Hello, and welcome to a new edition of Looking At. Patience is definitely a virtue, and you have to have a lot of it when it comes to this hobby. Of course, patience doesn't always pay off, but sometimes it does. And it's always exciting to find the releases you've been looking for. So one morning, I decided to go and check my local Walmart to see if I could find anything new. Once there, I immediately noticed that there were no new Hot Wheels, and I wasn't surprised at all. I then turned my attention to the other diecast pegs, and that's when I noticed a full peg of the Matchbox Moving Parts. In case you forgot, I wasn't able to get many of last year's releases. So I was truly delighted to find a full stock. I was even happier when I saw what case it was.
Moving Parts case B is the one that has the second release of the 1988 Chevy Monte Carlo LS, and it is a casting that I've wanted to own since I saw the debut release of it. Now, it's not like I don't have a Monte Carlo in my collection. As you know, Hot Wheels has a few different Monte Carlo castings, and I have a few releases of them. It's just they don't have a late '80s casting. So that's why I wanted to own the Monte Carlo from Matchbox.
In my opinion, this second release is better than the first release, and no, I'm not just saying that because this is the only one I have. Sure, black is great color for these cars, but this gold is truly something else! Now, I do have two different Monte Carlos from Hot Wheels that are also finished in gold, but both of their exteriors feature a design. So I'm thrilled to finally have a gold Monte Carlo that's plain.
Classic American vehicles are just as beautiful as classic vehicles from other countries, and I really like the distinctive look of vehicles from the 1930s. And in recent years, Matchbox has given us some very beautiful stock looking and modified 1930s castings. I especially like stock looking ones. I mean, hot rods are cool and all, but it's really nice to see these vehicles in their original form. So that's why I'm fond of castings like the '32 Ford Pickup, and I was stocked to find its latest release.
I still very much like the previous releases, but I was definitely hoping to have a blue one. And I don't know about you, but I think they picked a pretty good looking shade of the color.
Being finished in my favorite color is not the only thing I like about this release though. When I say these vehicles have a distinctive look, I'm not just talking about the design of their exteriors. I'm also talking about the two-tone color schemes. So besides being finished in blue, I also like how this release has black fenders.
The next one from this assortment is the 1978 Subaru Brat, and I didn't just want it because of its stock looking appearance. As you know, Hot Wheels has their own Subaru Brat casting that features some off-road modifications. I, for one, think it's a very cool casting, which is why I've wanted to have more that two releases of it. Now, Hot Wheels has yet to do another release of their casting, and there's a chance they could never use it again. So I was very excited to learn that Matchbox was going to have their own version of the Brat.
I'm really glad they chose to make this one of the castings with an opening hood. Opening doors are cool, but you have to admit that it's even cooler to see a detailed engine.
The Subaru Brat from the 2016 Car Culture Trucks assortment is one of the two Hot Wheels releases I have, and this release basically has the same stripe design. But I have no issue with that because it's the same design that was available for the real vehicle. Furthermore, I feel this Matchbox release features the better design due to the fact that it continues onto the tailgate.
Back in January, I published an additional feature where I talked about a Moving Parts release from last year. The release in question is the 2020 BMW M4 Cabriolet, and I liked most of the design choices that were made for it. However, I didn't like how they chose to apply "Matchbox" to the rear bumper. I honestly wouldn't have had an issue with the tampo if it wasn't so big. Some of you might not have cared about the presence of that tampo detail, but I just couldn't ignore it. So I was hoping to eventually have a release without it. Fortunately, I didn't have to wait too long.
If not for that one detail, the first release would have still been my favorite due to it being finished in blue. But I do have to admit that there's nothing wrong with a white M4 that has a red interior.
You never know when there'll only be one or two releases of a certain casting from one of Mattel's diecast brands, and I always hate it when that happens. Of course, some castings will eventually be used again. It just takes them years before they decided to release another one. So with that being said, three years ago Matchbox release the 2016 Corvette Stingray in their Superfast series. And it instantly became one of my favorite C7s. So I was really looking forward to seeing it again in 2017. But the year came and went without a release of it, and that continued to be the case until this year.
I really can't believe how long it took them to use this awesome casting again. I, for one, was hoping to see many releases of it. As you know, there aren't that many cars with a reverse opening hood, so that's why I really like this casting. So hopefully there'll be back-to-back releases of it going forward, but only time will tell.
Now then, I do have many different Corvette releases form Hot Wheels, but similar to the Monte Carlos, a lot of them have designs. So that's why I'm pleased with their decision to make this release plain. I mean, Corvettes do look great with stripes, but I don't think anyone would dislike one without them. Besides making it plain, I'm also pleased with how they decided to finish this release in Crystal Red. It might not be to everyone's liking, but I think it's an okay color for a Corvette.
Sometimes, I won't like one or two releases from a Moving Parts case, but as you can see, I like all five of the ones from this case. So I'm glad I was able to find them, and hopefully I'll be able to find the rest of this year's Moving Parts releases. But if not, then that's just how the cookie crumbles. At the end of the day, I'm happy with whatever I'm able to find.
So how do you feel about these five? Do you like one more than the other? Go ahead and let me know down in the comments section. Okay, that's all for this edition of Looking At. Until next time, thanks for reading, and happy collecting. And remember, these are just toys.
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