15 Super Treasure Hunts in 15 days: 05 '10 Ford Shelby GT500 Super Snake...

With the last Hot Wheels Super Treasure Hunt of 2013 hitting the pegs, it is time look back at them all. Over the next 15 weekdays, the Lamley Group will showcase one Super each day, in order from first released to last...

If you missed it:

01 '72 Gran Torino Sport
02 Corvette ZR1
03 '73 Ford Falcon XB
04 '71 El Camino

The fifth Super TH of 2013 falls into its own category: One of the best models chosen with one of the worth decos.  

When the Super Snake debuted in 2011, it instantly became my favorite "new" Mustang casting.  Low stance, mean grill, it was great.  Its FTE incarnation in 2012 was equally great.  The black was mean, and the aqua unique.  Unfortunately the 2013 version is firmly placed on the drab side of things.  While the white recolor is a definite improvement over the green, both versions don't do the casting any justice.  So that is why it is a bit of a bummer that this version was chosen to be a Super TH.  

For the weak hand it was drawn, however, the model still looks halfway decent.  But then Hot Wheels has to go and do a second green "new" Mustang Super TH with the '07 Mustang, and completely show up the Super Snake.  The '07 is the far better Super of the two.

So the unique choices for Super TH's continues in 2013:

• Two Supers repeating from last year
• Five Supers repeating from previous years
• Two green current Mustangs
• Two Toyotas
• Five models that made their debut in the mainline as Supers

It does make the prospects for 2014 very interesting.  Especially that last bullet point.  There have been a lot of models that have debuted in the Boulevard, Retro Entertainment, and Flying Customs/Hot Ones that could very well be headed for the 2014 mainline.  Could we any of them debut as Supers?  Datsun Wagon?  Porsche 993?  Ferrari 250 GTO?  Astro Drag Van?  Chevette?  Hmmmmmm....

(Find the Super Snake Super TH on ebay...)

Hot Wheels '10 Ford Shelby GT500 Super Snake (2013 Super Treasure Hunt):

 (coming Monday:)

First Look: Hot Wheels RLC Commemorative Shelby Cobra 427 S/C, by John Rino...

Lamley contributor John Rino is back with his look at the latest RLC model, this time the Carroll Shelby tribute Shelby Cobra 427 S/C.

Be sure to visit John's store if you haven't already at www.scoomer.com/diecastdemon.

(Thanks John.)


Hi friends,

First off, I want to wish all my collector friends a safe and happy 4th of July!



I'm not a car buff by any means but the name Shelby stands tall in the automotive industry. Just uttering the words Shelby Cobra brings some type of menacing muscle to mind in a small but mighty package.  I for one will never be able to afford to own one, but my imagination puts me behind the seat in one.  It's just pleasure to see the real deal up close, let alone running.  I could only imagine what it would be like to run the Cobra through the gears in some rural winding road, that would be a premium day.

Mattel and its designers did a beautiful job on this Shelby Cobra in a Hot Wheels kind of way.   I really like the card, a nice dedication and remembrance of an automotive legend.

Thanks for visiting Lamley Group and please stop in at my store: www.scoomer.com/diecastdemon.

Respectfully,
JohnRino


Hot Wheels Shelby Cobra 427 S/C (2013 RLC):

First Look: Hot Wheels Zamac VW Scirocco GT24, '68 Shelby GT500, and '70 Monte Carlo...

We can count on Walmart exclusives from Hot Wheels every year.  Some years they might be exclusive colors, others special wheels, but this year's set of exclusives takes the cake.  By a mile.

The 12 Zamacs we have seen (and it appears we are getting at least three more) have all been fantastic. There is just something about these casting prancing around in their birthday suits that works so well.  Of course we have our preferences, and after looking at this recent set of three, we think we have figured out what it is.

While the classic cars look cool (Shelby, Monte Carlo, Cuda), it is more of a novelty.  A unique version of a cool model.  But when you look at the more recent sports cars, it just looks right.  Maybe it is because the sleek lines of the more modern cars come out better unpainted.  Personally I am a classic car guy design-wise.  Things like the surfline on the Kenmeri just haven't been duplicated on today's cars.  Cars looked different from one another back then than they do now.  Silhouettes can get mixed up, especially in 1:64.  But when you remove the paint, the lines come out and shine.

There is no better example than the Scirocco.  Just look at it.  I have really enjoyed collecting this casting, but no version tops the Zamac.  It may have far less detail than the Speed Machines versions, but it doesn't matter in the least.  While I still think the R34 Skyline is my favorite Zamac this year, the Scirocco may be the best looking.  That is until we see the F12Berlinetta making its way to Walmart soon.

(If you can't find the Zamacs in the store, find them here....)


Hot Wheels VW Scirocco GT24, '68 Shelby GT500, and '70 Monte Carlo (2013 Zamac Walmart Exclusives):

First Look: Hot Wheels Ford Shelby GT-500 Super Snake in white...

I am not what you might call a "Mustang Guy".  I think I can appreciate a good Mustang, but they have never been my favorite cars.  I will ogle over the classics from the 60's and 70's, despise most of them from the 80's and 90's, and appreciate the retro look of those in the last 10 years.  But I will never own one.

But there are a lot of Mustang Guys out there.  Obviously because it seems a Hot Wheels batch can't arrive without at least one Mustang tagging along.  I honestly pass by most of them, with a few exceptions.  The exceptions you ask?  A couple of Fastbacks that have appeared in the Vintage Racing line, the '12 Custom that is just out in blue in the L cases, and this model, the Super Snake.

The choice to collect the Super Snake might be somewhat arbitrary.  Outside of a few details, it looks almost exactly like the other Shelby Mustangs Hot Wheels has done.  So what is it about this casting?  Is it because it is a Mustang supercar?  Honestly, I think it is because it debuted in 10-spoke wheels.  It is all I can think of.  I have such a fan of the 10-spokes that the low-profiled Super Snake sporting them just looked right, and I picked it up.  Then I picked up the red recolor.  Then the yellow.  Then the FTE versions out the following year.  Then the 10-spoke wheel variation on the teal version.  And now in 2013, the green version and this new white recolor.  I am still after the Super, and if I don't come across one in the next few months, I might pursue one using other means.

So the 10-spokes drew me in, which is a good thing, because I don't care much for the 2013 version.  The white is a vast improvement over the green, and it looks better in photos.  But it still sits back quite a distance from the versions of its first two years in existence.  Well, it isn't that bad.  I just don't like it as much.

One note, this version already has a wheel variation.  The model has appeared with light blue chrome wheels as well as straight chrome, like the model pictured here.  My uneducated guess is that the straight chrome will be the most rare, only because the blue chrome is pictured on the blister.  I guess we wait and see what comes out of the M cases once they hit the big box stores...

(Find all versions of the Super Snake, including the 2013 Super, on ebay...)


Hot Wheels '10 Ford Shelby Gt-500 Super Snake (2013 basic in white):