With everyone showing off their super massive hawls of e36 M3s, Green Minis, and Skylines, I was feeling a bit left out. So I traveled with my son to an antique mall and we found tons of Hot Wheels Classics, Johnny Lightning, Redlines, Jada. The prices seemed a bit on the high side and I'm not a huge fan of any American cars (unless they are quirky like Studebakers or Gremlins), but it was amazing to see all these cars in person. I also have a rule when I go die-cast shopping that I can only spend as much cash as I have on me (no cards!!). I had $11. I almost bought a Hot Wheels Classics Series One Blue VW Bug but my son found a Lego Chima set for $8 and wasn't settling for anything else. It actually turned out fine when I came across these:
I'd only seen the recent green Stingray and it is definitely one of my least favorite looks. This "Metal Collection" version is like ZAMACs (which I like in theory, but are usually a letdown) done right. Instead of the green and clear shell of the more recent green version this one is just right, with heft, and a minimalist look that I really love (and you may recall I am not a big fan of American cars)... Even the logo looks great!
The cars were at a booth that didn't have much in the way of Hot Wheels and they were all either new/loose or on bad cards. Which is also pretty sweet, because they were coming off the cards immediately! :)
Recently, I thought it would be fun to see which of the die-casts we have are the fastest.
The 4 lane elimination track really doesn't give enough time to put up momentum, however. Meaning a car like the Civic EF which killed on the speedometer couldn't win to save its life on the elimination track. So I decided to do time trials on the speedometer and then race them in a NCAA bracket style tournament. I wanted to test as many varieties of cars and wheels, so when I saw this I grabbed it:
This is the second FTE car I have found. I bought a 2011 Camaro Convertible Concept FTE off the pegs at a Walgreens just recently.
The guy had a sign that said $1 each or 3 for $2, so hey, free car!
Maisto's are pretty much the least desirable 1:64s (especially their Fresh Metal series packing the shelves at every Dollar Tree in the country)....but I've never heard of "Speed Wheels"?? And regardless of the desirability or quality of the casting, I have a new wheel type to test!
Sorry T-Bird, I'm only using you for your wheels.
So I walked out of the store with $1 US dollar in my wallet (victory!)
Next up: Qualifying Time Trials (Teaser pic)
