First Look: Hot Wheels Zamac Nissan Skyline H/T 2000GT-X, '70 Chevy Chevelle, and '67 Custom Mustang...

Happy to have these.

The Walmart Zamacs are a little more exclusive than maybe we think.  Of course they are only exclusive to Walmart.  But even then, many Walmarts get the batch that is supposed to contain the Zamacs, but they aren't there.  We have already seen many people reporting N case Walmart finds, but with no Zamacs at all.

That has happened to us before.  The final batch of last year's Zamacs never hit stores around here, and only one store got the batch containing the AE86 Corolla and Special Edition Camaro.  We aren't complaining, because it is nice when the Zamacs are a little hard to get.

But it does make us nervous when we are anticipating a Zamac batch as much as Batch N.  Of course that is no secret.  There is a Skyline, and that is all that has to be said.  But the Chevelle is a casting I am VERY fond of, and the Mustang is also a real looker.

Well, we are good, as I found the batch today, and all three Zamacs were there, along with a handful of green Kenmeri's.  All is well here, and we hope all of you out there who hope to find them are successful as well.

Not much else to say about these, other than posting the pics.  We love the Zamacs, and hope they return to Walmart in 2015.  There is an enormous list of models we would love to see get the Zamac treatment, just like the Hako, a casting that gets to really show off its details in unpainted form.


Hot Wheels Nissan Skyline H/T 2000GT-X, '70 Chevy Chevelle, and '67 Custom Mustang (2014 Walmart Zamac Exclusives):

Just Unveiled, Part 2: Better pics of the upcoming Walmart Exclusive Zamac Nissan Skyline H/T 2000GT-X...

We were happy to break the news last week about the upcoming Zamac Hakosuka, but now we can have ourselves a better look.

These photos have emerged of the Skyline, and here at Lamley we like what we see.  Yes, green interior with green and yellow striping seems a little odd, but frankly there is nothing wrong with "a little odd".

We will choose instead to focus on how great having an unpainted Hako really is.  You could put it in hot pink trim and I wouldn't complain.  The fact is the return of the Zamac exclusives has been one of the highlights of the Hot Wheels line in the last couple of years, and not just because the cars look cool.  It is also because the variety is so great.  Muscle, supercars, JDM, pickups, current cars, you name it.

So all we needed to hear was Zamac and Hako, and we were in.  Seeing it in detail confirms that we will be ALL OVER this one when it is released...

Just Unveiled: 2014 Hot Wheels Zamac exclusive Nissan Skyline H/T 2000GT-X...

We found out about this model a couple of months ago, and have been hinting at its upcoming release in various Lamley posts.  Of course only those that actually read the articles knew, and it was fun to see many of you keep it a secret.

But now the news is out, as photos have surfaced of the Walmart exclusive Zamac Nissan Skyline H/T 2000GT-X, and we are here to share.  The Hakosuka should be hitting Walmarts soon, and we just hope the distribution is better than the last batch of Zamacs, that we still have yet to see in our area.

The Hakosuka's return to the mainline has been a happy one, with it looking stellar in black, and the Zamac compliments it perfectly.  Unless it is sporting a racing livery, less is more with the Hako, and the HW design team has clearly embraced that.

Of course, we do wonder if there will be yet a third recolor on the Then & New R34 Skyline to match this one.  The R34 was a Zamac last year, so maybe a silver version will suffice.  We shall see.

So get your hunting shoes on.  The black Skyline is hitting now, and the Zamac soon after, and both are bound to be a bit popular...

First Look: Hot Wheels Then & Now Nissan Skyline H/T 2000GT-X...

Should we just get out of the way how great a casting this is?

Because it is.  A fun argument among nerd collectors would be what is Jun Imai's best casting, and while the Kenmeri would be our answer, the Hakosuka is certainly in the conversation.

But duh, we all know how great a casting it is.  And if you are even a casual follower of the Lamley Group, you definitely know what our feelings are about the real thing.  Our home state of Utah may not be known as a JDM mecca, but with JDM Legends a few miles away, and JCCS only a day's jaunt down I-15 every September, you can get a nice fill of the best of j-tin while living here.  And while the Hako could easily be considered the '69 Camaro of Japanese cars, you never tire of seeing one.  (Then again, I never tire of seeing a '69 Camaro either.)

So yes, count the Hakosuka as one of our favorite Hot Wheels castings, and we are more than thrilled to have it back in the basic range.  And how good does it look in black?  I don't know if it can look better, but we are all for Hot Wheels trying.  It is part of the "Then & Now" series, matched up beautifully with the R34 Skyline, but we don't know if the Hako will be recolored in blue like the R34.  We do know, however, that it will be a Zamac exclusive later this year.  There, for you guys that actually read the articles, there is a little treat for you.  Keep it quiet and see if anyone else notices.

One other thing about this release.  Not surprisingly, the rollcage has been removed from the interior.  It appears that Mattel is doing this with a lot of castings, so that is not a shock.  It does make the racing interior look somewhat out of place, but it isn't a huge deal.

This casting ushered in what we could call the Hot Wheels JDM golden age, but for hyperbole's sake we won't.  We will say it is one of the models that the Lamley Blog cut its teeth on.  Our feature on the Boulevard Skyline and Datsun 510 Wagon was in some ways our unofficial introduction to the diecast world.  So besides being one helluva model, that represents our favorite corner of the car world, it holds a special place in our heart for helping get the word out on Lamley.  All hail the Hako.

(Find the Nissan Skyline and the rest of Hot Wheels Batch K at Wheel Collectors, as well as the previous versions of the 2000GT-X on ebay...)


Hot Wheels Nissan Skyline H/T 2000GT-X (2014 Basic Range):

It's Then & Now counterpart:

With it's cousin:

The family so far: