The Hot Wheels year is getting closer and closer to the end. Batch N is in hobby stores, Batch P is on its way, and Q is waiting in the wings for its August/September release.
That means that my attempt to find all 15 Super Treasure Hunts in the store in the middle of the day just might turn up short. I have been unlucky on a handful of batches, and the further away from previous batches we get, the more unlikely it is that I will ever see new cases.
But even if I fall short, I must keep going, and I had a small victory yesterday.
I had one of my rural days at work yesterday, where I wander through an array of small towns visiting clients in the center of the state. At about 3:45 in the afternoon I found myself near a small Walmart that serves several small towns on a long stretch through a mountain valley. I try to stop by when I can, as I have had some luck in the past. If I remember correctly, I have found four Supers at this store during my travels: the Ferrari 599XX, Chevelle Wagon, Corvette ZR1, and Buick Riviera. This store rarely has dump bins, so all have been found hanging on the pegs, and all in the middle of the day.
I haven't had much luck there lately, as the last Super I found was last year's Riviera. When I got to the pegs, they were not too full, but the cards looked crisp, and I noticed a few Star Trek Enterprises hanging on the shelf. The third peg I checked also yielded an x-racer Chevelle Regular Hunt, so it seemed worth checking all the pegs.
Collectors in the rural towns tend to leave Regular Hunts behind, so finding the Regs doesn't mean a Super could be nearby. But it does mean it is worth looking. On about the third row, I passed by a Twin Mill that was 4-5 cards back. I went right past it, but decided to return, as it did seem a little darker than the green I had seen on the Twin Mill before. I am glad I returned:
Not the most exciting Super to find, but it is definitely one of the 15 I have been looking for.
I happily grabbed that, plus an extra Morris Mini in red, and left everything else there, including those two to the right of the Super:
Speaking of leaving behind, we have always said that the Regular T-hunts are not for collectors, but for kids, and we have implored our fellow collectors to leave the Regulars behind unless they are truly a fan of the casting. The Stockar is not a favorite, so it remained behind. As did all of these during my rural swing yesterday:
Another small-town Walmart
Small town Kmart
Another small town Kmart
It was hard to leave the Subarus behind, but I already have one loose and one carded, and that is good enough for me. The Homers stay behind too.
But the Supers, yeah, they will always come home with me. So where do I stand now, with only three Supers yet to hit stores?
Chevrolet SS - Found at a rural Walmart at 11:30 am
Sand Blaster - Found at a nearby Walmart around 4:30 pm
Camaro Special Edition - Found at neighboring town Walmart around 3 pm
'71 Mustang Mach 1 - Found on a Saturday afternoon grocery run at Harmon's Market (I found two)
'07 Mustang - no luck
'55 Chevy Bel Air Gasser - no luck
'70 Chevelle SS - Found at two different Walmarts on the same day (one at 10 am, one at 5 pm)
Twin Mill - Found at a rural Walmart at about 3:45 pm
'64 Chevy Nova Wagon - no luck
'83 Silverado - Found at Target at 1 pm
'76 Greenwood Corvette - no luck
'69 Corvette - no luck
I still hold out hope that some older batches could produce the Nova Wagon, Greenwood Corvette, and '69 Vette, but I am guessing I am out of luck on the '07 Mustang and Gasser. But I will keep looking...
