Hot Wheels has a lot of great castings, and most of them are used in the mainline. But some of them are only used for special product lines like their Car Culture series. And I have to admit that I sometimes find myself getting a little frustrated at the decision to do that. I know they want some of their castings to be a little more rarer than the other ones, but a lot of collectors (myself included) have absolutely no interest in the rarity or potential value of casting. All we care about is having multiple nice examples of a cool car. So that's why it's always a joyous occasion when they finally decide to add cars like the '84 Mustang SVO to the mainline.
I actually didn't even know Hot Wheels had this casting, and the reason why is because it was created during a time where I took a break from collecting diecast cars. So how did I discover it, then? Well, in 2016, I decided to search for Mustang releases on the secondary market. As I was scrolling through, I eventually found a listing for the 2015 release, and I instantly fell in love with it because it was finished in blue. But I never ended up buying it because I didn't think it was worth the price folks were trying to charge. I mean, the SVO might be a special version of the Mustang, but it's definitely not a Maserati.
The casting was then used again in 2017, but they decided to only make it available to certain collectors. So for the longest time, I could do nothing but look at pictures of it on the internet, and that made me a little sad. But good things come to those who wait, and I'm glad the wait is finally over.
So how do I feel about the design choices that were made? Well, do I even need to say? I mean, just look at this release. Not only was it just finished in purple, which is a color that's not frequently used for Mustangs, it was also give a simple stripe design that I feel complements its overall appearance. And that's a huge plus for me. I'm also happy they decided to use silver instead of some other color that might have possibly ruined how awesome this release looked.
Hopefully we'll see even more nice looking mainline releases of this casting going forward. But if not, then I'm happy with this one. After all, one is better than none, and I couldn't have asked for a better one than this! Okay, let's move on to the next release.
It's always exciting when there's a new casting for us to collect, and it's even more exciting when it's a licensed casting. Although, there has been a few times now when I've gotten really excited about an unlicensed casting. Anyway, this year's case "M" has two new licensed castings. One of them is an American car while the other one is a Japanese car. So there's certainly a new casting for everyone. So with that being said, let's take a look at the newest American car first, which is a '62 Corvette Gasser.
This right here is exactly what I like to see from Hot Wheels! For the longest time, the '55 Bel Air Gasser was the only mainline gasser we could possibly look forward to each year. And I always wondered why there weren't more gassers in the mainline. So I'm extremely pleased with their decision to create a third one for us, and I still can't believe that it's a '62 Corvette. I mean, I've seen the various videos on the internet of C1 drag cars. So it's not like I didn't know they existed, it's just I never thought I would see one from Hot Wheels. And it's a nice looking one, too.
The casting itself already looks great, but it looks even better than it would have thanks to the design choices that were made for this release of it. And I really like how they went with copper for its exterior color. Like a few other ones, copper is also a color that's not frequently used for licensed castings. So if you wanted to make a debut release of a casting stand out for many years to come, then an uncommon color is the best choice.
Its exterior color is not the only thing that makes this first release great, though. As you can see, this release also has a nice amount of tampo details, and I think it's great how they also chose to decorate the top of it as well. Oh, and the additional sponsor decals were definitely a nice touch.
In my opinion, it'll be very hard for a future release to top this one. Sure, there could be another mainline release that I really like, but it might not be as decorated as this one. So this could very well end up being my all-time favorite release of the casting. Okay, let's move on to the Japanese casting.
Over the years, there's been many diecast versions of Nissan's various vehicles. Some look stock, while others depict a modified version of the vehicle. Now, I don't know about you, but I've really been enjoying the latest modified looking ones we've gotten. I mean, it's nice to have stock looking castings, but it's no lie that some of the coolest diecast models are the ones that depict exterior modifications. So words cannot describe how happy I am to see castings like the new Nissan Maxima Drift Car. And I'm sure many collectors will say that it is the highlight from case "M."
Hot Wheels' design team has definitely outdone themselves with this casting. And even if JDM isn't quite your thing, you have to admit that they have skillfully turned an otherwise bland station wagon into a majestic drift machine.
Besides the main exterior modifications, they also designed this casting with a plexiglass hood section. That' right, it features a see-though hood, and I feel that's what truly took this casting to the next level. So this time I'm going to have to agree with the masses. In other words, I also think this JDM release is one of the highlights from this case.
For the most part, I'm happy with the design choices that were made for this debut release. Overall, it features an okay looking Motul livery as well as some additional sponsor decals. So there's really nothing to complain about. Although, I do think it's missing an engine performance part decal. So if it was up to me, I would have either added HKS or Greddy to this release.
