So, are you also extremely pleased with this year's Muscle Mania set? I mean, it's not like I don't like some of the other sets, it's just this year's Muscle Mania has some nice very looking releases of some cool American cars. Although... I wasn't too pleased with the '15 Dodge Challenger SRT, but that's just one release, and there's always going to be at least one release that I don't completely like. So it doesn't change how I feel about the set, and even if it did, the next release would have definitely made me love it again. Why is that? Well, it's because the next release is the Chevelle SS Express, and it's a casting I thought I would never see in the mainline. In fact, I actually thought they were done with it because the last release was in 2013. So it's exciting to see a continued use of it.
Over the years, there's been many different Chevelle castings from Hot Wheels, but the SS Express was always one of my favorite ones due to it having no hood and a supercharged engine. So I'm really glad they didn't do any changes to it or its engine.
As for the design choices that were made, well... I think it goes without saying that the design team did everything right! And I truly mean that. A gloss black exterior with matte black stripes is already a perfect combination for a modified muscle car. But the design team kicked things up a notch by giving it black Retro Slot wheels and a dark grey base, which makes it have a dark grey engine. Now, some collectors might not like the engine's color, but I think it it complements this release's overall appearance.
I really couldn't have asked for a better mainline release than this. It truly does put the "Hot" in Hot Wheels, and if you were to ask me what the top five case "P" releases are, I would definitely say this is one of them. Aright, let's go over the next release I got.
In recent times, I've been a little disappointed with some of the ideas they've had for the Then and Now mainline set. Last year, I was disappointed with their decision to make one of the cars a Treasure Hunt, which made it so no one could really complete the pairing. And this year, I'm disappointed with the Viper pairing. Thankfully though, there were still a few pairings that I looked forward to, and one of them was the Toyota Supras. Now, I knew it wasn't going to be easy to complete the pairing, but there's two reasons why I wasn't that worried. First, I found the "Then" version, which I feel is still a little more popular than the "Now" Supra. And second, none of them are Treasure Hunts. So all I had to do was be patient.
Do you remember how I felt about the older Supra? Well, if you don't, then allow me to quickly explain. In my opinion, the design they gave it makes it look like something you would have seen driving around in the early 2000s. So I felt they should have added a few more decals to it. Of course, I still very much like the release, it's just I think it could have looked a little better. And now that I think about it, I guess I felt that way because there was a lot of unused space along its sides.
So what about this release, then? Do I feel the same way? At first, I thought I would, but now that I have it, I don't. Thanks to how they designed it, the sides of this Supra have a lot less space for tampo details, and the design they created fills in most of that space. Additionally, the Greddy decal is much bigger. So this release doesn't have a lot of unused space along its sides, and that's why I don't have anything to complain about.
Ultimately, I'm just glad they created Supras that I would like enough to want. Remember, I wasn't too fond of the Dodge Vipers, and the pairing was the main one that I wanted to complete. But I chose to leave both Vipers behind because I didn't like what they did to them. So I really would have been disappointed with this year's Then and Now set if they didn't at least make the Supras look okay. Alright, there are four more releases that I got, so let's move on to the next one.
Over the years, Hot Wheels has partnered up with a few different aftermarket brands, and all of the partnerships have led to the creation of some nice looking diecast models. But in my opinion, their current partnership with Liberty Walk is one of the most noteworthy ones. I mean, I think we can all agree that the company makes some outstanding body kits, and the diecast models are just as nice as the actual cars that have their products installed.
Now, when Hot Wheels first gave us the latest Nissan GTR, I never though I would see it with a body kit. That's why I was absolutely speechless when I first saw the Liberty Walk R35. It truly is a masterpiece, and this year's release of it doesn't look bad at all. And there's a reason why I had to have the recolor.
Usually, a release gets added to my want list because I like what was done to its exterior. However, I wanted this recolor because the design team chose to give it the DD8s. When this casting first raced its way into our collections, I really thought it would only ever have the PR5s or the J5s. I never once thought it would have the DD8 wheels. And I have to say, it really doesn't look bad with them. Now, this could very well be the only release that has them, so I had to have this example of the casting.
The wheels might be the main reason why I wanted this release, but I can't ignore what was done to its exterior, either. Sure, I liked the first one because it was finished in blue, but remember, the debut release was also blue. So I think it's nice to see another release of it that is finished in a completely different color, and white is definitely an okay color for it.
As time goes on, the HW Green Speed set seems to get better and better. And that's obviously due to them acquiring the license to use more of today's electric vehicles. That's why, as of this year, the HW Green Speed became one of the mainline sets that I will look forward to each year. And this year's set has some really cool new castings like the Lucid Air and the GMC Hummer EV.
The set also has the Audi RS E-Tron GT, and it is one of the ones that I was thrilled to see. In my opinion, it's one of today's best looking 4-door cars, and Hot Wheels' version of it looks pretty good. Although, I do have to admit that it's not entirely perfect because it doesn't have side-view mirrors, but that's not a huge issue at all. Anyway, the casting started off with a very nice release that was finished in grey, and I thought that was going to be it for this year. But to my surprise, Hot Wheels decided to give us a recolor, and there's a reason why I like it a little more than the first one.
From the side, this car looks really good, but I also like the styling of its front end. And to achieve the look that I like so much, Hot Wheels has to use a black tampo. Now, the tampo might have been noticeable on the grey release, but it's way more noticeable on this red release. And that ultimately makes its font end styling more noticeable. That's why I'm happy with their decision to use red. Of course, white would have made its styling more noticeable too, but red is a much better color.
To be honest, this release might just be featured again in this month's edition of Best On The Block. I know there are still many days to before the month is over, but I feel this is definitely one of the best looking releases at the boulevard right now. Okay, let's go over the next release that I had on my want list.
This year's Baja Blazers set might not be as exciting as the HW Exotics set, but it still has some pretty good looking releases. And I don't know about you, but I think the '95 Jeep Cherokee is one of the coolest ones from this year's set. In fact, it's currently my favorite release from the set. So I definitely had to get the recolor of it.
Despite being happy with it, I do have to admit that I still like the green one more. In my opinion, certain vehicles look the best when they are finished in certain colors. And I feel this particular Jeep looks really good finished in the green that was used for the first release. But there is one good thing about this recolor, and it has to do with the stripe on its sides. On the green release, the stripe is noticeable, but I feel it doesn't stand out as much because the green they used isn't necessarily that bright. So for some, this recolor is the better of the two because the stripe is way more noticeable.
At the end of the day, the green one might be my favorite, but I do think it's nice to have an one were the stripe is a little more noticeable. And you know what? That's actually the reason why I added it to my want list. Okay, let's take a look at the next case "P" release that I wanted.
Hot Wheels' design team makes a lot of great decisions, and one of the recent ones that I'm pleased with is their decision to use some of the older castings from the early 2000s. Using them again has made it so there are less things for me to get off of the secondary market. And one of the ones I wanted to get was the La Troca. Not only was it just a classic pickup truck, it was also a classic pickup that featured some cool exterior modifications. So I had my eye on a few different older releases of it. But all of them were scratched off of that want list when I finally found this year's release. And now they've given us a second color that's not bad at all. So I have no reason to get one of its older releases now.
As you can see, the design team chose to tone things down for this second release, and I think there's nothing wrong with that. Sure, the gold chrome features complement the first release's overall appearance, and they do make it stand out. But this one is still a showstopper because of the color they picked for its exterior.
The exterior color isn't the only good thing about this release. I also happen to think this release's design is a little more eye catching. Why is that? Well, allow me to explain. For the first release's design, the decision was made to use white and gold. Now, the gold they used might have been noticeably different, but it was still gold nonetheless. On the other hand, this release's design features a color that is not a different version of the exterior color, which is magenta. Instead, they opted for purple, and the version of it they went with is not close to magenta at all.
Although I like this release's color scheme more, I really can't say that either one is my favorite. To be honest, they are both equally stunning, and I'm really just glad to have them both.
Well, those are the last six releases that I wanted to get from this year's case"P." Overall, this was a very exciting case, and the RS E-Tron GT is definitely not the only contender for this month's edition of Best On The Block. In fact, if I didn't set a limit, then I would pick most of the releases from this case. That's how great I feel they are.
So how do you feel about the releases from case "P?" Go ahead and let me know your thoughts down in the comments section. Alright, that's all for this multi-part edition of My Want List. Until I find more releases, thanks for reading, and happy collecting.
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