Has the last Super of 2014 been unveiled, or the first of 2015?

This VERY interesting photo just started circulating, and it definitely piques our curiosity:

So what are we looking at?  A strange, but fantastic-looking, recolor of the 2014 Kool Kombi?  Or the first Super of 2015?  

Either way, we want it.  Your thoughts?

Is it time to retire the HW Drag Bus? We have two very worthy replacements...

Yeah, probably a dumb question.

The Hot Wheels Drag Bus is practically a religious movement for many collectors.  It is also an instant sale for Hot Wheels.  Put a Drag Bus on a card, on a peg, in a store, and it will sell.

So suggesting its best days are in the past is true Hot Wheels blasphemy.  But let's be honest.  It's a very.....tired....casting.  It belongs in a resting home, enjoying retirement, alongside the T1 and Drag Truck versions.  In the pharmaceutical world, drug companies can only hold onto a patent for 14 years.  Maybe that should apply to the Drag Bus.  It doesn't share the great detailing that current Hot Wheels models have.  The front in awkward, and it you are bold enough to open one, don't pull it apart.  It will never fully go back together again.  It is already a legend, and it doesn't need to be released anymore.  It is outdated, and there are some great models ready to replace it.

The obvious model most will think of as a replacement is the Blown Delivery.  Big, heavy, and it turns tough-guy collectors into fluffy cloud muffins as they dream about it.  Like the Drag Bus, it was designed by the great Phil Riehlman, and it truly is a step above the standard Hot Wheels car.  I don't know many people who dislike it.  Even my true of true JDM friends ogle over it.  Frankly, it is so unique, it stands on its own.  It replaces nothing.

So we have two other ideas.  One is big, heavy, and likes to be dressed in drag, like the Bus, and one is a VW, also drags, and happily is a Bus.

Let's start with that heavy casting, the '85 Chevy Astro Drag Van.  City Market in Moab, Utah, yielded the Just Born Mike & Ike version.  While we normally pass over these types of series, the Van begged to be picked up, and we obliged:

This is the second version of this casting, after last year's debut in Boulevard.  It is a great model, partly because it is so well done, partly because it is so over-the-top ridiculous.  The actual Chevy Astro is a bore-fest.  You had to have a screw loose to buy one.  (Then again, Ford had the horrible Aerostar, so options were slim.)  The Astro was ready to vanish into history when some designer at Mattel went on some wicked hallucinatory trip, was told by a three-headed unicorn not only to make the Astro in small-scale, but to make it a drag van.  He returned and shared his enlightenment.  And Mattel said yes!

How great is that?  And they did it right.  Doesn't open, because it doesn't need to.  You can display it without worrying that someone will pick it up, only to watch half of it drop to the ground.

Plus, customizers should a field day with this one.  Yes, the Boulevard was near impossible to find, and the Just Born isn't too easy either, and that is probably the only reason we haven't seen more customs.  But they are sure to come.

Two BITCHIN versions so far:

The other option is the Drag Bus's Mini-Me, the Kool Kombi.  This is an obvious choice.  VW, Bus, Dragster.  But a helluva lot cuter than the Drag Bus.  As obvious a choice as the Kool Kombi is, we see this model having a long and prosperous life in the mainline.  At least we hope it does.

We have already seen it in the mainline in both 2013 and 2014, as well as the Toy Fair model and an RLC exclusive.  It is only a matter of time before it gets the Super TH treatment (our prediction is 2015), and it will always be popular:

We love the Kool Kombi here at Lamley.  It is obvious since we shelled out a few pretty pennies to get the premium versions.  It is truly one of the great Hot Wheels creations.  But you already knew that.

What hasn't gotten its due is the Astro Van.  So yes, it is stupid to ask if the Drag Bus should be retired.  It isn't doing anywhere, nor should it.  But if asking the question highlights how great the Drag Astro Van is, then we did our job.

Count us the premiere members of the Chevy Astro Drag Van Fan Club.  Who else is in?

(Find the Astro Van on ebay...)

First Look(s): Hot Wheels 2013 Toy Fair and white recolored Kool Kombis...