The casting itself is not the only thing I'm excited about. Take a look at it's wheels. After all these years, Hot Wheels has finally made the Super Advans! Now, from what I can gather, they are actually called "FC3," but you'll usually see me refer to them as the Super Advans because that's basically what they are.
I know for a fact that I'm not the only one that now has a long list of releases I'd like to see. I mean, there are so many JDM castings that'll look fantastic with these new wheels, and one of them is definitely the S13 Silvia. So hopefully next year's mainline will have many JDM releases with this new wheel. Okay, let's move on to the next release that I checked off of my want list.
Lancia is not a vehicle manufacturer that you'd typically see on the Hot Wheels pegs. Initially, the Stratos was the only casting we had. But within the last couple of years, the list of Lancia castings has grown. The only bad thing is that two of them are premium castings. However I'm not going to complain too much because they did decide to make the Delta Integrale for the mainline. And it's not like it isn't a nice looking rally car too.
Now then, last year's release featured a very cool livery, and I ended up liking the recolor just a tad bit more. So that's why I was eager to see what they would chose do to a second release of it. Well, the wait is finally over, and I'm actually very pleased with what I am seeing.
I really thought they were going to create another flashy livery, but no, they chose to do something a little different, and I think it was a great idea. So what's so great about it? Well, in my opinion, this release looks more like a modified car that's still street-legal rather than one that competes in a rally race. Sure, it has a racing number on it, but everything else reminds me of how cars were decorated in the early 2000s, and it's a style I will never grow tired of.
I also like when the designers chose to use different interior colors for the various releases of a casting. I mean, there's nothing wrong with them frequently using black interior pieces, but it's always nice when they chose a different color. And for this release, the decision was made to use a beige interior piece. Now, I don't know about you, but I feel that's a great interior color for a dark green car, and I feel it contributed to how cool this release is.
Now I'm curious to see what they have planned for the next release. I know they'll most likely do another rally themed one, but I would love to eventually see a plain release. At the end of the day though, I'm just happy to see back-to-back releases of this casting, and I hope it continues because this is a very cool car. Alright, let's move on.
So how do you feel about the recolors of the various Batmobiles? In my opinion, they are awesome, and they are among the releases that I look forward to each year. I especially like when they chose to use colors that are not typically associated with Batman. And I'm even happier when the color isn't close to black. I mean, dark colors are nice, but I definitely like when they use brighter colors. And that's exactly what they did for the second recolor of the Arkham Asylum Batmobile.
This year's first release was green, and I was very pleased with it because there aren't too many green Batmobile releases. They then decided to use Maroon for the first recolor, and I was also happy with it. However, at that time, I still liked the green one a little more. But thanks to this release, I no longer have one that I like the most. Like green, purple is another color that's not typically used for Batman's vehicles. And I'm really happy with how they picked a version of it that's not that dark. I mean, it's still a dark purple, but it's not close to black.
Now, I don't know about you, but I think this particular purple is a fantastic color for a Batmobile. So I hope to see it used for the other castings. I especially want to see it used for the Batplane too! Alright, let's move on to the next release.
Initially, the HW Green Speed was a mainline set that I didn't pay too much attention to. I mean, the set always had Teslas in it, but there were always a lot of unlicensed castings too. And none of them were ones I liked. So there really wasn't much for me to look forward to. But things are a lot different now. In recent years, more electric vehicles have become available, and that has made it so there are more options for the HW Green Speed set. And the new GMC Hummer is one of the main ones that made me change how I feel about the set. So I was truly happy when I found out we were going to get a recolor of it.
To be honest, I thought they'd give us a recolor that resembles the "Edition 1," but I'm definitely not disappointed with this one. Sure, this casting will look nice finished in white, but I think it looks pretty good finished in burnt orange. Plus, white is a color you're more likely to see, so using this color was definitely a great choice.
Now, do I still think it'd be cool to see one that looks like the "Edition 1?" Yes, I do. I'd also like to see a blue one. Oh, and I don't know about you, but I think this Hummer would also look awesome with a matte black finish. So I'm hoping they'll consider using some of my ideas at some point in the future. Of course, I'll be happy with whatever they chose to do because at the end of the day, I'm just glad they were able to obtain the license to make this vehicle.
Well, that's six releases, so it's time to end this first part. The rest of what I got will be talked about in part two, so be sure to come back to the boulevard tomorrow.
So how do you feel about the release I talked about today? Go ahead and let me know your thoughts down in the comments section. Okay, that's all for now. Till part two, thanks for reading, and happy collecting.
No comments:
Post a Comment