A Tale of Two: Hot Wheels '71 Nissan Skyline & '69 Pontiac GTO...

Black with gold/copper wheels is such a sharp look.  Yes black cars don't bring out the details in our favorite vehicles, mini or real, but who honestly gives a shit when they look so sexy and sleek in black?

Once you have your sexy black car, what to do with the wheels?  You can go all black, making your car growlingly menacing, or you can go chrome, making it shine.  Or maybe gunmetal gray, putting you right in the middle.  And there is copper or gold.  That is where minis might separate from the real thing.  It may not work on the road every time, but it certainly does in a display case.

So when Hot Wheels released the Nissan Skyline H/T 2000GT-X in black with copper rims, we were on board.  And when we got it in hand, we were instantly reminded of another black on copper beauty, the 2005 Hot Wheels '69 Pontiac GTO Judge with Faster Than Ever wheels.  So we thought we would put them together.

These are actually easy to compare, outside of the color of the body and wheels.  The real cars come from the same era, albeit on different continents.  They are both signature cars in their respective countries, and it only takes one word to reference each car.  "Hakosuka" for the Skyline and "Judge" for the GTO.

As far as the minis go, both were designed by epic Mattel designers.  The GTO by Phil Riehlman and the GT-X by Jun Imai.  And they both look really good.

So here is our ode to muscle and j-tin, in the form of sleek sexy black.

Since we have probably discussed the Hakosuka to death here on Lamley, how about a few thoughts on the GTO:

The casting debuted in 2005, first in black, then orange, then as a Kmart exclusive in red.  The black normally sported 5-spoke wheels, but was part of the huge FTE line in 2005/2006.  Hot Wheels actually released all-FTE cases instead of making a sub-line in the basic range, like they did later.  The FTE GTO was one of the hardest models to find, as many cases didn't even carry it.

Nonetheless, the FTE completely upstaged the 5-spoke version, and in our opinion is one of the best-looking Hot Wheels models ever made.  Period.

And damn, it looks good next to the Hako...

A Tale of Two: Hot Wheels & Kyosho Ferrari LaFerrari...

Yes, this is totally not fair.  Just as it makes no sense that some use Tomica Limited Vintage as the bar when complaining about Matchbox's lack of realism, we should not compare the $1 Hot Wheels to the $15 Kyosho.

But we did.  Don't know why, really.  We just did.  Maybe because they arrived at about the same time.  Maybe because the Kyosho gives one a good idea of how close Hot Wheels got to the real thing.  (Not very.)  Maybe because we are lazy and don't know what to write on two separate posts about the horribly-named LaFerrari.

But here are two LaFerraris.  To be honest we will let you decide what you think.  Obviously the Kyosho looks more like the real thing, even though it sits a tad too high.  But as nice as it looks, it would be horrible on the orange track.

As far as the real thing goes, it follows the trend of much-better-looking Ferraris of late.  If I am being honest, it can't hold a candle to the painfully beautiful F12 and 458, but it is far better looking than the harsh Enzo.  So it gets a thumbs up.

The Hot Wheels is almost there, but like many of its HW Ferrari counterparts, it suffers from large-rear-wheel-itis.  Sometimes the LRW works, like on the F12, and sometimes it detracts, like it does here.  The proportions are just thrown off too much, and the model ends up boxy instead of low and sleek.  Well that is until you get the right photo angle.

So go buy the Hot Wheels for a dollar, or get it on ebay.  But indulge a bit as well and wait for Daboxtoys to restock the Kyosho or get it on ebay.  It is worth it...


Hot Wheels LaFerrari (2014 New Models) & Kyosho LaFerrari (Ferrari Minicar Collection 9):

First Look: Hot Wheels RLC exclusive BRE Datsun Bluebird 510, along with its Vintage Racing brother...

What is it about the BRE Datsun?  In our little corner of the diecast world, that iconic BRE racing deco shows up everywhere.  Customizers love it, and we have seen the deco on the obvious choices (Datsun cars, wagons, and trucks), to the less obvious (Skylines, Toyotas, the Mad Manga), to certainly not-obvious-at-all (Kool Kombi, Camaros).  Nissan used an obvious tribute to the BRE deco when it unveiled its 510-inspired IDx in November.  If you are at any event Datsun, the slanted red, white, and blue will most likely be somewhere.

This BRE infatuation is an interesting one.  Part is history.  The little Datsun that could is a classic American racing story, as the racing team with the wimpy Japanese car zipped by all of its Euro-competition.

Part is design.  I would challenge anyone to come up with a better racing design than what Brock Racing Enterprises did.  It is perfect.  Bright, fast, and easily recognizable.  And it looks great almost anywhere, including as we have just learned, on a diecast replica cardback.

Which brings us to the RLC BRE Datsun 510.  Those reasons above may be what motivated Hot Wheels to do a second BRE 510, this time as an RLC exclusive, after putting one in the Vintage Racing line in 2011.  The model looks so nice, why not do it twice?

Another reason?  Just look at what the Vintage Racing version commands on ebay.  In just the last few days, several sold for an average price of $87.  That is a lot for a model that was on the pegs just a couple of years ago.  Appreciation for Japanese cars continues to skyrocket, and many just discovering Hot Wheels' mini versions are kicking themselves for passing on the Vintage Racing version.  So Mattel released another, albeit even more limited.

It has been fun to see the reaction of collectors as the RLC model arrives in their mailbox.  It is clear that those who may not be as enthused about j-tin as we here at Lamley are happy they bought one.  And there are others that passed on it that are now regretting they did.  Neato.

The model looks fantastic, and even the Neo's don't bother us too much.  In fact, they look a lot like the hubcaps we saw on tons of Datsuns from that era (just not on racing cars).  But one of the biggest surprises is what might be the best packaging we have ever seen on a Hot Wheels car.  We will let the photos do the talking:

The artwork is superb.  That alone makes this model worth it.

And Mattel has done something to drive collector frenzy even higher.  Apparently numbers 1-46 were shipped directly by Mattel, signed by driver John Morton, and randomly dispersed with the other 3000.  A few lucky collectors have opened up their mailboxes to find one, including this one found by HWC member Budman340:

How cool is that!?!  If it weren't for the special John Morton/Peter Brock signed edition we have coming from BRE themselves (arriving soon), we would be knocking down doors to get one, especially since this one below is already in the Lamley Collection (signed by Mr. Morton himself when we met him at JCCS a couple of years ago):

Alright, on with the pics.  We could talk about this model forever, but we know you want to see it.  We sacrificed the amazing packaging on one of ours so you could see it up-close, so we hope you enjoy.

We hope many of you can get this one.  We are trying to get a few RLC members to hook up with overseas collectors who could not get one, and those updates are coming to those who inquired, but now the best bet is ebay:

Hot Wheels RLC BRE Datsun 510

Good luck...


Hot Wheels BRE Datsun Bluebird 510 (RLC Exclusive):