The changing face of the Hot Wheels Aston Martin V8 Vantage...

Mild to Wild. Not a bad idea for a subset, and it is a segment of the 2016 HW Mainline. This is the first car I've bought from it, though frankly any segment that heralded the return of this casting would garner at least a little attention from me (unlike it's counterpart in the segment, which will NOT be making an appearance). But all isn't the same with this release, as after over 10 years active the casting has been subtly redesigned and modified for this year's (and subsequent) releases.

The original casting wasn't perfect - take a look at it from a side angle for example:

The wheels just don't sit flush in the arches, and whilst the casting looks fine from most other angles when you view it up close like this it shows and detracts from the model. The casting wasn't exactly crying out for modification - I along with many other collectors hope the GT3 will get a huge overhaul - but HW has done it, by removing the source of the problem. The plastic grille piece. I'll say now that the model above is the most recent (2014 Exotics 5 Pack) and my favourite release of the V8 Vantage, as the paint colour is so underused especially on exotic cars, the deco is subtle and it sits on the best wheels for any modern Aston - 10 spokes. It's fitting then, that it will be the final version of the original. Plus, a chrome base meant a chrome grille, as it was all one piece. Until now.

Now the grille is part of the metal body, and the whole car looks better for it to be honest, as the wheels now sit perfectly:

So now every future version of the Vantage (of which I'm sure there'll be many) will be great to photograph from every angle. Now all we have to do is wait for it's 'Wild' little brother to fall into line...