Well, it has been a hectic week or so but it wasn’t until yesterday that I realized that I hadn’t finished putting up the contents of my Holiday HAWL here on LaLD! So today I bring you Part 3, the results of an annual shopping trip to all the local TRU’s and Walmarts with my grandparents. More Greenlight, my first M2 castings, my first Autoworld castings, and several new Hot Wheels and Matchboxes made it into the cart. Let’s look at some pictures...
Since I haven’t been able to discover a MBX Fox-body Mustang police car, this Greenlight was the next best thing at the TRU, although when I say next best I really mean best. Everything is spot on, from the lenses to the wheels. One of the three quarter windows is absent, though I actually somewhat appreciate that that was the error and not a wheel issue as Greenlights are known to have...
Now, I’m not usually an American car guy but I know two things when I see them: a good casting, and an interesting subject. The Ford’s strengths lie in the very detailed grille and wheels, although the blue and shapeless interior is a bit of a letdown. The Dodge hits it spot on just about everywhere despite having a difficult to open hood which lacks the ledge that the Ford does. Look at the burgundy interior though!
Needless to say, I was very excited to discover this A100 van. It seems that someone had picked it up previously but decided against it, as it was lying on the shelf and not the peg and was the last in store. The paint job and the wheels really make this casting, and I welcome it gladly home.
Here is a HW 9 pack, usually filled with meh cars but I managed to find one with 2/3 of the cars as licensed castings! The Celica, Datsun, and Mini are special as they’re the first that I have. The Elmiraj is a great recolor that brings my Elmiraj count to three, the Viper looks great in candy red, and the Chevy is a classic in the flame suit. In the back, the jet powered police wagon next to the Elmiraj is actually rather fetching and will compliment it’s fire station brother well. Next to it is a rather good rendition of a rally car, despite wearing odd colors, and finally there is the shark casting, which everyone has to get at somepoint (now I have two...)
After the nine pack, I found this 5 pack at a Walmart, adding the GT2 and ?Lambo to my collection. The Lotus is magnificent on BBS’s though, and the Huayra is brilliant in a white on black livery. The Alfa is not quite as fitting in orange as it is in the red that I have, but the black wedge on the hood is a great touch.
Another 5 pack! This is the recent one from MBX, adding the Mustang, the GT40, and GMC to my collection. They are excellently done and the tamps are spot on! The Pontiac is very good as well but I personally like the one I have in blue better, a statement which is true for the Karmann Ghia as well.
These two yellow MBX’s have had a lot of controversy surrounding their iffy scaling but in my opinion they are definitely a reminder that MBX is headed in the right direction at long last.
Wings! The best of the bunch here is definitely the Speedhunters Viper IMO. The Gulf GT is amazing but I feel some of the aero effects are a bit too drastic for my tastes. The Supra is nice but lacking some serious casting detail both in front and in the rear, both in molding and tampos.
My first HW Scirocco! This one is part of the Road Trippin Series and advertises the Swiss Oberalp Pass on its hood and flanks. The graphics are a bit tacky but the wheels match the hood nicely, and the wing as well.
Some Matchbox utility vehicles! The Supreme Hero Master is a much needed improvement over the tampo-less basic models (hopefully I can do a comparison later). The Ford work truck is a bit of an esoteric choice but I do like it nonetheless! Shame about the lack of interior though...
These are some of the cars from the basic AW line. Simple and relatively small, they nevertheless come with excellent detailing and the color schemes are magnificent, I couldn’t pass any of these up!
Both this DeSoto Adventurer and Chrysler 300C are M2 castings and the family resemblance is uncanny from the greenhouse back. Even the color is the same! The hood and doors of the DeSoto open, and I believe the hood opens on the 300C although I have yet to find a way to do so...
This one was just weird enough to come home with me. It looks like it’s an old-fashioned version of something like the GMC Topkick pickup, a pick up truck based off a more industrial chassis. However, this type of truck seems more for work than for show with a dually on its very short chassis and big funny hooks up front.
I also figured it was high time that I get a M2 semi and trailer of some sort, so this answered the question perfectly. The weathered Daytona looks the part, with the dirty effects making it very realistic indeed. The semi matches well with the Dodge A100 van and several others too, so I can haul a myriad of things on the trailer...
And last but most certainly not least, the Mercury Comet Caliente, my first of the amazingly detailed and very high quality AW line. Everything is spot on, from the wheels to the badges to the engine and the grille. Its 6 dollar price makes TLV’s seem overpriced in comparison, and it looks the part parked between the Norev Alpine and the TLV Skyline.
Well, there is the third part of the Holiday HAWL series, just a few weeks overdue. Hopefully you enjoyed this simple gallery; one more very short one awaits... See you around LaLD!