Hot Wheels 2016 Batch H, brought to you by blue...

Both are dark blue. Both are fast. Both have grey wheels. Both debut in Batch H of the 2016 HW Mainline. But that's where the similarities end...not that that's a problem. It's rare for both of the licensed models of any batch to sport colour schemes this similar or both be as perfect as these -  but here we are, the 2017 Acura (Honda) NSX and the Ford Shelby Mustang GT350R.

Let's start with the NSX. In 2012, and in 2013 via Hot Wheels, the world was treated to this:

That is of course the 2012 Acura NSX Concept, a preview of a potential future successor to Honda's legendary 1990s supercar. Three years on from its HW debut we have the beautiful Ryu Asada designed production model in dark blue with grey Y5 wheels, and it is a stunner, especially when sat aside its matching Then & Now counterpart, Asada's 1990 NSX which debuted in 2015 and the 2015 version of the Concept (above). Front and back tampos just add a cherry to the cake.

From concept to reality...

Then & Now...

Evolution:

If you've got down this far, let's talk about that Mustang:

It's the second of four Ford Performance new models that Hot Wheels will churn out in the mainline this year, the first being the '17 F-150 Raptor and we'll soon see the Focus RS and GT join them, likely also in signature Ford blue.

The casting is proportionally sound and looks every bit as awesome as the real thing, described as 'as hardcore a production car you'll find these days' by Speedhunters (it's a shame it won't reach UK shores), so it's a model that I'll happily add to the collection, and once all four have been released I'll be sure to photograph them here...

What a pair...

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...

Guilty Pleasures #3: The 2015 Hot Wheels '08 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X...

This one didn't go down well...I should explain now that not all of my Guilty Pleasures posts will be on castings, but that some will also be on an individual version of a casting. This is the first of those, and we don't have to step too far back in time. The '08 Mitsubishi Evolution X has been a firm favourite with collectors since its introduction in (surprise surprise) 2008, especially with JDM fans. It has seen many releases, and when it was revealed to be the Super Treasure Hunt of 2015 Batch H it was a welcome return. Now I must admit, $THs really don't bother me at all, as I live in the UK, a country where we scarcely get any Supers. I don't own a single one, and of course I don't think this is fair, but I manage. However, in this case many collectors hated this version of what is a very good casting, as the deco is apparently too 'busy' and the wheels chosen for the Super were abysmal. I agree totally with the latter and a little with the former, but this post is about the mainline version - the one I actually have.

In my opinion the deco is great, and as it sits on blue J5s (possibly the best mainline HW wheel variation overall, let alone just for this model) you can see why I'm a fan, and I don't think it deserved the amount of hate it received. For that reason, it earns its place in this series, and hopefully you the reader will agree that these photos compliment it, even when alongside a 2008 First Edition version.

Guilty Pleasures continues every Friday...

Castings I wish I had more of: The Hot Wheels '09 Corvette ZR1

This isn't a rare casting. Rare castings are desired for how difficult they are to procure or how little the number of versions made is. Take the Maserati MC12 for example - pops up in the 2005 First Editions, reappears in the 2007 Mystery Models and then never again. Another Maserati, the Quattroporte. appeared in the 2004 First Editions and then famously was also never to be seen again. But this? This is of course the 2009 Corvette ZR1, which debuted in 2008 and has been released again literally dozens of times since. And yet I have only three.

The first is a lime 2009 FTE release, bought for me at the time by my Dad and thankfully has been pretty well kept. It has both headlight and taillight printing, and looks wonderfully stock. The second is from 5 years later, in 2014, and is a multipack exclusive. The approach of conservative printing is evident, but overall this dark blue version (a recolour of the 2013 version, which was red) is great sitting on white 10 spokes, and I guess I can confidently say that it is one of the rarer versions of the casting. The third and final version is 2015's release, in a stunning Gulf Racing livery, which is practically faultless (yes taillight printing would be nice, but that is a little too hopeful for the mainline these days).

I have searched and searched for the white recolour of the Gulf version, but to no avail. That's not the point of this post though. The point is, if I had to pick three of all the versions released of this casting (excluding the $TH of course), I would probably still be sitting here with these three...

2016 Hot Wheels BMW Series Part 1: The Modern Castings...

Hot Wheels and BMW. To begin with, they weren't the best of friends, but since the beginning of this decade a blossoming relationship has appeared between the two, giving us countless new castings modern and classic such as the 2002, E36 M3 Race, M3, M3 GT2, Z4 M, M4, E30 M3, M1 and, later this year, the legendary 3.0 CSL 'Batmobile'. So it was no surprise then, that after producing a stellar manufacturer set for Porsche in 2015, HW would turn to BMW to make another set. And what a set it is. Four classics, three modern castings and a motorbike (I'm not a motorbike guy, so don't expect that to appear in a post, but once I have the four classics in hand I'll be sure to give them one). Plus, BMW has it's own 5 car segment in the 2016 mainline, in which the Z4 M appears again!

But back to these three. Let's start with the M3 GT2. Introduced in 2012, this appeared long enough before the upsloped chin crisis to remain a stunning model (although thankfully BMW doesn't allow anything like that anyway), technically and just on appearance. It's First Edition colours were white and black, both of which suited it down to the ground, just as this metalflake blue does, with a BMW M No. 12 livery (which has somewhat returned in this release). What makes it even more important, as I'm sure fellow collectors will well know, is two things. Firstly, it is within a group of castings (think Porsche Boxster Spyder, Bentley Continental Supersports) that debuted in 2012 but didn't appear again for several years - this is it's first release since then. The second thing is part of the car that may just be the reason for this:

That spoiler. Since late 2014 (AKA the start of the 2015 mainline) castings with plastic rear wings have been hunted down and, er, genetically modified to have a metal spoiler. To be honest, although it hasn.t been popular, it hasn't tragically changed the appeal of any of the models it has happened to, nor would I think that it'd be a disaster if it happened to the M3 GT2 (which is great, as that would be the only way it could return to the mainline in the future). Obviously the only reason that it hasn't been modified for this release is that the BMW set counts as a premium line, meaning that, as they charge more for it, Hot Wheels can justify keeping the plastic spoiler. Overall I think it's great to have the casting back looking just as good as its First Edition counterparts.

  Now on to the Z4 M. As you've probably already worked out, it doesn't have the same problem as the M3 GT2:

Despite also debuting in 2012, the Z4 has and has always had a metal spoiler. Just like the M3 GT2 it is proportionally excellent, with a perfect stance, and also appeared in white and black for its First Edition colours. Why, then, has it not returned until now? Your guess is as good as mine but HW seem to be making up for it as provided that the mainline version in dark blue gets a recolour later in the year, we could see three versions of it this year! Notably, there isn't a single version that has been done yet without featuring the number 4 in some shape or form. Again it's great to see this one back, enjoy the photos...

Finally, we reach the M3. There's a lot less to say about this model, as it's been with us for a good 5 or so years now, and has had many releases (making it all the more embarrassing that this one is my first). Anyway, despite not owning any of the previous versions yet, I feel like this is far from the best version. For example, the blue and black versions in 2013 were both stunning with ten spokes, but this one? The silver and stripes aren't bad, but I don't feel like the car has aged enough to sit on those 5 spokes, usually reserved for cars such as the Morris Mini and Porsche 959. That is just my opinion though, be sure to let yours be known in the comments.

Until I get the classics, that's all on the BMW Series. As a set of three these are competent, and two are as near as makes no difference perfect. Here's the rest of the photos, thanks for reading :).