One of the most popular ongoing toy lines in America is Hot Wheels, a toy line that's a stone's throw from 60. It's filled with wacky concept cars, gag cars, sci-fi cars, and actual toys that are fun like Brick and Motor - but most of us don't know that, maybe because of experiences with Hot Wheels flippers since the introduction of Treasure Hunts. I was flipping through the pegs at Target about 3 weeks ago and a collector comes back to the aisle, arms filled with Matchbox and Hot Wheels, saying to me unprompted "don't bother, I already got all the good ones." That's not the hobby I and most fans are in, we just want to get the things we want and have a good time. I found this car at a grocery store, and it was about a year old, and nobody wanted it. But I did!
I'm not a car guy, as evidenced by the ones I review here, but I've been digging through my own cars that I bought about 10 years ago and will be looking at more during Wheels Week here at 16bit.com and also at Galactic Hunter. With price increases in action figures and LEGO, Hot Wheels remains one of the few, very cheap thrills available to toy collectors. $1.25 is about par for the course now, and given they've been about a buck since the 1960s they remain a good deal if you're in to this sort of thing.
The car is a riff on the classic Bone Shaker car, except the skull grille has been replaced by a removable brick with a vaguely skull-like shape and a mustache on it. Adorable. It's removable, as is the black piece behind the driver's seat. There are at least four colors out now, and they're all pretty good for different reasons - and easy to find. I prefer the 2013 models due to the specific tampo deco on the sides, specifically the brick skull man with a sombrero and a mustache. The B/M on the side - which we can also joke about meaning "bowel movement" - is also fun.
It's a lightweight car with gorgeous yellow deco on the wheels plus wonderful pinstriping. You can build on it with the various brick studs - it's compatible with LEGO, Mega, and other brands - so you can slap a figure or a small polybag space ship build on top and send it through your track. The tolerances for keeping the included bricks on are quite good, and the toylike shape is completely charming. For a buck, I don't know why you would skip a car with skulls and a mustache.
On orange track, this is a solid performer. I tried it with three different launchers (one "slam" and two rubber band) and it went well, zipping along farther than most cars. (I have no means to measure speed yet.) When you "launch" it with gravity, it's also speedy and clears the track. The brick build cars I've tested all work amazingly well.
This is a fun toy, and you should get it. I have zero interest in flipping these things, mostly because it isn't fun and selling a $1 car for $3 to $4 to somebody seems like a colossal waste of time. Aside from just collecting, there are a lot of other fascinating things people do with 1:64 cars. There are customizers, racers, and thanks to the GoPro car "Zoom In" a number of fans set up insane backyard tracks with waterslides and all kinds of extras. These are still real toys with people really playing with them, with guest stars like Carships, Character Cars, and of course, competition - did you ever play with Hasbro's Transformers Generation 2 GoBots or Robots in Disguise Spy Changers? Come back tomorrow to read about one of those.
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