From memory, the rear window and hatch opens to show off the engine and exhausts. Poprace has some of my favorite castings as of the last couple of years.
The last of my recent additions.
- M2 1966 Ford GT40 Le Mans 1-2-3 Sweep set.
- Greenlight F-350 DRW and Greenlight Bigfoot#1 with gooseneck trailer. I have had the trailer for a few months and finally got around to finding a truck capable of towing the loaded trailer.
-AutoWorld Hellcat "Special Paint Swatch" with open trailer.
From memory, the rear window and hatch opens to show off the engine and exhausts. Poprace has some of my favorite castings as of the last couple of years.
As a side thought, wouldn't it be cool if Mini GT made Gran Turismo-themed cars? I think they have the Bugatti VGT, but it would be cool to have a collection of GT legends like what Hotwheels have done in the past
After a while, I've figured out that the best way to swap custom wheels in is just to break the stock ones and slide the custom axels in. Should have thought that sooner rather than trying to drill the bits.
Matchbox has had a ton of winners this year. The Collector’s Series, Moving Parts, and the mainline have had multiple gems so far. Here are some of the ones I managed to find multiples of and decided to open up.
Time to warp up my addition during my holiday because I will go back home tomorrow. Mini GT
Honda NS-X (Ayrton Senna) and Nissan Skyline GT-R R33 NISMO CRS version
Pop Race
Mazda 787B
HJ64 Toyota Supra RZ
And finally… Hotwheels Track Fleet - Transformers Optimus Prime. Honor to the late great Peter Cullen, who passed away yesterday.
Further to this post I made in another thread, I have decided on which maker’s 1/64 adaptation of Lando’s 2025 title-winning McLaren MCL39 to get. Originally Sparky was my choice, but they don’t manufacture one without the driver inside, and after some thinking I figured a version with the driver separate from the car would be better in case I want to display it next to my other 1/64 driverless 2000’s Formula 1 machinery. Besides, the Sparky ones seem to have too squarish of front tyres, judging from casting previews. So Minichamps it is again.
And when I received and opened the parcel I sure am glad I went for the Minichamps one. The exhaust seems to be done better than Sparky’s. And if you’re thinking that it’s the same casting just with a different livery and no in-cockpit driver, think again. I don’t know if Sparky have done the same, but Minichamps went the extra mile and featured variations in the aerodynamic devices to mimic the in-season aero developments that are a staple in modern Formula 1! Talk about a nice surprise.
Here’re some side-by-side photos of Oscar’s MCL39 in early-season Monaco GP trim and Lando’s car in season-ending Abu Dhabi GP. See if you can catch the differences; I’ve put what I’ve noticed are different in spoilers, if you want the answer right away:
Okay, so the differences can pretty much all be found in the last two photos, and basically all of them lie in the rear wing assembly, with the only difference on the cowling being a pad-printed job The attention to detail is still pretty impressive, and I understand why Minichamps wouldn’t want to create another cowling casting.
And since Lando’s figure is featured separately from the car (they also put a pit board in there, but no pics of that), that gives me the opportunity to do some weird-as-doofus buffoonery with some 1/64 figurines I’ve got from other sets.
Yeah, I don’t regret on the colour; I knew I liked the orange, since it fits the sprightly image that a subcompact city car like the City Cabriolet is associated with. The regret has more to do with having no use for it: I don’t usually collect non-sporty cars, and I have no intention of putting it in a display so far, so buying it is strictly for the collecting side of the hobby. Although in terms of displaying I may find a theme to feature the Honda as part of eventually, seeing as I just pre-ordered another potential “regret” in the form of the yellow Corolla Levin… I also pre-ordered the green Merc 190 E by TLV, and the 992 GT3 made by Minichamps that paid tribute to the Newman 956, but those two I’m not regretting one bit.
The blue on yours looks nice too, it complements the white parts of the car well.
It should arrive this week, so we'll see what I think of it. Hopefully the quality's good because they have a lot of other very interesting cars on their website I'm very interested in.
It should arrive this week, so we'll see what I think of it. Hopefully the quality's good because they have a lot of other very interesting cars on their website I'm very interested in.
Got one of these today for the first time in 15 years!
I can remember when these came out; I bought some, and I thought the gimmick was pretty neat. Though I didn't buy very many of them because they were kind of expensive, and for the price I'd be paying for one of these, I could get several other castings I liked instead. I also think the fact that my brother and I didn't play with our Hot Wheels as much anymore was another reason, and I probably didn't get much out of the gimmick as a result.
However, in recent times, I have a 2-year-old nephew now who comes over frequently, and I often play with Hot Wheels with him on that Ultimate Garage playset I posted earlier. That said, I recently pulled my old trains out again, and not only have I been having more fun with them than I was before, but my nephew loves them too! So I decided to get another one after so long, and it finally came today. Showed it to my nephew, and he already loves it, so much so that he hardly let me play with it! I am hoping I can get more of these over time because the connecting gimmick is certainly a good one. I honestly wish I had bought more of these when they were available because they're even more expensive now!
The attention to detail is still pretty impressive, and I understand why Minichamps wouldn’t want to create another cowling casting.
