My Want List: 2021 Hot Wheels Case G - Part 1

Okay everyone, welcome to a new edition of My Want List. Unlike the last case, I was able to find everything I wanted in one trip to the store. And no, I wasn't called. Anyway, this case is jammed packed full of good looking releases. As such, this is going to be another review that gets broken up into two parts. Alright, let's begin. 

Hot Wheels has done it again! They have once again created a masterpiece that I feel will be loved by most, if not all JDM fans. Debuting in this year's Factory Fresh mainline set, is the stunning Nissan R390 GT1. This casting, is a replica of the one road version that was built. For those that might not have known, some racing rules require that a manufacturer has a road version of the car they are trying to race with. So basically, homologation is the sole reason why this particular car even exist.

Since this is based on the only R390 road car, it was finished in a great shade of metallic blue. It's a blue that I feel is close enough to the blue used for the real car. And even if the color isn't quite right, I'd still say that it helped to make this a great looking replica.

The front features detailed headlights, the Nissan emblem, and some additional bumper details. The rear features all of the R390's rear lights, as well as some additional details like the exhaust. They also took the time to incorporate the Nissan and R390 GT1 emblems.

Now as good as this replica is, I do have a minor issue with the wheel choice. The real car has split five spoke wheels. As such, I feel Hot Wheels should have used the PR5s instead. Most might disagree with my opinion, but I think the aforementioned wheels would have made this replica even more accurate.

Before I move onto the next vehicle, I want to quickly talk about this release's interior. The real car's interior is red, while this one's interior is dark grey. Since the interior piece is also the engine, I can understand why they made it this color. I just think it would have been cool if they designed it so the seats could be red. I know it's not impossible to do. Just look at the Greenwood Corvette. That casting's seat is apart of it's base. That's why the gold one from last year has a black interior with a white seat. Ultimately, I have now problem with how this casting was designed. This was just something that came to mind. 

The '70 Toyota Celica has finally made it's return to the Hot Wheels mainline, and it's the next release that got checked off of my want list. This casting made it's debut way back in 2013, and it only had two mainline releases after that. There was one more release of it in 2016. But that one was exclusive to the multipacks, and it was simply a recolor of the 2013 release. Now that Mattel can make Toyotas again, I hope to see many future releases of this casting.

I think you all will agree that the best thing about this release, is it's exterior color. I don't know what it's called, but what I do know, is that it's the same color that was used for the 2018 release of the Aston Martin One-77. It's a very beautiful color, and I'm glad they decided to use it for this classic JDM. 

The design created for this release isn't one that has a racing number, or a number circle. I mean... those designs are cool and all, but there are enough classic JDM releases with those details. And it's not like they didn't already release one of these with that type of design. So after being absent for a few years, I think it was a great idea to kick off it's return with a simple stripe design. After all, simple can sometimes equal perfection.

I don't always like when chrome gold wheels are used, but this is one time where I think it was an excellent choice. And I like how they chose to use the J5 wheels. This casting looks fantastic with them, and the color combines perfectly with the all of the colors seen on the exterior.

The next release that got checked off of my want list, is the recolor of the Volvo 850 Estate. I actually wasn't going to get this recolor due to Hot Wheels deciding to paint it yellow. If you were one of the ones that read my latest Car Culture review, then you already know that I have the yellow 850 Estate from that assortment. That release, is why this wasn't on my want list. Of course, that changed when I found it.

Upon seeing it in person, I decided to just get it. Basically... the yellow used for this release, is no where near the yellow that was used for the Car Culture one. I would best describe this release's color as being race yellow. This casting does look great finished in this color, but I will admit that I still like the Car Culture one a little more, since it's color is based on an actual color that was available for the real car.

This release being plain, is one of the other reasons why I decided to just get it. For all we know, all of it's future releases will have some kind of design. Now there's nothing wrong with that, it's just I feel it's nice to have releases that are plain. So despite being finished in yellow, I figured that I would go ahead and add another plain release of this casting to my collection

There's really not much else to say about this recolor, other than the fact that it's an okay addition to my collection. Now if you're someone who doesn't care about a specific shade of a color, and just wants a yellow 850 Estate, then this is a pretty good alternative to the Car Culture one. It's only missing some additional details, and if you wanted to, you could swap the wheels to give it that premium look. 

Up next, is the recolor of the Dodge Van. Unlike the last casting, I didn't hesitate to add this one to my want list. Personally, the first one is still cool, since it's exterior color is not as common as some of the other colors that are used by Hot Wheels. But I feel this one's color makes it just as good, if not slightly better.

As you all know, Mooneyes is one of the companies that's featured on this release. So I think you can probably guess why I think this recolor is slightly better than the first one. Although this isn't a Mooneyes themed release per se, I feel being finished in yellow helps to make it fit in with the other Mooneyes releases from Hot Wheels. 

Since I feel that way about this release, I think it should have been finished in the yellow that's used for the actual Mooneyes themed releases. Now don't get me wrong, the yellow that was used for this one, is still very nice. 

Once again, the 5SP wheels were used. Personally, it would have been nice to see a different wheel used. However, I will admit that this casing looks okay with these 5-spoke wheels. Now what's interesting, is how the card art shows it with chrome wheels, while the actual product has grey wheels. Some of you might have preferred for it to have chrome wheels, but I think it looks just fine with grey wheels. It is a recolor after all, so having a different wheel color is a plus for me.

Racing off of my want list next, is the Roborace Robocar that's apart of this year's HW Green Speed mainline set. I don't always like all of the future releases of a casting. Sometimes, they are just not as good as the initial release. Take the Speed Blur release of the Custom '01 Acura Integra for example. Did you see it featured here on the boulevard? No you didn't. That's because I didn't like the design choices made for it. Thankfully, that's not the case for this third release of this Robocar.

I really like how effort was put into this third release. If they wanted to, they could have made it a little more plain since the first two were given cool liveries. But I'm glad they decided to give us another one with a livery that's just as good as the ones applied to the first two. I also like the color that were used for it. Black, orange, grey, and blue, are a fantastic mix of colors for a stripe design. 

This one also has a nice amount of additional details, and it's great to finally see one of these with a real-life tire sponsor. Michelin is the company that's featured, and there's a reason why I feel it was a great idea to use them. If you go to the at the bottom of the Roborace website, they have a section that list their partners. One of the companies listed, is none other than Michelin.  

As you can see, details were once again added to the sides of this casting. Now instead of placing the racing number there like the last two, they decided to put "Roborace" on one side, and the Hot Wheels logo on the other side. Even though the number is placed there on the real car, I think it's nice to switch things up. So I really don't have a problem with this decision. 

I'm glad the TRAP5 wheels were used again. Although they are one spoke less than the real car's wheels, they are the best possible wheel for this casting, since they have a similar appearance.

The sixth release from this case to get checked off of my want list, is the recolor of the Batman: Arkham Knight Batmobile. Earlier this year, Hot Wheels gave us a very cool release of this casting that was finished in a very dark metallic red. And it featured a black camouflage design. In my opinion, it is still a very good release, however, it's no lie that this one is right up there with it. And it all has to do with the decisions made for the exterior colors. 

Instead of using another dull color, Hot Wheels decided to brighten things up by giving it a flat tan finish. The design was changed to brown. I think it's great how they decided to use an entirely different type of paint for this recolor. It's not often that we get a flat colored release of this casting. So being this type of finish, really helped to make it stand out from the other releases. And I feel it's refreshing to see one of these in a color that's not dull. Although... I guess some would consider dull colors to be the best for Batman's vehicles. 

It's great how they decided to change the wheels too, however, I wish the rim was black instead of grey. The grey that was used, is the same one that was used for the red one's wheels. Additionally, if you take a look at some of the older releases of this casting, then you'd notice how they too have wheels that are painted with this grey. I know the id releases have wheels that are a different color, but that doesn't change the fact that most of the releases of  this casting have grey painted wheels. So I think it would have been nice to finally see a non id version of this casting with a different colored wheel.

The recolor of the '17 Lamborghini Urus, is the seventh release that got checked off of my want list. In my opinion, Lamborghini's vehicles look great finished in just about any color. And white, which is what the designers chose for this release, is one of those colors. Now it might not be as flashy as the other two colors that were used for this casting, but I think it's an okay color for a Urus nonetheless. 

I also think Lamborghini's vehicles look great with different colored interiors. So that brings me to the next thing I want to talk about. I have seen numerous pictures of white Lamborghinis with different colored interiors. So instead of giving it a black interior like the first two, I feel they should have used a different colored interior for this release. 

To liven it up, I would have chose to give it a white interior. Now this isn't the only color that would have worked. Some might prefer the look of white with a red interior, while others might prefer the look of white with a beige interior. In my opinion, any one of those options would have been better. 

As you can see, the designers chose to once again use chrome TRAP5s. These are fine, but I would have painted them black instead. Now there's nothing wrong with chrome wheels on a white SUV, I just like the look of white with black wheels.  

Okay everyone, I'm going to stop this first part here. Be sure to check out part two, as it will cover the rest of what I wanted from this case. Also, feel free to let me know your thoughts on the releases featured in this post. Alright, that's all for part one. Until part two, happy collecting.

White Booth Wednesday #82

It's once again time for another Wednesday showcase here on the boulevard. Here's this week's featured vehicle.

Vehicle: Morris Mini

Series: 2015 Hot Wheels Off-Road Rally

Boulevard rating: 8

How I feel about this release: This release was actually my first one, which is why I feel it deserved to be featured in a White Booth Wednesday. Like I've said in various older post, I feel the designers do a good job at making realistic looking fantasy decals. And when it comes to racing themed releases, I'd rather see some decals rather than no decals at all. So, with that being said, all of the fantasy decals that were applied to this release, contributed to the overall rating I gave it. The stripe design is okay, but I would have made the thinner stripe black. Doing so, would have made the design match the checkered patter that was applied to the roof. Last but not least, is the exterior color. It's not everyday we get a licensed casting that's finished in this color. As such, I feel it helps to make this Morris Mini stand out in my collection.

So collectors, what would be your rating for this release? Go ahead and let me know down in the comments. As always, happy diecast collecting!  

Looking At: 2021 Hot Wheels Kroger Exclusive Case

Hello everyone, welcome to another edition of Looking At. As you saw from my social media post, I was able to get my hands on a Kroger exclusive case. Before I get things started, there are two things I'd like to say about this particular post. First, I'm going to share my thoughts on this case. After that, I'm mostly going to let the pictures do the talking. In other words, this isn't going to be a typical Looking At post. I will still share my thoughts on some of the releases, but since there are so many, I will try to keep it short. So With that being said, let's get started. 

One of the huge problems with ordering an event case, is the possibility of getting one that's been gone through by the employees. This was the main thing I didn't like about the Kmart events. Thankfully, that doesn't seem to be a problem with this retail store, and I hope it continues to be that way. I really can't stand when a company advertises a product as being new, but they let their employees get what they want first before sending it out to the customer. If you think about it, that's actually false advertisement.

Now, if you were one of the ones that read my GameStop event post, then you already know how there were nineteen releases that I didn't care for. And you also know how I didn't get all of the colors. Well... things are completely different with this event's case. Unlike my GameStop case, this one was packed with lots of great releases, and there were multiples of all four exclusive colors. 

Before you get to the pictures, I would also like to mention that the releases I got, are from case H and case J. So there isn't going to be a My Want List post for either of those two cases. Additionally, there are still a few things I missing from both. I will most likely feature them in a Today On The Boulevard post once I'm able to find them. Now then, let's move onto what was in my case.

Up first, are the four exclusive colors.

I'm going to start with the '17 Nissan GT-R (R35). For obvious reasons, this is the one everyone is going to want, and I can totally see why. Black with a red stripe is a cool color scheme for the R35. As cool as this release is though, I still very much like how this car looks finished in yellow. So I don't prefer one over the other. 

For it's wheels, the decision was made to use MC5s. At first, I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about them being used for this casting. Now that I have this release in hand, I think it looks just fine with them.  

 

Recently, I wrote a Today On The Boulevard post where I talked about why I ended up getting the Erikenstein Rod. If you read that post, then you already know how I initially wasn't too into this casting. That all changed with this year's release. Anyway, this Kroger exclusive one is actually not bad at all. I love how they decided to finish in purple, which is a color I came to really like in recent years. 

Hot Wheels must be really proud of their Big-Air Bel-Air casting, because it's the next exclusive color from this event. Don't get me wrong, I have no issue with it being one of the exclusives, I just think it's interesting how they decided to release another exclusive color of it right after the GameStop one.

I actually like this one more than the one that was released earlier this year, and it has to do with the fact that it's blue. As you already know, BFGoodrich is the biggest aftermarket decal on this release. In my opinion, the shade of blue that was picked, is a much better color for a BFGoodrich sponsored vehicle. 

My least favorite among the four, is the '10 Pro Stock Camaro that's representing Pictionary Junior. Personally, this year's release of this casting is not the best. Thankfully, I have a lot of it's other releases. So I'm not upset about this one's theme. 

Although I don't care too much for the theme, I do like it's metallic green exterior. So I've decided to leave one closed, and put one towards the mail-in. 

Earlier in the year, Hot Wheels gave us some cool "Now" releases in the Then And Now mainline set. Since Hot Wheels decided to include a few of the "Then" releases into this case, some of the pairings are now complete.

The first pair completed, is the GT-R. All I can say is YES! In my opinion, the Nissan Skyline 2000 GT-R looks absolutely fantastic finished in yellow. How it looks, is further complemented by the black stripe design that was applied to it's sides.

One of the other design decision that I like, is how they gave it a black base. The reason I'm pointing this out, is because this casting's base is also it's front lip and bumpers. The card art shows it with yellow front lip. Due to how far up the design is along it's sides, I feel this release looks much better with a black front lip and black bumpers.

Like the last release of this casting, this too was given the DD8s, and I have no issue with this. I don't know about you, but I think they is a pretty good wheel for this car. I also like how the rim is chrome.

The Ford Bronco is the next completed pair. I was eagerly awaiting this one. I knew it would look great finished in the blue that was used for the "Now" Bronco. It's also cool how they chose to give it a simple stripe design. And the three colors that were picked for it, go great with blue. 

The Ford GT is the third pair that was completed. I'll be honest, I don't completely like this release. I feel the stripe design looks much better on the "Then" GT. Furthermore, they decided to not add Gumball 3000 decal to it. I don't want to speculate as to why they didn't. All I know, is that I might have liked it a little more if it completely matched the "Then" GT. 

My case also featured four new licensed castings.

I think everyone is happy with how Mattel has the legal okay to make Toyotas again. I know for a fact that I am, because we are now able to collect the '20 Toyota GR Supra. And what's great, is that it isn't the stock exterior. This one features the Pandem kit, which gives this car a very aggressive look. And I love it! I do like stock looking models, but I also like models with body kits. So I'm glad to see another Hot Wheels casting designed with one.  

One of the surprises in my case, was the brand new Ducati Scrambler Hot Wheels Edition. I don't typically talk about them, but I also like motorcycles too. And I'm glad to see a new one from Hot Wheels. Overall, this is a fantastic first release, and I like how it was given a Mooneyes theme. I hope to see many cool future releases of this "cafe racer."  

Next up, are the other licensed models that were packed into my case.

The recolor of the '06 Pontiac GTO, is one of the licensed models that was in my case. I do like how this one was finished in blue, but I don't like how the stripe is still black. It's not very noticeable over the shade of blue that was used. I mean... it doesn't look terrible, but I would have made the stripe white instead. 

The recolor of the Lancia Delta Integrale, was also packed into my case. In my opinion, this color release is way better than the first one. The exterior color, as well as the wheel color, is what I feel makes it better. White with white wheels, is an okay color scheme for a rally car, but black with yellow wheels is also a great color scheme. And I feel it's perfect for the Michelin livery that's featured on this release.

My case also had the newest release of the Porsche 993 GT2. Perfection! That's all I can say about this one. A nice red exterior color, combined with a black and gold stripe, made this a perfect looking model. The black and gold MC5 wheels, also contributed to how I feel about it. I don't always like wheels with a chrome gold rim, but these ones complement the overall appearance of this release.

One of the ones that I was really excited to get, is the Dodge Rampage. Basically, this casting is new to my collection. This is actually a very nice release of this casting. I really like the orange stripe design that was created for it. I also like how it was given all chrome 5SPs. 

My case also had two buses, and no, I'm not talking about the Volkswagen. What I'm talking about, are two public transportation releases that are apart of this year's Hot Wheels Metro mainline set. The first one is new, and it's called Ain't Fare. It's based on a typical city bus, and I think they did a good job with it's overall design. This is another example of a casting that puts the "Hot" in Hot Wheels. 

This first release was done nicely, and I love the metallic green that was picked for the top half of it. The sides of it were given some nice tampo details, and one of my favorites is "BUS 52." Yes, it's one of the smaller details, but details like this make a huge difference for me. 

I can totally see myself getting a lot of this casting's future releases. In fact, I like it so much, I'm making this the official public transportation for Diecast BLVD. After all, it's the only boulevard where racing is legal, so the public transportation has to be fast too!  

The second one, is the recolor of the Surfin' School bus. I actually like this one more than the first one. What I like, is how they decided to make the top of it white. This color scheme looks much better than the first one's. Personally, the yellow that was picked for the top half of the first one, didn't combine well with the dark blue. 

