Just Unveiled: The Hot Wheels RLC Datsun 510 BRE is getting a brother, the BRE 240Z...

Maybe Hot Wheels is trying to steal a little Matchbox thunder this weekend, and maybe they succeeded.

Posted on the RLC sneaks this morning is none other than the upcoming Datsun 240Z in BRE livery, ready to join its very popular Datsun cousin. We will let Japanese Nostalgic Car give you the rundown, but rest assured the run on these will be quick.  We don't know when they are out, but you won't get one if you are not an RLC member and ready to reserve one the second they are made available.

E-sheet sneaks are up on the RLC site, but they ask for us not to show, and we will comply.  So we will use this fabulous custom by our friends at Madworks Kustom to give you an idea.  Just imagine spectraflame red with Neo wheels, same as on the 510:

First the 510, then the Toyota 2000GT, and now the 240Z.  It is definitely worth being an RLC member these days.  Who is excited?

First Look: Tomica Limited Vintage Neo Nissan IDx Nismo...

We are sure quite a few of you have either opened or will be opening your TLV-N IDx Nismo in the last couple of days.  According to our friends at Japan Booster they have sent a shitload of these to addresses all over the world in the last few days.  We know many of you are Lamley readers.  And if you have opened this model, you are most likely thinking the same thing we are:

The Tomica Limited Vintage Neo Nissan IDx Nismo is nothing short of amazing.  There might not be a better-detailed 1:64 scale model than this one.

Yes, that is a lot of hyperbole.  But you just to have this model in hand, then you will know.  As much as have been stoked to get this one, it STILL exceeds expectations.

This is all you need to know about how detailed the IDx is: Roll it across a desk and look at the wheels.  The wheels roll, the brakes and pads don't.  That is already cool enough on a 1:64 model, but when you look at the red brake pads through the moving black rims, you see the Nissan logo staring back at you.  The rest of the model is at that level.

We don't know if Nissan approached TLV about doing the IDx in 1:64, or vice versa.  But whatever compelled TLV to do their first current/concept car, we are glad it happened.  Both the Freeflow and Nismo are truly amazing models, and may be the gateway drug for many of you into collecting Tomica Limited Vintage.  You may not be into Japanese cars as much as we are, but with TLV slowly expanding its focus towards German carmakers like VW, Audi, Porsche, BMW, and Mercedes, we think there will soon be a little for everyone.  From those of us TLV junkies already deep into this addiction, welcome.  You might have to get used to spending a bit more than you are used to, but collecting TLV is a joy.

So enjoy the pics of Nissan's 510 progeny in its BRE-inspired livery, and remember you can still find both at Japan Booster with FREE shipping.  If you are going to be a TLV junkie, Japan Booster is surely your best dealer...


Tomica Limited Vintage Neo Nissan IDx Nismo:

The mirrors before they are added:

Complete with mirrors:

Nismo & Freeflow:

With the TLV Datsun 510 Bluebird:

Of course we did:

Surprise! Tomica Limited Vintage BRE 510-inspired Nissan IDx Nismo is now available at Japan Booster!!

This is one you want to pay attention to.

I just got an email from our friends at Japan Booster, the ebay store out of Japan (duh!) that we use for Tomica Limited Vintage.  The wait is over, and they now have the highly-anticipated TLV Nissan IDx Nismo in stock and ready to ship.

We showcased the Freeflow a couple of weeks ago, but that appears to have been the appetizer for the Nismo version, the BRE Racing-inspired concept that Nissan used to introduce the IDx to the public.

And in true TLV fashion, this model is insanely detailed for 1:64 scale.  We of course have one coming, and will be giving it the First Look treatment as soon as we have it.

But if I were I would not wait.  This model is going to be extremely hot, just like the Freeflow, and the price is bound to go up.  Plus, you can take advantage of the Free Shipping Offer at Japan Booster.  Any order over $50 gets free shipping anywhere in the world.  That means you can get both the Nismo and Freeflow and have them shipped for free.  That is until they sell out.

Follow the link here for both TLV IDx's:

Tomica Limited Vintage Nissan IDx Nismo & Freeflow from Japan Booster

Also check out the Japan Booster Store for a whole slew of TLV...

Lamley News: The most valuable Hot Wheels RLC car...ever?

If you weren't tracking it and didn't see what happened, the #13 of 46 Hot Wheels RLC BRE Datsun 510 autographed by John Morton sold for a whopping $760 on ebay late last night.

It is crazy what a little frenzy can create.  Before the 46 autographed models were discovered, buzz on the RLC BRE began to grow as collectors received their models and saw both the stunning model and card artwork.  But it was the 46 autographed models, signed by John Morton at a Mattel event and randomly sent out with the other 3000, that has sent this model's value into the stratosphere.  Combine the scarcity of the model with the autograph and the fact that this is an actual Mattel-issued "easter egg", and you have a very valuable model.

Whether or not another First 46 will garner that same amount is hard to know, but any Mattel-issued model with a count less than 50 is bound to be valuable.  In fact, two 1-of-25 Matchbox Hazard Squad models made exclusively for a collector Line Preview sold for $500 each at the Matchbox Gathering Charity Auction, so there is a precedent.

Nonetheless, from what we know the signed First 46 BRE is now the most valuable RLC model on the secondary market, even surpassing what the red Blown Delivery fetched when it hit its peak (and by double at that).  Who would have thought the most valuable RLC model would not be a Blown Delivery, or a Drag Bus, or a Dairy Delivery, but a Datsun!

JDM forever baby.

(They may not be the signed first 46, but there a handful of RLC BRE listed on ebay for the taking...)