This is something I have meant to do for awhile. For the last few years I have watched ebay auctions on the '83 Silverado
, wondering if it was a good idea to pull the trigger on a few models I regret not picking up earlier. It seemed I always talked myself out of it. But when the news arrived that the Silverado would be a Super in the 2014 Hot Wheels lineup, it was time to pounce. We didn't need the hype surrounding the Super to push the models we wanted up even higher.So a little ebay purchase spree I embarked, buying the Silverados that have been on the Lamley want list for some time. And since we showcased the 2014 version earlier today, why not show the others that we just added to the collection?
We won't do a full write-up on all of these, but there are two that were the must-haves for the Lamley collection - the Modern Classics and Police Rods.
Starting with the Modern Classics. That is where this casting, which has proven very popular, debuted. While I don't know if the Modern Classics was fully conceptualized by Jun Imai, I do know that the line was his. Any new tool introduced in the line, including the Silverado, was his creation. I have said before that Jun does an amazing job of linking to car culture in his castings, whether by slight modifications, change in stance, or other details. The Silverado is a perfect example.
It is amazing how many Silverados from this era you still see on the road. The flat grill and boxy style, which Chevy signatures from that time, are not necessarily memorable. But when the casting is lowered and given a wide stance, its boxiness because a huge asst. Its height perfectly pays homage to that California car culture that worships this truck, while still keeping its original lines completely intact. And add to that a stock deco done in Hot Wheels spectraflame red on the Modern Classics version, and you have a perfect model. (So perfect, we ponied up for two.)
Next, the Police Rods version. We have never featured a model from this series before on Lamley, and it is somewhat forgotten. A few years ago Hot Wheels produced three lines - Military, Fire, and Police - and used the same castings in each line. Some models hung on the pegs forever, and some barely appeared anywhere, mainly because big retailers refused to stock the line after poor sales. As a result, there are a handful of models from this line that command big dollars because of their rarity.
For a Silverado collector, this makes things difficult. The Military and Fire Rods versions are very hard to find, and expensive to acquire. Thankfully though, the easier-to-find Police Rods version is by far the best looking of the three. It sports a very simple police livery that seems era-appropriate, whether of not the truck was actually used as pursuit vehicle. And yes, North Olsted is a real place in Ohio, and that is the police marker on the door.
As for the others, we are thrilled to have them too. The 2010 Valentine's Day exclusive, Hot Ones, and Decades versions are all lookers, again with very era-appropriate decos. We dig.
We hope to add more in the future, but we will take it slow. We are happy with what we have...
One other note. We are aware of the 4x4 version, and even have that truck in the collection. It looks good jacked up, and is once again era-appropriate. It doesn't, however, share the lowered version's propensity for pure coolness. The upcoming RLC model might change that.
But out of fairness, here she is:
