The LaLD admins made their picks and now it is time to announce the winners!
Best New Model of 2014
Nominees
Alfa Romeo 8C Competizone
Aston Martin DB5
BMW e46 M3
Datsun 620
Porsche 934 RSR
So-Plowed
......and the winner is:
1963 Aston Martin DB5
This was by far the most competitive of the categories (Super Treasure Hunt was close, but it wasn't THIS close). I think there are compelling arguments for all the nominees, and several that didn't get nominated. A surprisingly strong case for left field choice So-Plowed was even considered.
The best all-around winner in this category though has to be the 63 Aston DB5. It's honestly hard to understand why this car hasn't been immortalized in 1:64 by Hot Wheels before. The detailing in this model is impressive (with one caveat) but just check out this photo:
Admittedly it's not perfect, but in a year Hot Wheels thought releasing the Civic EF with a drunkenly tampo'd B pillar was ok...
The Aston, frankly, is a masterpiece.
My one caveat: the card showed fender mounted mirrors which, unlike the Toyota 2000GT or Datsun 510 wagon, were not even attempted on the mainline models. However, I believe the Retro Entertainment version may right this.
You couldn't go wrong with any of the colors: Green, Silver, or Red but my favorite remains the first one issued: a vintage British car in British Racing Green.
Best Regular Treasure Hunt
For a refresher on what is a Treasure Hunt, please check out this article.
Nominees
La Fasta
Maximum Leeway
Stockar
....and the winner is:
Poison Arrow
Wait, what? That wasn't even nominated! However, since Regular Treasure Hunts are mainly targeted at kids (and let's face it, all Hot Wheels really are just toys), my seven year old son judged this category. After looking at all 15 of them (yes I found all 15, but have only kept one of each *cough* Lamley Group *cough*), he selected the Poison Arrow, which he claims is his second favorite Matchbox of all time (he calls all diecasts Matchbox) behind the Cool Classics Amphicar. He also gave honorable mentions to: Fangster, Cloak & Dagger (it glows in the dark!), and, strangely, Subaru WRX STI. Yet Poison Arrow was decidedly his favorite, and thus gets the Wall-D for Best Regular Treasure Hunt of 2014. Deal with it grown-ups.
Best Super Treasure Hunt
Nominees
'55 Bel-Air Gasser
'70 Chevelle SS
'71 Datsun 510 Wagon
'83 Silverado
....and the Wall-D goes to:
Datsun 510 Wagon
Ever since LaLD went live (even back when we were HWEP), people would ask me, a guy who didn't even know what a Treasure Hunt was when founding this blog/forum, when the Datsun wagon was coming out. Is it in the L case? The M case? It must be in the N case, right?
I recall my son and I going through one of the mammoth displays at Fred Meyer when another collector came up to the display, I asked him what he was looking for, because we'd gone through and seen pretty much all the cars in the display and could tell him if he would likely come across it. I also try to be a nice guy. :) He said 'I don't know, mostly that Datsun wagon' and as soon as I let him know that it wasn't out yet, he left.
What made everyone so crazy about an early 70's Japanese econo-box? A wagon even? I'm not entirely sure, the inflated prices on the Datsun 510 wagon from the Boulevard series certainly played a part. Although why you can pick up a Boulevard Pontiac Fiero for a buck on eBay and you'll likely pay 30 for the Datsun seem slightly lopsided.
The Datsun just managed to catch the perfect storm of collectibility, rarity, and, yes, even desirability. As FROSTED put it
It's the only Super I have. It may be the only super I ever own, and I'd be ok with that.
Congrats to all the winners of the 2014 Wall-D Awards!
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