My Want List: 2022 Hot Wheels Case "L" - Still Need More But That's Fine

Hello, and welcome to another edition of My Want List here on the Star Boulevard of Speed. It's a new month, and a new Hot Wheels mainline case has finally landed in my area. Now then, like the last few cases, there were once again many releases that I wanted to get, and I was able to get most of them. But as usual, there were a few I couldn't find. And as you probably guessed, they are the JDMs. At the end of the day though, they were not at the top of my case "L" want list. Yeah, that's right. I'm sure many of you think the new Honda casting is one of the stars of this case, and I'll admit that I'm looking forward to having it in my collection. But it's not why I was excited for this case.

So if it's not the Honda, then why am I excited for this case? Well, this case has three beautiful European rides, and they are the releases that I had at the top of my want list. And thankfully, I was able to find all three of them. In my opinion, they are the true stars of this year's case"L." So to start this post off, I'm going to talk about them first, then I'll get to the other ones I wanted. Alright, let's get started.

I don't know how things are for you in your area, but for me, the Hot Wheels id series basically doesn't exist. When they first came out, I would see the trays sitting for many weeks if not months. But that's no longer the case, and it's obviously due to Hot Wheels using better castings for the series. That's why I'm extremely pleased with their decision to use some of the id castings for the mainline. Doing so has given more collectors access to some of the awesome castings like the Automobili Pininfarina Battista. And it wasn't the only one they've decided add to the mainline, either. To my delight, they also chose to give collectors a mainline version of the '71 Lamborghini Miura.

The Miura might not be as stunning as today's Lamborghinis, but its styling will never get old in my book. It truly is a timeless classic European sports car, and that's why it'll always be one of my favorite vehicles from Lamborghini. So yeah, I'm definitely going to take the opportunity to have one on display. I just have to find another one.

As you all know, Matchbox has their own Miura casting, and I've missed almost all of its releases. Fortunately, I was able to get both of the newer ones, so it's not like I didn't have at least one example of the car in my collection. It's just I've spent many days wishing I had some of its early releases because I really like the colors they picked for them. And the 2011 release is one of the ones I really wish I had. That release was finished in orange, and like blue, I feel it's a great color for the Miura. So that's the other reason why this Hot Wheels release made it to the top of my want list.

Now that it's in the mainline, I hope to see many more releases of it going forward. As I've already said, the id series doesn't exist in my area. So it would be a real shame if this ended up being the only mainline release of this beautiful classic. Okay, let's move on to the other two stars of case "L."

The Miura wasn't the only Lamborghini from this case. Making its debut is the stunning Lamborghini Sian FKP 37, and I have to say, seeing it truly left me speechless.

As time goes on, Lamborghini's vehicles become more majestic. And in my opinion, the Hot Wheels designers did an excellent job re-creating this one's exterior features in 1:64 scale. This is absolutely an impressive diecast model, and I'm so glad they chose to make it for the mainline. Like you, I also came across pictures of the pre-release model, and I thought it was going to be a premium. Fortunately, that wasn't the case. Being in the mainline makes it so more collectors have a chance at getting extras to have on display like I did.

When you look up this car on the internet, you immediately get pictures of a green one with gold wheels. I, for one, happen to think it's a great color scheme for the Sian, so I really glad they chose to use it for this first release. Now, I don't know if this green is an exact match, but I feel it's an accurate portrayal of the color Lamborghini used.

I'm also very pleased with how they chose to add tampo details to its front and rear. In my opinion, this model just wouldn't look right without them. Alright, now it's time to move on to the third one I had at the top of my want list.

When the Aston Martin V12 Speedster made its debut in last year's case"Q," I decided to do my usual internet search. That's when I came across an article that talked about three open-top super cars. I believe it was a Top Gear article, but it was late at night, so I don't quite remember. Anyway, the three cars depicted in the article were the V12 Speedster, the McLaren Elva, and the Ferrari Monza. Now, in the 2021 case "Q" post that I made, I said that I was hoping to also see McLaren's Elva. Well, I had no idea that Hot Wheels was in the process of making it.

Overall, this is a very well done casting, and I think it's great how it has the same proportions as the V12 Speedster. Oh, and like the aforementioned casting, this too has side-view mirrors. Looking at the two cars together makes me really wish they could also make Ferrari's Monza.

Now, I might really like plain releases, but I happen to think the real Elva looks awesome with the designs I've seen on it. So I'm actually glad the designers chose one for this debut release. I'm also pleased with the color they picked for its interior piece. It's not everyday that we see a black Hot Wheels car with a brown interior. As such, I feel it makes this beautiful model stand out even more.

