The changing face of the Hot Wheels Morris Mini...

Every now and then, castings change. This is common practice in Hot Wheels, whether it be converting plastic spoilers to metal, making a moving part fixed or, hopefully in the future, fixing the upsloped chins that have plagued some recent new models such as the Corvette C7.R and the Aston Martin Vantage GT3. In fact when the details were released about the C7.R appearing later this year in the Hot Wheels Entertainment line with a 'New Modified Chassis' I jumped for joy. We'll see what comes of that, but for now back to the model in hand.

The Morris Mini has been with us for about 16 years now, debuting in 2000 as a Pop-Offs model, meaning the chassis and the base of the car could be separated. That has been the case since, until the 2014 versions where it became more difficult to prise them apart and the plastic frame which can be seen (in yellow) on my well worn 2006 version was done away with. Like I said, it's very normal for Hot Wheels to modify castings periodically, but this usually happens with a new year's issue, not with a recolour. However, in 2015 they did just that. Above and below you can see the first 2015 version of the Morris Mini in Orange from Batch C, which is (now the final version of) the traditional Pop-Off model. Next to it you can see its turquoise recolour, but all is not as it seems. Look closer and you'll see that the front grille has changed completely, and the whole car is lower. The Pop-Off function is gone completely and in its place is a plastic base instead of metal, making the casting noticeably lighter and the wheels fit much better in the wheelarches. The base now states copyright 2014 Mattel as that's when this new version was designed. So all in all this modification has resulted in a smoother, better-executed model - you just can't take it apart.