I also didn't totally like the first one's wheel color. It would have worked if the top of it was white like this one. Thankfully, the designers chose to go in a different direction with this one's wheels. Instead of the wheels being the same color as the design, they chose to give this one black PR5s with a white rim. You might disagree, but I think this looks much better.

The next release from this case, is another new casting that's called Drafnator. It's making it's debut in this year's X-Racers mainline set. You won't typically see X-Racers releases featured here on the BLVD, however, there are some that I end up getting. It's usually because I like the overall shape of the vehicle, and that just so happens to be the case with this new racing truck. 

I also like how decorated this first release is, and it's cool how they gave it three fantasy decals. The only thing I wish, is that the number on the roof was placed within circle like the one on the sides. 

Like all Hot Wheels cases, this too was packed with some releases that are geared towards children. I have no problem with this, since Mattel is in the business of making toys for all ages. I'm just glad they kept it to a minimum for this event case. So pictured below, are the seven releases that I would not have gotten. 

The last release from this case, is The Batman Batmobile. Earlier this year, Hot Wheels gave us a very cool blue and yellow release of this casting. And I still very much like it, however, this recolor is just as good if not better. In fact, I'd say it's better. 

The designers made the decision to make this release chrome and red. A lot of folks out there might not like it, but I think chrome Batmobiles are pretty cool. That's why you'll usually see them featured here on the BLVD. One things for sure, it's nice to see another release of this Batmobile with an exterior color that's not black.  

Alright, that's everything I got. I think we can all agree that this is how an event case is supposed to be. The only downside, is that there isn't enough releases to do the mail-in, but that's perfectly fine by me. I'll just have to do a little hunting to find some things I'd want to have on display. This shouldn't be too hard, since my store locations are filled with older releases that aren't too bad. At the end of the day, it's much better this way. Event cases filled with great releases, are totally worth the money. 

So, what are your thoughts on this event case? Go ahead and let me know down in the comments section. Okay, that's all for this edition of Looking At. Until next time, thanks for reading, and happy collecting.

Today On The Boulevard: Matchbox Truck Series - Just Two More

Hi everyone! Welcome to another edition of Today On The Boulevard. On the 20th of last month, I published a post about the '35 Ford Pickup from this year's Matchbox Truck Series. And in that post, I made mention of how I still hadn't seen the full set. Well that all changed when I recently decided to check my local Walmart. One of the other things I said in that post, was that if I found the other two I wanted, I would make a post about them. So as promised, here's that post. By now, most of you have seen everything this set has to offer. As such, this post isn't going to be a review. Instead, I'm going to simply talk about why I wanted them. With that said, let's begin. 

As you saw from my social media post, one of the two that I got was the '08 Holden VE UTE SSV. There are actually a few reasons as to why I ended up wanting this one. If you've been collecting for a long time, then you already know that this vehicle made it's Matchbox debut way back in 2010. So some of you might have many of it's releases. That's sadly not the case for me though. The first one in my collection, was the green one that was released in 2018. So basically, this set gave me the chance to finally own a second one.

The Falken Tire theme that was applied to this release, is the next thing that made me want it. What I like, is how it isn't the typical Falken livery. This is one of the other great things about this diecast brand. The 2017 release of the Baja Bandit, is another example of a tire company themed release that doesn't feature the typical livery. Anyway, the design created for this Falken Tire themed Holden might be simple, but I feel it's effective at making it a neat release to have.

The second one that I got, is the '95 Nissan Hardbody (D21). At first, I was a little hesitant about getting this one. This is because it's basically just a re-color of it's debut release. It's kind of disappointing how they decided to use the same design that was used for the first one. Now you might be wondering why I got it if I was disappointed with it. Well... long story short, I got it because of it's color. Although the red one is nice, there's no way I was going to pass up the opportunity to own one that's finished in my favorite color.

Now... upon further inspection, I noticed how this release has one detail that isn't present on the debut release. And that detail is the Nissan decal that was applied to the lower half of it's sides just before the rear wheels. This minor detail might be trivial to some, but for me, it helped to seal the deal. 

So now you know why I got what I got. The other trucks from this set are okay, but they just didn't make me say wow when I found them.

Okay, so how did you feel about this Matchbox Truck series? And did you decide to get the entire set? Go ahead and let me know down in the comments section. Alright, that's all for this edition of Today On The Boulevard. Until next time, thanks for reading, and happy collecting.