The Stars of 2016 Hot Wheels Batches K & L #1. Lamborghini Sesto Elemento

Wow.

That should be the response mentally or verbally when any human being sets their eyes upon a Lamborghini. In reality, that's largely the case, so the Hot Wheels replicas (of which there are many) should evoke a similar reaction. Again, that's true most of the time; HW's brilliant Lamborghini castings outweigh vastly those that disappoint.

So, when Lamborghini put into production 20 examples of its carbon fibre masterpiece that resembles a technologically advanced, futuristic Gallardo (what they started with), it wasn't long before a HW replica debuted in the very first batch of the 2014 Mainline.

As the real car had only been seen in trademark carbon fibre grey with red accents, this was what everyone expected the First Edition to resemble. Hot Wheels thought otherwise. Instead, to the annoyance of some and surprised appreciation of many, the Sesto Elemento debuted in matte white with lime accents. To me, that version of the model is brilliant, and all four versions so far have been very good; very Lamborghini. The casting's second outing was the car's trademark guise, perhaps to keep the haters at bay (I doubt it though, releasing the Sesto in that colour was an inevitability) and then it returned in lime green with J5 wheels for 2015, and now in a lovely teal blue for 2016. It is part of a rare group of castings - those that sit happily on TRAP5 wheels without being a disappointment - and has done so 3 times out of 4.

To summarise, Hot Wheels' latest Lamborghini Sesto Elemento is a brilliant addition to a formidable, growing family of colour, excitement and drama. Just as a Lamborghini should be.

The family:

Oh, and I found this too: The Matchbox Porsche 911 Turbo...

Whilst at the Motor Madness UK event where I found the two Matchbox Ferrari Testarossas, I also came across this, the 2006 Mainline version of MB's awesome Porsche 911 Turbo casting. To think that this came out in 2002 is astonishing, as it's perfectly executed and one of the best sports car castings Matchbox has ever done. Sure, it would be nice to see a new one, but this looks just as good ten years on. Plus, from what I can see MB is recovering fairly well after a dark past few years - I look forward to the rest of 2016 and 2017, but distribution has to be sorted out as the only place I can find any these days is Morrisons and occasionally WHSmith's (the latter at vastly exaggerated prices).

This example only cost me £1 as it's used, but besides the headlight tampos there aren't any major paint chips to speak of or any other damage, so it was well worth that. It's a beautiful silvery blue colour with front and back tampos, what's not to love? And of course it's one of the last models to sport the love them/hate them 'flower' wheels, as it was around 2006 that they were being phased out for more realistic wheels such as the current 10spokes - this version of the 911 Turbo had three wheel variations because of it! All in all then this is a great version of a great model; one that is so great it continues to be produced (it's in this year's Exotics 5 Pack!) and symbolic of what Matchbox should want to return to - stunning realism.

The Stars of 2016 Hot Wheels Batches K & L...

But where's the Camaro? I hear you ask.

The honest truth is, I don't have one. Yet. As soon as I do, I will feature it on the blog. But right now I don't, so let's concentrate on the seven brilliant new models, new versions and recolours I do have from Batches K & L of the 2016 Mainline.

1. Lamborghini Sesto Elemento (2016 Release)

2. Lotus Espirit S1 (2016 Release)

3. BMW Z4 M (2016 Release)

4. '70 Ford Escort RS1600 (2016 Recolour)

5. SRT Viper GTS-R (2016 Release)

6. '17 Ford F-150 (2016 First Edition Recolour)

7. Honda Odyssey (2016 First Edition)

All of them are returning favourites or brand new successes, and each merits its own blog post. Speaking of which, I need to get a move on...

Beaters of a Bygone Age: The Matchbox Ferrari Testarossa...

Mattel have been separated from Ferrari for over a year and a half now, and I'm surprisingly not having much of a problem with it. Despite having 40+ Ferraris in my collection, it would seem to me that the lack of Ferrari has opened Hot Wheels up to the return of the likes of Jaguar and McLaren, and the continuation of its blossoming relationships with Porsche, Lamborghini, Aston Martin, BMW and many more. Even a return for Mercedes could be on the cards, but who knows!

So in a nutshell, it was sad to see Ferrari part ways with Mattel, but it hasn't had a hugely bad effect on Hot Wheels (quite the opposite I think). But that's not, as you can probably guess, what this post is about. Ferrari's new exclusive licensing agreement with Maisto/Bburago also prevents any new/returning Matchbox models too. Another shame, as Matchbox and Ferrari have a rich heritage, which I stumbled across two pieces of the other day...

I was at a Motor Madness UK event and one of the stalls was selling all sorts of old diecast from a couple of boxes for 50p each, so me being me I decided to have a good rummage. Then I found myself walking away with two classic Matchbox Ferrari Testarossas, which of course have seen better days but are in great condition all things considered. They'll probably never be made again so I couldn't pass up the opportunity, as these cars are (quite a lot) older than me and have their own sense of history. After doing some intense googling, I found that I'd picked up the First Edition!

The car above is 30 years old, MB75 of the 75 cars released in the 1986 Matchbox Mainline and has less paint chips than the other Testarossa, which has to be younger. Incredibly cheap slices of history these are, and I'm very glad to have them.

In Brief: My surprising finds of a Lotus or two...

One of the joys of collecting is walking into a shop/store, and finding something unexpected - this is usually amplified if it is old stock that you've either never seen before or didn't respect for what it was at the time of release. Well, a couple of months ago it happened to me.

I'd gone into Poundworld as normal on the lookout for old/new Hot Wheels and Matchbox. Once I got to the pegs I was met with the usual old stock from 2014 - stuff that I've seen time and time again. I was about to leave when I noticed a basket below the pegs, full of Mystery Models. I got straight in, rummaging through, and discovered cars from the notoriously elusive ROW-exclusive set, which I'd come across before at a BargainBuys and got the likes of the black Aston Martin DBS and grey Lamborghini Reventon but failed to find the other model that interested me; the Lotus Project M250. This time, I was in luck, and picked it up.

But that wasn't all. When rummaging through the basket I'd noticed some even older Mystery Models. I quickly realised that they were from 2013, and was lucky enough to find the only car worth getting in that particular set, the Lotus Sport Elise. I left a happy customer and eager to open the both of them, as I hadn't expected to find either at all!

UK readers, be on the lookout for older models at pound shops/stores!

Both have been around for years and are relatively popular but I've only one other M250 and this is my first Elise, so it was great to add these to the collection...

NB: Posts titled 'In Brief' will be shorter posts about specific things; this isn't a series.