A Scion FR-S Party! The new Zamac plus a Variation Alert...

We do enjoy bringing our readers pics of the latest models as early as possible, but when it comes to the Zamacs, we are completely at the mercy of Mattel's distribution and our local Walmarts.  So we knew we would be a little late to the game when J case dump bins starting hitting the eastern US, without a trickle of sign that were in the West.

Sure enough, they didn't hit the West until late last week, 2-3 weeks after the East and Midwest (and at the same time K case bins are hitting there as well.   Um, grrrrr.)  But at least they did hit.  The last batch of Zamacs, with the pretty AE86, Silverado, and Camaro was scarce at best around here.  I did manage to find them at one rural Walmart, but I never saw them in the Salt Lake City area.  That is a little concerning, as the upcoming Chevelle Wagon, Hakosuka Skyline, and '70 Chevelle SS Zamacs are high on the want-list, and I hope I can find them.

But distribution talk is boring, so let's move on.

We have the Scion!  In 2012/2013 the Toyota 86/Scion FR-S/Subaru BRZ dominated the auto world, so maybe 2014 is a year where we come down a bit.  (And get ready for the Nissan IDX buzz to start getting VERY LOUD.  We will be contributing.)  So Hot Wheels' version of the Scion may have come a tad late, and it has had a surprisingly run of bland colors and deco.

So the Hot Wheels Scion hasn't gotten the attention of many non-JDM collectors, but it might once we see one in a sharp primary color.  Bright red?  Satin blue?  For now, we have the Zamac, and it does look great.  But all Zamacs do.  We have said it before, we will say it now, and we will say it again: Zamacs are f*#king fun to photograph.  They always look good.

Then & Now with the Zamac AE86

There is another bit of HW Scion FR-S news, and we decided to include it with our post on the Zamac.  It just took a bit longer to get that Zamac Scion than we expected.

If you are a wheel variation collector, check your local Hot Wheels 9-packs.  If you are lucky, you might find the first color of the 2014 Scion with chrome-lipped J5 wheels, as opposed to the standard PR5.

We weren't lucky enough to find one, but thankfully we had an extra OH5 RX-7 to trade to HWC variation nut 1.eyed.jack for one that he found, and it arrived a few days ago.

As far as we know, this variation is exclusive to 9-packs, and has not been found in high numbers.  But both Target and Walmart have housed them.  So keep your eyes peeled.

And it makes for a happy family:

2013 New Model

2013 New Model - large PR5 wheels (found only in 3-packs)

2014 Mainline

2014 Mainline J5 wheels (found in 9-packs)

2014 Zamac exclusive

Variation Alert: Rare Hot Wheels '87 Toyota Truck with OR6sp wheels is being found in Canada...

You never know when little tidbits of collector knowledge will pop up.  We are well into the 2014 Hot Wheels year, but some news on a very hard-to-find 2013 model has just emerged.

We love our wheel variations here at Lamley, and one of the best of 2013 was the tan Toyota Truck with Off-Road 6-spoke (OR6sp) wheels.  As far as we had heard, the rare vari had been found in Puerto Rico, but we hadn't confirmed any other location.

That is until we heard from Lamley friend Shawn Hill from up yonder in Canada.  He sent me a photo of a few of the Toyota variations that he found, and our interest was piqued.  All in all, Shawn, who is a vari nut himself, found six of the elusive pickup.  Thankfully he was feeling generous and we were able to work out a trade to send a couple to Lamley.

They just arrived, and we decided to open one for your pleasure.  Enjoy Shawn's retelling of how he found them, check out the pics, and you Canadians get off your duff and go find more of these...

From Shawn:

To live in the nation's capital is to live in a fantastic haven for little car hunting. Boasting 8 WalMarts in the greater Ottawa area (as well as a healthy amount of large grocery stores) and a very small collector community, this city will yield cool finds for the dedicated hunter. 

I am a big fan of Treasure Hunt cars as well as muscle cars, service vehicles and JDM/Euro sports rides but my favorite thing to find is the wheel variation! Even if it is not a preferred casting of mine, if the wheels are different than usual, it goes in the cart! My favorite wheel vari I have found is the black wheeled tan 87 Toyota Pickup mainly because when I posted it on some of the larger Facebook groups, no other collectors had seen it. It is rare. It is cool and I found 6 of them. 

