So I'm going to talk about them first, then I'll talk about the third one. 

This might be surprising to some, but the one I wanted the most, was the Land Rover Series III Pickup. For me, it all came down to one main design choice made for it. That choice, is none other than the exterior color. When I first saw pictures of it, I thought it was finished in a dark brown, however, that's not the case. I would best describe the color as being a dark metallic maroon, and I think it makes this Range Rover look really good.   

Although it's not one of the design choices that made me want it, the stripe design and it's colors are not bad. White and beige, are two colors that combine nicely with this maroon. The size and placement of the Range Rover decal, is the one thing I would have done differently. Instead of making it big, I would have made it small and placed it over the white section of the design that's next to the wheel arch. At the end of the day though, the decal's placement doesn't ruin the look of this release.

Okay, the next one I really wanted from this set, is the '65 Ford Ranchero. The design choices made for this release, aren't the only reason why I wanted it so bad. This casting made it's debut in the mainline back in 2011, and so far, it's only had two more mainline releases after that first one. What's sad, is that they mostly use this casting for special sets. That's why I only had three other releases of it before this one. So I'm really glad this is one of the ones that wasn't wanted when the stock came in. . 

I really like how decorated this release is, and it's great how they decided to add a tampo to the roof, as well as the bed cover section. It's also cool how they decided to add a green pinstripe design to the black stripes.

The exterior color is definitely one of the other reasons why I wanted this one so bad. The second time this casting was used in the mainline, was back in 2012. That year, Hot Wheels decided to make it a Treasure Hunt. Like this release, it too was finished in green. The green used for this one is obviously different, but it's still green nonetheless. So this release made it so I don't have to try and get the Treasure Hunt off of Ebay. 

The Custom '72 Chevy Luv, is the third one that was left behind. You might be wondering why I got it if it wasn't one of the ones I really wanted. Well, the reason I got it, is because it's finished in blue. I know this isn't the fist time this casting was finished in blue, however, it is the first blue one in my collection. 

In my Car Culture Power Trip review, I said that I look forward to a Chevy LUV releases. At the time, I was happy with how they were given multi-colored stripe designs. Well, now my opinion of them is starting to change. Basically, I feel this release's design is a little too similar to the 2019 release. In my opinion, they should have created a different type of design for this release. As you know, this isn't a stock LUV. So, instead of making another stripe design, I would have created a cool drag racing design that featured some real-life sponsor decals. To be fair, this release's design isn't terrible, I just feel it's time for something a little different. 

Before I end this post, I want to briefly talk about the other two one last time. In all honesty, the Mazda REPU is the only other one I'd get, and that's simply because of the yellow that was picked for it's exterior color. The Datsun 620 could have honestly been better. Now, if I do happen to find them, I will get them. But like I said, they aren't releases that make me say wow. So I'm not going to make finding them a priority.

Alright, were you able to add the entire set to your collection? Feel free to let me know down in the comments section. Well, that's all for this edition of Today On The Boulevard. Till next time, thanks for reading, and happy collecting.

Today On The Boulevard: Matchbox Moving Parts - The Other Colors

Alright everyone, welcome to a new edition of Today On The Boulevard. The Matchbox Moving Parts made their debut back in 2019, and they instantly became a collector favorite. Since then, there have been many great models. Some of them have even ended up being used for the Superfast, as well as the current Collector Series. Thankfully, I've been able to get most of the ones that have been released so far. However, there were a few alternate color releases that I couldn't find. And those few, are the ones being featured today. So with that being said, let's begin.

One of the main ones I wanted, was the white '83 Buick Riviera Convertible. Initially, I was perfectly fine with just having the red one. At the time, I was happy to finally have another car from the 1980s. So I didn't stress too much about not being able to get this one. Although... I am glad to finally have this one in my collection.

Even though I like how it looks finished in red, there's no denying how elegant it this car looks finished in white. And what I really like, is how it's not gloss white, which is what I thought they used when I first saw pictures of this release. You won't be able to see it in my picture, but gold flakes are revealed when a light is shined on it. How it looks, is further complemented by the red interior.

The '16 Chevy Camaro, is the second one I found. To be honest, I really wasn't interested in this Matchbox casting due to how many modern Camaros I have from Hot Wheels. And I really didn't feel the need to have one with an opening hood. That's why you never saw any of them featured here on the BLVD. Anyway, I changed my mind when I saw this release in person. I think you can probably guess why. Did you guess that it had to do with the exterior color? Well... if you did, then you are correct. I instantly fell in love with this release after I saw the metallic blue that was used for it.

I'm deciding to put the spotlight on the rear end details, since the front just has detailed headlights and the Chevy emblem. The reason I'm doing this, is because the designers chose to give this release a license plate. Lights and emblems are nice, but I really like when these little cars have license plates.

The last one that I got, is '62 Jeep Willys Wagon. So far, this casting has only had three releases, and this green one was the only one I was missing. Pictures don't do this release justice. As you know, blue is my all-time favorite color. But the green used for this release is fantastic! One things for sure, it's not everyday we get a Mattel made diecast model that's finished in the green that was picked for this release. 

One of the other things I like about this one, is that it's currently the only one that's plain. The red one has a black roof, and the blue Superfast one has a custom paint job. While there's nothing wrong with those two, it is nice to finally have one that has no additional exterior colors.

The wheel color is the last thing I want to point out. For this release, The designers chose to give this release white wheels. I actually never though I'd like the look of a green vehicle with white wheels. But, now I do thanks to this release.

Personally, all three of these are flawless. Now, I know that's subjective, because we all have our own likes and dislikes. But, I feel they did a good job on these. 

So... what are your thoughts on these three? Go ahead and let me know down in the comments section. Alright, that's all for this edition of Today On The Boulevard. Until next time, thanks for reading, and happy collecting. 

White Booth Wednesday #93

It's once again time for another Wednesday showcase here on the boulevard. Here's this week's featured vehicle.

Vehicle: Dune Crusher

Series: 2016 Hot Wheels Daredevils (Treasure Hunt)

Boulevard rating: 8

How I feel about this release: This week's featured vehicle might be a Treasure Hunt, but that's not why I gave it an eight. It's no lie that Hot Wheels makes some very realistic looking fantasy cars. In fact, you'd even think some of them had real-life counterparts, I feel this casting is very realistic. So the shape of it's body is one of the reasons for the rating I gave it. Now, even though I like this casting, I really haven't liked any of the designs that were created for the releases that came after this one. That's why this release continues to be the only one in my collection. So the design featured on this one, is the other reason why I gave it an eight. I do wish it was given a few fantasy decals like some of the older releases though. But, at the end of the day, not having them is something I can ignore.

So, how do you feel about this week's featured vehicle? Go ahead and let me know down in the comments. Till next time, happy collecting.

Diecast 5-Packs Are The Only Way

Hello, and welcome to today's post. It's not often you see 5-packs featured here on the BLVD. This is obviously because most of them have releases that I don't care for. This isn't always the case though. Sometimes, Mattel's brands will release one with vehicles that I just have to have. The Lamborghini 5-pack is a perfect example of this. I just never got around to making a post about it. Anyway, today I decided that it was time to show two of my recent 5-pack purchases. 

Besides having releases that I like, these packs will also sometimes have ones that I'm missing. That is the reason for the name of this post. As you know, some castings just aren't used as much anymore. So these packs offer me the opportunity to get what I'm missing without having to turn to the secondary. 

Now, like I said, I ended up getting two new 5-packs. One of them is from Hot Wheels, while the other one is from Matchbox. I'm going to go ahead and talk about the Hot Wheels one first, since that's the one you saw in my social media post.

So as you already know, the Fast and Furious themed 5-pack is the Hot Wheels one I got. The 350Z from Tokyo Drift, was one of the movie replicas I was missing, and it's the main reason why I got this pack. I'll be honest, it's kind of annoying how this car hasn't been released by itself again. I mean... just look at how many times Brain's Skyline has had individual releases. Anyway, this pack might have cost me five dollars, but I was not going to miss the opportunity to finally add this car to my Fast and Furious collection. It's a lot better than having to get one off of Ebay. 

This pack also contains the Ford GT-40, which just so happens to be one of the other ones I wanted. I technically wasn't missing this movie replica. The other one in my collection is from 2016, and it was finished in a very dark blue. There's nothing wrong with it, I just think this one's bright blue exterior color is a little more accurate. 

The other cars in this pack are as follows: the red '61 Impala, the green '72 Ford Gran Torino, and the green Lancer Evolution 7. I already have all of these replicas. Furthermore, if you're not new to the BLVD, then you already know how I have the premium versions of the Impala and the Torino.  

Alright, now it's time to talk about the Matchbox pack I got. As you might already know, Matchbox has  recently release two new five-packs that are overall pretty good. One of them is called Wagons, while the other one is called City Drivers. The Wagons pack seems to have been the one that everyone in my area wanted. This made it easier for me to get the City Drivers pack, which is the one I really wanted. 

Similar to the Hot Wheels pack, this too has one car that I was technically missing. The car in question, is the '65 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA. I actually have all of the current releases of the Hot Wheels version, which is why I said I was technically missing it. But as as you know, this Matchbox casting is the stock version of the car. 

Taking a look at some of the older releases, I noticed how all of them were either red or white. I'm assuming it had to do with the legal agreement between Mattel and Alfa Romeo. I don't want to speculate though. Whatever issue they had before, no longer appears to be the case, because this one was finished in silver.  

 

It's worth noting, that the other vehicles in this pack aren't bad at all. As you can see, the Infinity G37 Coupe, is another one of the releases in this pack. To my surprise, there really has been that many releases of this casting. In fact, this year's release is the third one, and it's the second one in my collection. There's no telling if they're ever going to release another one of these in their mainline. And, if I didn't already have the 2016 release, this would have been my first one. So this is another example of a 5-pack being the only way to get a certain release. 

The next release from this pack, is the 1999 Chevy Silverado 4x4. This is another casting I was missing. It might not be plain, but I do like the auto parts shop theme that was created for it. 

The 2017 Honda Civic Hatchback and Cliff Hanger, are the last two from this pack. The Civic is nice because it's finished in my favorite color. The Cliff Hanger is the only one from this pack that I really don't care for. Although... I will admit that it's not a bad looking release of it. So I don't mind the decision to include it. 

Okay, that's both of the packs I got. I do have one last thing I'd like to say about the Fast and furious pack. Personally, I wouldn't have picked the Impala. It's a nice replica, but things are starting to get a little repetitive. This is the third time this basic one was released. The other two were both released in 2019. I know one has a white interior, while the other has a black interior like this one. So they are not necessarily the same. I just think it's time for something new. But, I guess this is a good thing for those of you that missed out on getting them the first time. 

So, what are your thoughts on these 5-packs? And which ones did you decide to get? Go ahead and let me know down in the comments section. Alright, that's all for this post. Until next time, thanks for reading, and happy collecting.

My Want List: 2021 Hot Wheels Case J - A Few More

Hello everyone, welcome to a new edition of My Want List. I was finally able to find more of what I wanted from this year's case J. As you know, I was able to get some of what I wanted when I got the Kroger exclusive case. So be sure to check out that post if you missed it. Anyway, I'm still missing two from this case, and I think you can guess which ones they are. So there's no reason to say anything else about them. Today, let's just focus solely on what I was able to find.

The first car for today's post, is the '67 Ford Mustang Coupe that's apart of this year's "Muscle Mania" set. This was actually the first one I found, and to be honest, I'm a little shocked at how easy it was to find. It's really not a bad casting. I guess it got overshadowed by the other two I wasn't able to find. 

I really wasn't happy with the 2019 Art Cars release of this casting. Yeah... no one would do that to an actual '67 Mustang. So I'm glad they decided to do a proper one for this year's mainline. As usual, one of the main things that I like, is the exterior color. In my opinion, the designers picked a fantastic shade of metallic purple. I love when a casting is finished in a color that hasn't been previously used for it. I feel this helps to make it stand out from the other releases. 

Besides the exterior color, I really like the stripe design and it's colors. I think it's cool how they made the white stripe overlap the silver stripe. This wasn't done with the top stripes, but that's okay. 

So... are you enjoying this year's "Then and Now" mainline set? I definitely am. So far, we've gotten some great pairings like the GTR and the Ford Bronco. And now that case J is out, the Camaro pairing is complete. I was so excited when I found out this was going to be the "Then" Camaro. I don't know about you, but I feel there are certain cars that look the best when they are finished in certain colors. And I feel orange is one of those colors for the '70 Camaro.

One of the other things that I like about this release, is it's white interior. As I've said in numerous past posts, a different colored interior can help to liven up a diecast model. And this release's interior did just that. 

Now, before I get to the next car checked off of my want list, I want to quickly talk about the wheels. For the "Now" Camaro, the decision was made to give it black PR5s. The combination of an orange exterior with a white stripe and black wheels, is what I liked about it. So I wish they would have also chose to give this Camaro black wheels. I'm not saying it looks bad with grey 5SPs, but what I am saying, is that I would have liked it a little more if it was given black wheels like the "Now" Camaro. 

The '87 Dodge D100 that's apart of this year's "HW Race Team" mainline set, is the next release that got checked off of my want list. I couldn't tell you why, but I never used to really get any of the "HW Race Team" releases. There were a few that I got when I was younger, but they were never actually on my want list. Of course, things are much different now, which is why I regret not getting many of the releases I left behind. So, since I like the livery, you're going to be seeing more of these Race Team releases being checked off of my want list.

One of the things that I like about this release, is that it features the decal of a real-life tire company. It's always nice to see decals on these releases, and it's even better when it's a real company.

Now, I know this release in finished in blue for a reason, but this exterior color is one of the other reasons why I added it release to my want list. Let's say, hypothetically, they chose to never do another one finished in blue. If that ends up being the case, then this would have been my only chance to get one finished in my favorite color. I highly doubt there won't be another blue one, but you never know.

The Jaguar XE SV Project 8 is apart of this year's "HW Torque" mainline set, and it's the next release to get checked off of my want list. I'll get straight to the point, black with black wheels, is a fantastic exterior and wheel color scheme for this car. And I know for a fact that I'm not the only one that's going to call this release the black cat. There's honestly nothing else I can say about this release. So I'll just let the pictures do the talking.

The Mooneyes themed Bone Shaker that's apart of this year's "Rod Squad" mainline set, is the last one I got. Words can not describe how happy I am to have this release in my collection. This is definitely the Bone Shaker we all needed. The Mooneyes theme on a hot rod, is a combination that just works. It's similar to putting butter on toast. So I find interesting how it took Hot Wheels this many years to release this casting with the Mooneys theme. I guess it's better late than never. 

There's another design choice that I'd like to point out, but before I do, I need to briefly put the spotlight on the wheels. As you can see, the designers chose to give this release black and chrome Aero Disk wheels. I know these aren't smoothie wheels, but I feel this color scheme gives them the look. Now, I'm not sure if that's what they were trying to do, but if it is, then I'd say that it's mission accomplished. Alright, let's get to that other design choice. 

The stripe that was applied to the top of this release, is the other design choice I was talking about. They didn't have to add the stripe, since this is the open roof casting after all, but I'm glad they did. I think we can all agree that this additional detail was a nice touch. 

Okay, that's all of the case J releases I was able to get. Like I said, I'm still missing two. As usual, if I find them, I will make a post. It might be a while though.

So, what are your thoughts on the releases featured in this post? Go ahead and let me know down in the comments section. Alright, that's all of today's edition of My Want List. Till next time, thanks for reading, and happy collecting.