Of course, Hot Wheels are meant to appeal to both kids and adults. I’m fine with that. Of course, there are still a number of over the top, peg warming, fantasy castings that most of us do not like(though, not all unlicensed castings are bad). We all want a see a push from the blue brand towards well done licensed models, and, 2016 might just be the start of that. Allow me to explain...
Okay, let’s start with the 2016 New Models. So, the ‘16 Ford Focus RS has been a hit or miss for some of you, but, overall, I think it’s a decent casting. ‘15 Dodge Charger SRT(Hellcat), and, the Renault Sport R.S 01 probably could have used more details, but, are still decent castings. The ‘16 Camaro SS is pretty good.The Aston Martin DB10 is also pretty good. ‘63 Chevy II? Also pretty good. Miata? Decent, but maybe everyone’s taste. The new Porsche is pretty good, but, seems to have some flaws. Then, we have the castings where the general consensus among collectors seems to be “very well done”. At least, from what I can tell, and, have read:
‘16 Ford Shelby GT350R
‘17 Ford GT(My personal favorite of the year)
‘17 Acura NSX
‘17 Ford F-150 Raptor
Custom ‘01 Acura Integra GSR
‘73 BMW 3.0. CSL Race Car
Porsche 356A Outlaw
Honda Odyssey
The racing Lamborghini Huracan with the extremely long name
Nissan Fairlady Z
That’s 10 models that have been very well received, and, 7 that may not be perfect, but, aren’t bad. So, 17. Yeah, there’s also more of those over the top fantasy models most of us couldn’t care less about, and I definitely would want to see some of those being phased out for licensed models and unlicensed but realistic basis models. Though, despite that, what we did get this year as new licensed models have been pretty good. Some more than others. In general, while there’s always have been highlights, I feel this year may have had more....
Now, we also got some other awesome stuff this year. Car Culture(which is continuing into next year), the 8 car GT set, the GT batch in the Entertainment series, and, the Forza batch in the entertainment series. Those have all been generally well received.
And 2017 holds promise as well. The Datsun roadster and the FuguZ are going to be an absolute pain to find, but, they are coming, and, they are fantastic models. See where I’m going with this? What do you guys think? Are we slowly seeing a shift in the blue brand? Or is it mere coincidence? I wanna hear your thoughts!
(I should also note that in general, I feel it’s now a great time to be a 1/64 collector to begin with)