Today On The Boulevard: Random 2022 Hot Wheels Premiums - Good Finds

Hello, and welcome to another edition of Today On The Boulevard. It's no lie that the Hot Wheels team has put together some exciting assortments over the years. And I absolutely love when they decide to include castings like the Datsun 510 or the Volkswagen Bus. Now, many collectors will get excited about those two castings alone, but there's another reason why I get excited when they're added to an assortment. Basically, those two castings will usually overshadow everything else from an assortment, and when a store gets a huge shipment, they are the ones that get hoarded. When that happens, I'm usually able to get the releases I really want.

Earlier this year, a new Hot Wheels Boulevard assortment was sent to Walmart, and it had not one but two different Volkswagen Bus castings in it. And they were the main releases that were bought from the huge shipment of premiums my local store got. Based on the number of full pegs there were, I'd say my local store got about nine boxes of the assortment. So I can only imagine how much it would have cost to buy all those Buses. Anyway, I was able to get a few different premium releases that I really wanted thanks to those two castings being in the same assortment. And they aren't just from the Boulevard series. So with that being said, let's go over the latest additions to my collection.

Since its debut, there's been many nice releases of the Nissan Laurel 2000 GTX, and I've been fortunate enough to get all of them. So it's not like I didn't already have at least one release of it in my collection. That's why I wasn't disappointed when I found out that the next release of it was going to be in the Boulevard series. But there's a reason why I wanted it, and it has to do with one specific aspect. 

 

Did you think I was talking about what was done to the exterior? If you did, then you're wrong. Although I like the color and the design, what was done to the exterior is not why I wanted to have this release. Take a look at the wheels. All of this casting's releases (mail-in included) prior to this one were given the the 4-spoke wheels. So I wanted to have at least one example of this casting with different wheels. 

The Acura NSX GT3 was one of the coolest new premium releases from 2019, and I was hoping they'd give us back-to-back releases of it going forward. However, that didn't happen. You never know when a casting will only be used once or twice. That's why I try to find as many premium releases as I can. Now, since I was satisfied with the first two releases, it wouldn't have been that big of a deal if they were done with the casting. But I'm glad they're still using it.

Some of you might not like how there are no aftermarket companies featured on this race car, but I still think it's a cool release nonetheless. In my opinion, not having any decals made it have the appearance of being owned by a team that has yet to secure any sponsors. 

What was done to the exterior is not the only reason why I wanted this release, though. Similar to the Laurel, this too is the first release of this casting with different wheels. The first two releases were given the 6-spoke wheels, and there's no denying that it's a great wheel for this race car. However, it is nice to switch things up. Doing so keeps the various releases of a casting from being too similar. So I'm really glad they chose to do something different for this third release.

The Boulevard series was actually not the first thing I noticed when I arrived at the diecast row. Sitting underneath the pegs was a huge stack of a new premium box set. And I instantly got a huge smile on my face when I saw the box art. In that moment, I knew that I was going to finally have a pickup truck that I've been wanting for some time now.  

I honestly though I wasn't going to see this set due to the Texas Drive 'Em, but I guess it too got overshadowed by the mighty Volkswagen Bus. Now, the aforementioned pickup might have been the one I wanted the most, but it isn't the only cool one from this set. In my opinion, the other three trucks are just as nice, and I especially like how they gave us the "Midnight Express" version of the Li'l Red Express Truck.

The next premium release I found is the '20 Dodge Charger Hellcat from the American Scene Car Culture assortment. I might have been happy about finding the other premium releases, but I was overcome with joy when I saw this release sitting next to the stack of box sets. Sadly, I never once saw the debut release or the assortment it was a part of, and the American Scene assortment never really made it to the pegs. So I honestly thought I'd never have one of these in my collection. Fortunately, I no longer have to look at pictures of it on the internet.

This second release is absolutely fantastic, and I actually think it's better than the first release. Sure, the first one is a replica of the one from the Fast and Furious franchise, but who wouldn't want a Charger finished in this green? Of course, green isn't going to be for everyone, so I could understand why some collectors would like the first one more.

Okay, those are all of the premium releases I found. It might not have been a massive haul, but something is always better than nothing. And that's especially true for premiums. At the end of the day, I'm very happy with what I found. 

So how do you feel about the releases I talked about today? Go ahead and let me know down in the comments section. Alright, that's all I got for this edition of Today On The Boulevard. Until the next post, thanks for reading, and happy collecting. And remember, these are just toys.