Hot Wheels Mystery Models '68 Plymouth Barracuda Formula S - Got An Extra

Hello, and welcome to another additional feature here on the Star Boulevard of Speed. Did you know that I also pay attention to the Hot Wheels Mystery Models? It might seem like I don't, but I do. It's just most of the times Hot Wheels only puts one or two releases that I would want in each assortment, and they are usually the first three releases. So I'm not always able to find them. Now, there has been a few occasions where I've been able to find the ones I wanted, but I'm unable to find an extra one to open. I mean, no one wants to simply see a picture of a closed Mystery Models pack, right? That's why you never see me talk about the ones I find. 

Now then, this year's second Mystery Models assortment started to show up in my area last month, and there were two releases that piqued my interest. And once again, they were the first couple of releases. So I figured I'd just have to keep an eye out for them whenever I went to Walmart.

For the most part, I was finding boxes that were a mess, as well as Mystery Models packs that were thrown all over the place. But there ended up being one time where there were multiple open boxes, but none of them were a mess. So I decided to take a moment to look through them. I really wasn't expecting to find anything at all, but that didn't stop me from looking anyway. And I'm glad I did because I was able to find the main one I waned, which was the '68 Plymouth Barracuda Formula S. I was truly shocked at how it was still there, so I continued on to the next box. And to my surprise, the second box had the '91 GMC Syclone. I then decided to check the other two boxes, and that led to me being able to find two additional Barracudas.

If you've checked out many of my recent posts, then you've probably noticed how I've been trying to update my display with some of this year's hottest releases. And for the most part, I've gotten extras of the European cars like the Bugatti EB110 SS, the Pagani Zonda R, and the orange McLaren F1. I've also added a few new Japanese cars to my display as well. So there really hasn't been any new American cars, and that's one of the reasons why I was motivated to look for extras.

Besides wanting to have another American car on display, I also wanted to see what this release actually looked. I mean, I knew how it looked like from the artwork, and it's not like I couldn't see it through the little hole they add to the mystery packs. But there is nothing like being able to look at the entire car, and getting an extra one was the only way I would be able to. Although, I guess I could have looked at pictures of it on the internet, but where is the fun in that? Being able to actually see and hold a release is a lot better than looking at pictures of it. 

Now, I might like plain releases, but that doesn't mean I won't also cherish releases that have a lot of decoration on them. After all, if don't right, a design can make a diecast model look a whole lot better than it already does. And in my opinion, the flame design they created has done just that. Sure, it might not be the kind of design you would expect to see on the real car, but I happen to think the real car would look pretty cool with this kind of flame design.

The flame design isn't the only cool thing about this release, though. I also really like it's overall color scheme, and I'm not just talking about the exterior, either. What I'm also talking about is the color of its interior piece. In my opinion, the version of beige they picked goes great with the other colors they used for this release.

I would also like to mention that I really like the paint they decided to use. You won't really be able to see it in my pictures, but Hot Wheels' design team chose to use a metallic paint for this release. And I'd best describe it as having gold flakes in it. In my opinion, using metallic white was a much better choice than gloss white. I mean, this release would have looked just fine no matter what paint they used, but this particular paint looks fantastic under a light, and the blue flames look really good over it too.

There has been many times where they have decided to give a Mystery Models release a wheel that is two different colors. So for example, this release could have had wheels that were black and gold. Now, I'm sure many collectors wouldn't care because they figure they can just swap the wheels if they don't like them. But I couldn't even think about doing that because I don't have any spare wheels laying around. So that's why I love when they do things right, and chrome 5SPs are still one of the best wheels for a classic American car.

I don't know about you, but I think this is truly a ten out of ten release of this beautiful American classic. And it's definitely a great addition to any Hot Wheels display. So I hope you were able to find an extra one too.  

So how do you feel about this release? Do you also think it looks amazing? Go ahead and let me know down in the comments section. Okay, that's all for this additional feature. Until I find some releases, thanks for reading, and happy collecting.