There are some really good releases in this mix, but I only wanted six of them. Initially, my mix three want list had seven releases on it, but I chose to remove one of them after I had some time to think about it. The release in question is the Polaris RZR, and I removed it from my want list because it's the same color as the first two releases. And yes, it features a different design, but I just couldn't ignore its exterior color.
This mix also has a special carded 2015 Mercedes-Benz G 550, but it's basically a re-release of the matte blue one from 2020. It's too bad they didn't choose to make a new one, but I guess it gives collectors who missed the aforementioned release a second chance at one. Alright, I've said enough about the releases I didn't get, so let's move on to the ones I added to my collection.
Many years ago, Hot Wheels created a casting called "Neet Streeter," and it was basically a modified version of a 1936 Ford three-window coupe. The casting featured a raised stance, a supercharger scoop, and a chopped top. A window piece is the one thing it didn't have, but that never mattered to me because that was basically the only 1936 three-window coupe you could get. But that's no longer the case, and it's all thanks to Matchbox finally deciding to make a stock looking one.
I still very much like the Neet Streeter, but it's so nice to have an unmodified version of a 1936 Ford three-window coupe, and I think we can all agree that Matchbox did a great job with this casting. I especially like its overall proportions.
Besides the casting itself, I'm very pleased with the design choices that were made for this first release. For its exterior, they chose to use metallic black paint. Now, I don't know about you, but I think this particular paint looks outstanding when a light is shined on it. So I'm glad they used it for this beautiful classic. I also like how they gave it a chrome base. As you know, these old cars have a bumper that's a part of the base, and I think chrome makes them look a little more real.
This is honestly my favorite release from this mix, and you can definitely expect to see it again in this month's edition of Best On The Block. I mean, how could I not pick it.
Matchbox also excels at making stock looking European classics that we might not have ever seen from Hot Wheels. I mean, you just don't see cars like the MGB GT Coupe from them. And even if they did make one, it most likely wouldn't be stock. So that's why I look forward to these European classics from Matchbox, and they've given us some nice ones within the last couple of years. Besides the MGB, we've also gotten cars like the Aston Martin DBR1 and the Porsche 550 Spyder. And now, they've decided to give us a 1975 Opel Kadett C GT/E.
Castings like this are exactly what I like to see from this brand, and I'm glad it isn't too small or too narrow. Like the Ford, this too has excellent proportions.
I love how this release features a two-tone paint scheme, and to be honest, I thought it was something they thought of. But I was absolutely wrong. Since I didn't know anything about this car, I decided to looked it up. As it turns out, this was a paint scheme that was available for the real Kadett GT/E. Customers could also order this car without the two-tone paint scheme, and I'm sure some of you would have preferred for them to pick a single color instead. But I think using a model specific paint scheme was a nice touch.
I was able to find many pictures of the real car on the internet, and all of them had silver wheels. Now, as you can see, the designers chose to give this release black and chrome wheels instead. I, for one, think it looks just fine with these wheels, so I don't have an issue with this design choice.
All in all, this is a great casting, and I can't wait to see more releases of it. I'm also curious to see if they're going to pick another two-tone paint scheme or not. I guess we'll know next year. No matter what they pick, it'll be a release I try to get. And hopefully we'll see more of Opel's vehicles going forward.
The 1948 Willys Jeep is another classic American vehicle from Matchbox that I like, and over the years, there's been some nice releases of it. Sadly, I don't have that many of them. The 2016 release was actually my first one, and I remember how excited I was to find an army themed Jeep. The 2020 release is the next one I got, and it became my favorite one due to it being blue. There were two more releases of it after that, and I didn't end up getting them. I guess I was completely satisfied with the two I had, but I do have to admit that I regret not getting them. Fortunately, Matchbox decided to release another one this year, and it's the next one I checked off of my want list.
I might not completely like the tan wheels, but I wasn't going to miss my chance to get a third release of this casting. Furthermore, this one features a cool snake skin pattern that makes it match the 2020 release of the '65 Land Rover Gen II Safari. So the color of the wheels is something I can live with.
The interior color is one of the other things I liked about this release. In my opinion, the green they picked combines nicely with the other colors used for this release's exterior. Now, as you know, this casting features a spare wheel, and it's a part of the interior piece. So I'm going to assume that some of you might not like how they chose to give this release a green interior. I, for one, don't mind the spare wheel being green, but I can understand why someone wouldn't like this design choice. After all, green isn't a color that was used for the actual wheels.
So as you can see, this mix has three classic vehicles that I really like. Now, what about the other three? Well, they aren't classics, but they are just as nice, and two of them are finished in my favorite color. So with that being said, let's look at the first one, which is the 2019 Fiat 500 Turbo.
Hot wheels has their own modern Fiat 500 casting, and I do have a few of its releases, but I missed out on the first one and its recolor. So far, those are the only plain releases of that casting. The next best one after that is from the 2016 Euro Style Car Culture assortment, and that one is still my favorite release of the casting. Years later, Matchbox released this modern Fiat 500, and it was finished in red like the Euro Style one.
At the time, that was the only available modern Fiat 500 without a design on it, so I had no issue with it being finished in red like the Car Culture Fiat. But I still wanted a modern Fiat 500 that was finished in a different color, and this release is exactly what I've been waiting for.
Besides being finished in blue, this second release was also given black and chrome wheels. Matchbox doesn't always change the wheel color for each release of their castings, and that's fine. But I definitely appreciate when they decide to do something different for a new release of a casting.
The second blue release from this mix is the 2021 Ford Bronco, and I have to say, it's just a cool as the blue one from Hot Wheels. Now, this release appears to be finished in color that's based on Ford's "Velocity Blue." Of course, I could be wrong, but I'm going to assume that it's based on Ford's color because it looks exactly like the color I'm seeing in various pictures.
The wheel color is the only thing I would have done differently. In my opinion, blue Ford Broncos look great with black wheels. So I wish they would have either made this release have all black wheels, or black and chrome wheels like the Fiat. But I guess the wheel color isn't that big of a deal, especially since I love the color they picked for its exterior.
It's no lie that BMW has designed some very nice vehicles over the years, and I bet you're also more into their two-door cars too. Now, even though I like their two-door vehicles the most, that doesn't mean I wouldn't own one of their four-door vehicles. After all, you'll sometimes need the extra space, and two-door vehicles don't always have enough of that. So that's why you'll see castings like the new 2012 3 Series Touring featured in a My Want List post.
I'm really pleased with their decision to use the same paint they used for the '36 Ford. Like I said, I think this particular paint looks outstanding when a light is shined on it. So using it helped to create a very nice debut release of this casting.
The paint isn't the only design choice that I like, though. I'm also pleased with their decision to give this release black wheels. We don't always get black releases with black wheels from Matchbox, so one could say that this release kind of stands out.
Well, those are the six releases I had on my mix three want list. If I had to pick two favorites from this mix, it'd definitely be the first two. Even though I'm happy to have a blue Fiat 500, nothing beats the look of classic cars. They might be slower than today's vehicles, but I think they're still captivating.
So how do you feel about this year's mix three? Go ahead and let me know down in the comments section. Alright, that's all for this edition of My Want List. Until the next post, thanks for reading, and happy collecting. And remember, these are just toys.
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