Oddly enough, I found a couple at Target. This is odd because Target does not restock regularly, if at all. I found 2 on the pegs at once in the company of one regular silver star rimmed model. The other place I found my 87s was Loblaws, a large chain of Canadian grocery stores with a hit or miss selection of Hot Wheels. One Loblaws puts out a case per month or so while the other Loblaws where I found an 87 vari had supposedly discontinued their toy section. As always, when you decide at the last minute to check a spot you are sure will yield nothing, something cool arises. In this Loblaws case, the vari was in the company of 2 regularly wheeled models. 

Did the production line run out of silver rims and slap on the black ones at the last minute? Was it a calculated move by Mattel to put out something rare for those of us in the know to hunt? Who knows. As long as little cars keep hitting the pegs, I will be hunting these HTF varies. Please share if you have found the black wheeled 87 Toyotas as well!

 Hot Wheels '87 Toyota Truck OF6sp variation (2013 Mainline):

Variation Alert: 2014 Hot Wheels Toyota Celica & Mazda RX-7 with OH5's, BMW E30 M3 with MC5's, 2013 Toyota 2000GT with PR5 wheels, and more...

By nature, being a collector means you find your niche, and collect the hell out of it.  So to speak.

We would like to think that our interest in these mini cars comes directly from our love for the real thing.  My collection is full of mini versions of the cars that will always earn a double take from me when I pass them on the road.  Everything from a Gran Torino to a Datsun 510 to a 458 Italia.  And a lot more.

But there is one aspect of my collecting that doesn't have anything to do with the real cars they represent.  And that little corner of the collecting world is full of wheel variations.  I love wheel variations, more specifically wheel variations on the cars I collect.  They could make the models look better, or worse, but if the wheels are different I want that model.  And if the wheel vari is rare or common, that doesn't matter.  I want it.

So I am always on the prowl, not only for wheel vari's on the pegs, but for any info on wheel vari finds.  And most of that info comes from the Vari and Error section on HWC.  Even with all the changes to the HWC forums, the Vari & Error section is still frequented by the best vari hunters in the biz, and what they share is fantastic.  No day goes by without a visit to that forum, to what else has been found.  Occasionally I can even contribute some of my finds.

So when something emerges that we think will interest Lamley readers, we will share it.  And a few things have emerged...

Let's start with a couple of recent multipack finds, both models that many of you collect:

2014 Hot Wheels '70 Toyota Celica with OH5 wheels:

Found by the collector with the best error-seeking eyes I know, HWC member TEPEagle from the Northwest US.  Normal wheels are chrome-lipped MC5's.  Found in a multipack, and note the wrong window was inserted as well.  No others have been reported.


2014 Hot Wheels Mazda RX-7 with OH5 wheels:

Another OH5 vari, found by another legendary vari collector, HWC member Cam40, in a TRU 20-pack.  Normal wheels are chrome MC5.


And there are more.  How about these, found in Walmart Christmas 9-packs:

Golf GTi with small 10-spoke wheels:

Found by HWC member svt4me.  Normal wheels are large Y5.


Cadillac CTS-V with gold MC5 wheels:

Found by HWC member Mateo716.  Normal wheels are yellow-lipped PR5's.


And now a couple in the Lamley collection.

First off:

2014 Hot Wheels BMW E30 M3 with MC5 wheels:

Found by me in a Target dump bin in Utah.  There were many other E30's there, but with the normal PR5's.  One other has been reported found at a TRU in Arizona.  There seem to be a lot of these on the pegs, so keep looking.


2014 Multipack Exclusive Honda S2000 with 10-spoke wheels:

We reported this one earlier, but still have not heard of another reported.  Keep an eye out in 9-packs and 3-packs.


Lastly, a new gem added to the Lamley collection, the 2013 Toyota 2000GT with PR5 wheels:

This easily goes to the top of my favorite wheel variations list, alongside the FE Cadillac CTS with lace wheels and Honda S2000 Super TH with 5-spoke Real Riders.  This was found by HWC member LATECH18 in New Mexico.  The other two pictured were found in the same store on the same visit.  Some other mismatched MC5/PR5 Toyotas were reported, but as far as I know this is the only reported all-PR5 variation.

There are a few to look for, and there will undoubtedly be more.  We will try and keep everyone updated, at least on the variations we think would interest folk here.

And by the way, look for a full update on the Lamley wheel variation collection soon...