First Look: Hot Wheels 2013 '57 Chevy in purple...

The '57 Chevy.  An iconic car, and an iconic Hot Wheels model.  And I hardly know anything about either.

So I apologize about that, and welcome the comments of '57 Chevy fans.  While I acknowledge the significance of the '57 Chevy, that era of cars has never been one that interests me.  We all have our preferences I guess.  And if you ask me about the history of the Hot Wheels model, I can tell you this:

- It comes with and without an exposed engine, and there is no rhyme or reason to when each is used.

- It debuted in 1977 (I cheated and checked South Texas).

- It was part of the famous 2005 Treasure Hunt series, and had a wheel vary, the black-rim version being the rarer of the two.

That's all that comes to mind.

But this version in purple was hard to ignore, and it is obvious there will be a lot of collectors out there who will be after this one.  It looks good, and seems to be nicely settled into a hot rod outfit.  It works quite well.  But again, what do I know?

(Find the 57 Chevy and the rest of HW 2013 Batch M at Wheel Collectors, and make sure you mention Lamley for a 10% discount...)


Hot Wheels '57 Chevy (2013 Mainline):

Surprise! Hot Wheels Batch M is now out at Wheel Collectors, as well as the unveiling of the Fire Eater Treasure Hunt...

It is hard to predict when new cases hit, so once again it came at a surprise when Matt at Wheel Collectors called to let us know that the Hot Wheels Batch M cases arrived this morning.

There are some great models in this batch, starting with the Fast & Furious Dodge Charger Daytona, which we hope to give First Look treatment here at Lamley this Friday when the movie is released.  Timely, eh?

This also is the first view of the new Fire Eater regular Treasure Hunt.  We knew the 67 Camaro is the Super, but no one knew about the Fire Eater.

Follow the link below to see all the models in Batch M, and be sure to mention Lamley when you purchase to get a 10% discount on your entire order.

Hot Wheels 2013 Batch M

Model of the Day: Tomica Limited Vintage Tomica Shop exclusive Toyota Land Cruiser FJ56V Police...

Yes, that title is a mouthful.

To help, we will break it down:

- This model is from the Tomica Limited Vintage (TLV) line.

- This model is a Tomica Shop exclusive, making it...uh...well...limited.

- Many of the Tomica Shop TLV's come in police livery, just like this Land Cruiser.  Lamley has five of the Tomica Shop police vehicles, and we will be featuring all of them over time.

- The "non-exclusive" Land Cruisers are wildly popular among TLV collectors, and acquiring one takes a few more dollars than one would spend normally on TLV's.

Does that help?

With those few tidbits, where do you start with this model?

We can start with the actual vehicle.  How can you not love a Land Cruiser?  Recent incarnations may have lost a bit of that luster, but the 50 Series, like the 40 Series before and 60 Series after, speak to exactly how most of think of the Land Cruiser.  Big, tough, and invincible.  Maybe not fast, but there are other cars for that.  Fast cars aren't nicknamed the "iron pig".  Land Cruisers are.  The 50 Series is the first "station wagon" Land Cruiser, and this elongated style is actually the style I personally prefer.  The FJ40 might be the most iconic, but the 50 and (especially) the 60 are my favorites.  This specific version done by Tomica, the 56, was only available in Japan.

How about this model's police livery?

I have no police heritage.  No relatives on any police force.  But I love police cars.  Certain police cars. Maybe it is an aesthetics thing.  Police cars seem to be the car at its best.  Everything a car is built to do, fully functioning.  Slap a good design on it, and to me it is pure car perfection.  And seeing that my design preferences favor the clean and simple, most police liveries I like are older.  A simple "police" on the side, and one or two colors, and I am thrilled.  There are still good current police liveries, like the California and Utah Highway Patrols in the US, but a ton of bad ones too.

That is one of the reasons I love the Japanese "keisatsu" design.  It may the most perfect design of all police vehicles.  Instantly recognizable, just a bit sporty, and it looks good on ANYTHING.  Which is a good thing, because the Japanese police might throw just about any car into their fleet.  There have been some doozies, and not always Japanese in origin:

(Ok, the yonmeri might be a custom build, but I don't ever skip a chance to show one of my favorite cars ever featured on JNC...)

So I have just a bit of a thing for keisatsu cars.  And my TLV police collection is growing.  I think I am up to 7 or 8, and I am looking forward to adding a few more.  And of all, this Land Cruiser may be my favorite.

Which leads me to a bit of a plug.  I want to highlight the ebay seller who has helped me acquire these.  He is out of Japan, and only sells police vehicles.  He was very good to me, considering the cost of TLV's, especially Tomica Store exclusives, and I want to recommend him to anyone interested.  Follow this link, and you will see an amazing group of models for sale (and I just noticed...on sale):

patocar-com Japanese Police Store

These models take commitment to collect, and the only thing missing from collecting TLV's is regret that you started.  Promise.


Tomica Limited Vintage Tomica Shop exclusive Toyota Land Cruiser FJ56V Police:

 The next Tomica Shop TLV Police model we will feature, the Skyline Van:

First Look: Hot Wheels Retro Entertainment Back to the Future DeLorean & Ferris Bueller's Sister's Pontiac Fiero...

These are hitting stores right now, so we want to make sure our showcase gets out.

This batch includes more models, and we decided to showcase two.  The Back to the Future Time Machine (I like to call it a Delorean), and Ferris Bueller's sister's Fiero.  Why these two?  I am a child of the 80's, and with apologies to Top Gun, Karate Kid, Star Wars sequels, and Indiana Jones, no two movies defined our entry into teen-dom than these two.  Plus, I don't think there is a car to make from Revenge of the Nerds.  (And mom didn't take you to that one.  Revenge of the Nerds was always shown after Friday the 13th on the VCR at your friend's slumber party after the parents went to bed.)

Now the the Delorean is a no-brainer, and we all know why.  Next to the General Lee there may not be a more iconic car from the movies.  So there's that.  Now the Fiero is what takes the cool level of the Retro Series to another level.

We all know about Cameron's Dad's Ferrari, and I could not be more excited that Hot Wheels is doing that one.  But Ferris got the computer, and Jeanie got the car.  And yeah, Hot Wheels already had the Fiero casting, and probably would not have built if from scratch, but who cares?  We have it, and it is awesome.  Ferris might be one righteous dude, but Jeanie made out with Charlie Sheen.

Fiero wins.

(Find the Retro Entertainment Series at Wheel Collectors, and take advantage of their 14% sale...)


Hot Wheels Retro Entertainment Back to the Future Delorean & Ferris Bueller Pontiac Fiero:

First Look: OEM Factory Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 in gloss and matte black...

Remember, a couple of weeks ago, when we showcased two OEM Factory Lamborghinis?

I said there may be nothing to say, because the models are too good and the photos will do all the talking.  Guess what?  We have nothing to say.

We will only say that when Felix over at Daboxtoys got these, he told me that he hadn't seen a better 1:64 model in a very long time.  We now have a few in hand, and we totally agree.  This model is fantastic.

We have three models, and here are two of them.  One in gloss black, one in matte black.  They are available right now at Daboxtoys, but they sell out quickly, so jump on them ASAP.

Enjoy the pics.  We sure did.


OEM Factory Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 (matte black and gloss black):

The next Ferrari we will showcase: