The Stars of 2016 Hot Wheels Batches K & L #8. '16 Camaro SS

I found one...

As those of you who read the very first of these posts know, when I first shot the Stars of Hot Wheels 2016 Batches K & L I didn't have a key new model - the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro SS.
Well, since then I've picked one up and I'm definitely a fan.

Hot Wheels has produced more Camaro castings than I can count so this really was inevitable, but this time it comes with the added bonus of Forza Motorsport as on FM6 it is in the HW DLC pack. As for the casting itself, it's perfect in stature and proportions, looking great with metalflake blue paint, white stripes and red-lipped MC5 rims. Front/back tampos will have to wait until future/premium releases, but that's not too much of a big deal, especially when it looks this good as it is:

In front of the other Stars of Batch K & L:

But what's this? Someone else has sneaked in...

The Tesla Model S also features in the two batches in it's fourth guise, looking pretty good in dark grey (I picked one up with the Camaro).

So, after 9 posts, we have the complete Stars of Hot Wheels 2016 Batch K & L:

Thank you for reading :)

Speaking of Forza Motorsport, what's that in the distance...?

The Stars of 2016 Hot Wheels Batches K & L #7. Honda Odyssey

JDM.

10 years ago, if you said that JDM would grow to be a pillar of Hot Wheels collecting most collectors would have laughed.

Now, the scene is a world away from when Datsun Bluebird 510s were pegwarmers - collectors are scrambling to get the ones they overlooked! JDM isn't a huge thing for me so I only pick up the castings I like, and certainly won't chase earlier models for ridiculous amounts of money, But over the past few years (namely 2014, 15 and 16) I've been sure to pick up the best of the best - and the latest is no exception:

The entire JDM craze was to some out of left field, to others an inevitability. A Hot Wheels Honda Odyssey is a little out of left field on the surface, but for Jun Imai (its designer) it was an inevitability. Jun has recently been adding the cars he owns to the plethora of JDM castings he has created, and the Honda Odyssey is just the latest:

Being a family man, Jun's actual Honda Odyssey doesn't sport a livery or bodykit like the (very cool) Hot Wheels replica, but he has added a personal touch:

A kiddie seat! The sporty Odyssey is also functional. Overall this is a brilliant casting of a well proportioned, immaculately executed minivan that manages to be great looking too - it sits very well with some familiar faces...

The Stars of 2016 Hot Wheels Batches K & L #6. '17 Ford F-150 Raptor

When Hot Wheels releases a First Edition, the subsequent FE Recolour will of course look distinctly different, sometimes even outclassing its predecessor (I'm looking at you, Fiat 500). Sometimes they'll adopt different wheels or a different coloured interior. But rarely will the decoration change drastically.

Hot Wheels debuted its perfect new casting of the 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor in 2016 Batch E, sporting Ford Performance's signature colour, Liquid Blue, a Raptor themed livery with bonnet stripes and their new (circa 2015) Beadlock off road wheels.

The FE looks fantastic, and so does its recolour:

The wheels have been swapped for OR6SPs (Off Road 6 Spokes) which look equally great on the model, and the bonnet stripes have disappeared. In their place, however...

Rear detailing! The recolour in dark grey looks so much better with rear details than it would've with bonnet stripes, so full marks to whoever in HW made that decision.  The two Raptors so far make a great pairing, and 2017 Batch A seems set to make that a trio...

The Stars of 2016 Hot Wheels Batches K & L #5. SRT Viper GTS-R

It could have been a lot better.

When the SRT Viper GTS-R was announced as a 2015 New Model, I was excited, as I'm a big fan of the current Viper (more on that in a post very soon). However, just as would be the case with the Corvette C7.R and Aston Martin Vantage GT3 to be released later in the year, I was underwhelmed when it arrived. The upsloped chin crisis was in full swing, and on the Viper it was destructive to the point where the only angle from which the casting looks 'right' is from above. Despite this, it remains largely proportionally okay and not that bad to look at. Granted, it could have been so much better (we haven't seen an upsloped chin on a new model in a while so my fingers are crossed!) but all 3 releases so far have brought with them great decos, which means when I put them together I can let them off. A bit.

It will always be a flawed casting (unless modified, which I very much doubt) but this latest version, the Need For Speed version in metalflake blue, still is really nice. Anyway, I'll let the photos (most of which complimentary) do the rest of the talking...