If you were a Lamley visitor last year, you might remember the Lamley Awards.  It is something we will do every year - asking as many collectors as possible to vote for their Best and Worst in several categories, including Best New Hot Wheels casting, Best Super Treasure Hunt, etc.

We conduct a vote, and we had several thousand last year, and announce the collector's choice.  We then announce our choice as well.  Last year, readers selected KITT as their Best New Model, and the Ferrari 599XX Super Treasure Hunt as their Hot Wheels Model of the Year.  Good selections.  Of course, our selection of the attention-grabbing Mad Manga as Model of the Year was met with a lot of scrutiny.

We explained then that while the Mad Manga was not our favorite model of 2012, we chose it because it represented Hot Wheels' ability to introduce collectors and consumers alike to all kinds of cars and car cultures that may not be familiar with.  We thought it was a great reason to choose it Model of the Year.  It doesn't have to be the most popular, just something that is significant.

Now that we are well into 2013 (actually on the tail end), we start thinking about what models might be in the running for Best New Model and Model of the Year this year.  There are a lot of candidates, and we will get into them when we start the Lamley Award process in the fall.  But there is one that we are sure will be right in the thick of things - the Kool Kombi.

Hot Wheels obviously knew they were on to something great with this model, or they would not have selected it as their Toy Fair Model to show off to retailers.  But I don't know if any of us could predict how popular the Kool Kombi would be once it hit the pegs.

Its appeal to collectors is obvious.  First, it is a VW.  Second, it is obviously tooned, but in a reverse direction from the ever popular Drag Bus.  Instead of becoming a mean machine like the Drag Bus, it is cute.  You just want to pinch its cute little cheeks.  But then a look at its rear shows that this little cutie means business.  But NOT TOO MUCH business, because it has some space for surf boards.  I love that back and forth in the details.

And what about that word Kombi?  It comes from Kombinationskraftwagen, German for "combination motor vehicle".  The Kombi variant of the VW Minibus had removable seats, so it could be used as a transporter and a cargo carrier, hence its "combination" of purposes.  The Kool Kombi serves several purposes as well, including as a dragster, a surfboard carrier, and obviously as a transporter (maybe only for 2 people, but that is beside the point).

And there is something else about the word "Kombi".  While German in origin, it is synonymous with Brazilian VW Buses.  Did you know that VW Brasil has been producing Kombis all the way up until now?  In fact, they announced just last year that they would cease production in 2013.  To me, Kombis are Brazilian.  I enjoyed a ride in my share of them during my time in Brazil.

Hot Wheels must think the same thing, because the colors of the Toy Fair and initial versions are purely Brazilian.  The 6-time World Cup champs could arrive at the tournament in one with those colors.  The side design colors on all versions so far scream samba, and the surfboards and colorful ocean waves tell us the Girl from Ipanema arrived in one.

So there is a lot to love about this model, and we at Lamley, who normally celebrate realism, have fallen victim as well.  We are totally entranced, enough to spring for a not-cheap Toy Fair model.  (It is worth it, with its spectraflame Brazilian green and metal base.)  

Collectors are obviously mesmerized too.  The green Kombi is harder to find than most regular Treasure Hunts.  We have had more trouble finding it than any other model, but have gotten lucky a couple of times.  Errors on the Kombi sell for ridiculous prices on ebay.  And it is a customizers dream.

We even asked Lamley friends on Facebook about what makes the Kool Kombi so appealing, and the answer we liked best came from Marv Hughes:

This is one of those cars that will make a current 8 year old say "Oh Wow! I remember this car from when I was a kid" When he gets to be 30-40 years old.

We could not agree more.  It is memorable.  It instantly enters the pantheon of Hot Wheels collector faves, and will surely show up to several parties in Super TH and RLC exclusive clothes.  Not to mention conventions.

Is it our favorite this year?  Nah.  We are JDM'ers here, and Toyota has dominated 2013.  But we have fallen victim to its spell, and it could get our nod as Model of the Year.  Collector response sure suggests it should.

So here are photos of all four versions released so far, including the fantastic Toy Fair model and recolor in white, which is part of Batch L, due in June.  Enjoy...

(Find Batch L at Wheel Collectors, and the Kool Kombi all over ebay...)


Hot Wheels Kool Kombi:

Yes, painted surfboards: