There were a total of three American vehicles that I wanted. Two of them are new, while the other one is the second release of the 1932 Ford Coupe Model B, and it's definitely the release I was hoping to eventually see. So it's the first one I want to talk about.
It's no lie that red with black flames is a cool combination for a hot rod. So I still very much like the first release. However, this release is not only just plain, it is also finished in blue. And it's a version of blue that I have not seen used by Hot Wheels for their '32 Ford casting. So this release is definitely a sight for sore eyes.
Another great thing about this release is that it features a silver grill. Now, I'm not saying I had an issue with the red one's grill being painted black, so don't get me wrong. After all, it does complement its customized appearance. But I think it's nice to finally have an example of this hot rod with a normal colored grill. Okay, let's move on to the next ones.
The next two castings are new, and like the Ford, they both put a smile on my face. And one of them is something that I was hoping they would make. Now, before I get to that one, I want talk about the 2021 Cadillac CT5-V first.
This right here is something I thought I would never see down the row at Walmart. In my area, Cadillacs are also the ones people try to hoard. Remember last year's Cadillac Series from Matchbox? I bet you do. Well, I was only ever able to find one release from that series. Anyway, Cadillac's CT5-V is a very nice looking four-door, and I think Matchbox's version of it looks outstanding. Although, it is a little narrow when compared to some of the other castings, but that's fine.
Besides the casting itself, I'm also pleased with the design choices that were made for this debut release. Now, I do think Cadillac's vehicles look really good when they are finished in black, but I have to say, their CT5-V doesn't look too bad finished in red. Alright, let's look at the one I was hoping they would make.
Earlier this year, Hot Wheels gave us a heavily modified version of Ford's Mustang Mach-E, and I was very pleased with it. In my opinion, they did a fantastic job re-creating its exterior features in 1:64 scale. But I was left wondering if we would ever see a stock version from Matchbox. Well, to my surprise, this year's mainline has a stock version, and I couldn't be happier.
This casting is now my favorite version of the Mustang Mach-E. Sure, the modified one is cool, and its real-life counterpart has some incredible capabilities. But sometimes, you just want a plain old stock example of a vehicle, and this casting has completely satisfied that need. Oh, and I love how they went with Ford's "Rapid Red Metallic" for its first release. I've seen a few real-life Mach-Es finished in the color, and I think its a great color for it. Of course, I'm still waiting to see a blue one, but I'm truly happy with this one.
My gosh, they've done it again! Once again, a release of this casting has left me speechless. As I have said in a few older posts, I love when exotic cars are finished in bright colors. I mean, they do still look great finished in dark colors like grey, but there is just something special about a brightly colored exotic car. And it just doesn't get anymore special than acid green. I'm also extremely pleased with their decision to give it black wheels.
You might disagree with me, but I don't see how they'll be able to create a better looking one than this or the debut release. It's not like I won't add any of the future releases to my want list, it's just the first two are simply stunning. Okay, that enough drooling over this masterpiece. Let's go over the two that are new.
In recent years, there's been an increase in the number of Audi castings from Hot Wheels and Matchbox, and I'm sure that has made many in the diecast community happy. I know I am. You see, before I got back in to collecting, the only Audi I had was the debut release of the '07 R8. So that's why I get excited when I see a new one, and I was thrilled to see Matchbox's response to Hot Wheels' RS E-Tron GT.
Electric SUVs are seriously starting to grow on my, and it's all thanks to these releases from Matchbox. Sure, it's not as sporty looking as the RS E-Tron GT, but you know what? It's still a very nice looking vehicle nonetheless, and Matchbox's version of it looks fantastic.
I, for one, think it's awesome how they chose to start things off with an exciting exterior color, and it doesn't get anymore exciting than Audi's "Antigua Blue." I know it all comes down to personal preference, so other collectors might have preferred one of Audi's other colors. But you have to admit that this version of blue is something else! Okay, let's move on.
The second new European vehicle is also an EV, and it's the Volkswagen ID.4. Although, for some reason (and I don't want to speculate), its card says "EV 4" instead. But I'm going to refer to it by its actual name whenever I talk about a release of it. Anyway, this is honestly another great SUV casting from Matchbox. And castings like it as well as the other two are currently the reason why Matchbox is the go-to brand for diecast SUVs.
You should already know how I feel about this debut release's exterior color, so there's no reason for me to talk about that design choice. There is one that I would like to talk about, and it's one of the additional tampo details.
If you look at the window piece, you'll notice how it has a silver tampo applied to it. Now, for some, this might seem like an insignificant detail, but it's actually not. Basically, this particular release is the ID.4 Pro S with the "Gradient" package. So like the real vehicle, it has a black roof with silver accents. It should have also had silver on its rear bumper too, but I'm not going to complain about that. After all, this is not a premium release.
It's too bad Matchbox doesn't have a wheel that looks like Hot Wheels' RA6 wheels. In my opinion, those look somewhat similar to the wheels you get on the Pro S Gradient, and they would have been a much better choice than the split 10-spoke wheels. But it's not like this model looks terrible with them, so I don't mind. I just think it could have looked a little more like the real thing. Alright, let's go over the last two European vehicles.
It's no lie that Hot Wheels has some great classic car castings, but a lot of them depict the vehicles with exterior modifications, which is fine. But that makes me want to also have a stock or base model version of the vehicle as well. That's why I'm always looking forward to the classics from Matchbox, and this mix has two European classics that I like. So I might be happy about the modern European vehicles, but I am definitely pleased with the classics they picked. I'm especially pleased to see another release of the 1962 Volkswagen Beetle.
I do have a few different Beetle castings from Hot Wheels, but Matchbox's casting is still one of my favorite ones. And this release of it is simply perfect. Now, the green they went with isn't as exciting as the blue that was used for the Audi E-Tron, but it's still a great color for an unmodified classic Beetle.
Another classic car that I look forward to seeing a release of is their version of the BMW 2002. And this mix has made it so we're finally able to have an example of it that is finished in red. Now, for some, that might not be that big of a deal. But in case you haven't noticed, Hot Wheels has yet to use red for their casting. So this release is a sight for sore eyes, and I feel they have picked a fantastic version of red for it.
Although I like release, I really can't understand why they chose to once again put "BMW 2002" on its license plate section. Take the Volkswagen Beetle for example. This year's release has a license plate like the 2019 release, but they changed what is says. So I don't see why they can't create something new for this casting.
Ultimately, I can ignore the license plate section because I'm just happy to finally have a red BMW 2002. Alright, let's move on to the Japanese vehicles.
No assortment is complete without at least one JDM, right? Well, Matchbox's team made sure they took JDM fans into consideration when they put this mix together. Instead of one JDM release, they chose to give collectors two, and I'm actually very happy with the castings they chose. So with that being said, let's take a look at the Subaru SVX first.
In the course of my life, I have only ever seen one of these driving around, and you'd think it'd be more common than that. But no, it's not. What's funny is that I've actually seen way more Lamboghinis and Ferrris driving around. So this casting is another reason why I love diecast brands like Matchbox. Thanks to them, we get to see vehicles that we don't typically see on the road anymore.
Some collectors might not like how this release has gold wheels, and I can understand why. After all, gold wheels are something you'd expect to see on an Impreza and not an SVX. But I feel this is what the car could have looked like if Subaru had decided to create a special high performance version of it. So for that reason, I'm going to say that this is currently the coolest looking release, and it might just end up being my all-time favorite one. Okay, let's move on to the last release that I got from this mix.
The next JDM release is the Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40, and I am extremely happy to have this latest release of it. I mean, I'm happy to have all of these releases, but the FJ40 is another one of the older castings that I've wanted to have more of. You see, prior to this latest one, the 2017 release was the only one I had, and the reason why is because I wasn't into Matchbox before then. Now, that one does look okay, but I do have to admit that I wanted to have an example of the casting that looked a little different. And this latest release is exactly what I wanted.
For the 2017 release, Matchbox's design team chose to give the casting an off-road racing theme, and at the time, I was just happy to have something new in my collection. But a few years later I wanted to have one that looked like something you'd see driving past you on the freeway. And I wasn't sure if there was ever going to be another one that looked like that. After all, Matchbox had already given collectors a few plain releases. So I was starting to think it was time to turn to the secondary again. But to my surprise, they chose to create one that looks street-legal for this year's mainline, and I couldn't have asked for anything better than this. Of course, it's not plain like the initial releases, but that's fine because there's nothing wrong with a diecast Toytota that features the TRD stripes.
Well, those are the ten releases that I wanted from mix six. At the end of the day, this was truly a fantastic mix, and I'm definitely going to have a hard time putting together this month's edition of Best On The Block. Remember, I liked a lot of the releases from this year's Hot Wheels case "P" too. So now the struggle begins.
Okay, so how do you feel about the releases they gave us in this mix? Do you like one of them more than the others? Go ahead and let me know down in the comments section. Well, that's all for this edition of My Want List. Until next time, thanks for reading, and happy collecting.
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