I honestly can't wait to see the next release of this casting. Hopefully they'll create another nice design for it. Although, I won't be mad if they choose to give us a plain one instead. Okay, let's move on to the other releases I wanted.

In part one of my 2022 case "K" want list post, I talked about how there were four mainline sets that were all off to a great start. One of them was the Muscle Mania set, and I was thrilled to see it return for this year's mainline. Currently, Japanese and European cars are all the rage, and I feel that makes it so we don't get as many American cars as we should. So the Muscle Mania set makes it so we're guaranteed to get at least a few releases of America's hottest muscle cars each year. And I really like when they choose to use the older ones, too. Sure, the newer muscle cars are great, but they still aren't as appealing as the older ones. There's just something special about cars from a bygone era.So with that being said, I was very happy to see a new release of the mighty '69 Dodge Charger 500.

This right here is truly a fantastic release of this casting! Like the first two Muscle Mania releases, it too features a cool stripe design that's not too wild. And it's great how the stripes were also applied to its trunk. The sides of it also have a black scallop styled design, and seeing it for the first time made me scratch my head. Basically, I thought it was a pointless addition to this release because there's an orange stripe that runs along the lower half of its sides. But it doesn't stand out too much since it's black. So I don't mind it.  

Now, I'm not someone who would think about putting gold wheels on a classic muscle car. However, I'm not completely opposed to the idea because it can lead to the creation of something that's a little different. And it's always nice to see something different when it comes to diecast models. That's why I think it was a great idea to use gold Aero Disk wheels for this release.

The Dodge Challenger Drift Car first drifted into our collections back in 2011, and it has had some pretty cool releases since then. It was also used for a Fast and Furious assortment, too. In fact, that release is still one of my favorite ones. Why is that? Well, it's because it's currently the only one that doesn't feature a drift livery. Sure, this is a drift car, but it is nice to have an example of it that's a little different. Of course, the ones with a livery are still the best releases.

Now then, as you all know, this year's mainline has a set that's called "HW Drift," and the decision was made to use the casting for it. And I honestly think they've created a great livery for this year's release.

There's a saying that "a picture is worth a thousand words," and this release's livery says it all. Basically, it tells you what's under the hood. You see that elephant next to the rear wheel? That elephant is actually the logo for Dodge's Hellephant engine, and it's a rare crate engine that makes 1000 horsepower. I, for one, think it was a great idea to use engine's logo for a livery, and I feel the design choice has led to the creation of a very cool $1 mainline release.

I also appreciate the additional decals that were added. They didn't have to add any, but it's nice to see them. Now, if it was up to me, I would have also added the Sparco decal. In my opinion, that would have been a great addition to this release, especially since it has a red interior piece.

Sometimes, they'll create a drift themed release with two different colored wheels, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. However, I do like how that wasn't done for this this release. 

Ultimately, this is now one of my favorite releases of this casting due to all of the design choices that were made for it. Alright, let's move on to the next one I got.

The Rod Squad mainline set is actually starting to be one of the sets that I look forward to each year. Since its creation, there's been some interesting releases, and that continues to be the case with this year's set. So far, my favorite 2022 Rod Squad release is the '47 Chevy Fleetline, but that could change because there's still a few more releases to come. And the '68 El Camino that's available in this case is just as cool as the aforementioned casting.

Not only was this release finished in a nice color, it was also given a cool pinstripe design. And it wasn't just applied to its sides, either. For this release, the designers chose to also put pinstripes on its hood and roof. For a mainline release, it truly has an excellent amount of details. 

The designers also chose to give this release some rust details. Now, to be honest, depending on the overall design, rust details can sometimes be a hit or miss for me. But this time I feel they are a hit because they don't stand out too much. I mean, you can clearly see them, but they're not as noticeable as the pinstripes. 

If they continue to create releases like this, then yeah, the Rod Squad mainline set will definitely be something I look forward to each year. I guess you could say that its starting to be like the Muscle Mania set. In other words, its making it so we're guaranteed to have nice releases of some cool American cars.

Okay, those are all of the releases I was able to find. I might not have been able to find everything, but I can't complain because I was able to get all of these awesome releases. And as you saw, my display has two new beautiful exotic cars in it.

So what's your favorite case "L" release? Is it one of the ones that's featured in this post or is it one of the JDMs? Go ahead and let me know down in the comments section. Okay, that's all for this edition of My Want List. Until next time, thanks for reading, and happy collecting.