Some of you are under the impression that I have a lot of luck with Super Treasure Hunts.
Maybe I do. And that is the basis of a fun little experiment I have been doing since the 2014 Hot Wheels year started.
I am basing it all on luck. Lamley Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram friends know that I post my finds whenever I come across something interesting, and that has led many of you to think I find Super TH's all the time. That is surely not the case.
But I have had some success, and it is all random. It is hard to say how many Super Treasure Hunts I have found, but I can say that they have all been found in the middle of the day. I have never door-warmed a Target or TRU, and I have tried overnight pallet-hunting three times. While I was successful in one overnight Walmart visit with a friend in Arizona (two '07 Mustang Supers), all I encountered in the other two overnight raids were other Super TH-starved collectors.
So here is the experiment: How many of the 15 2014 Super Treasure Hunts can I find during my normal daytime travels?
I travel all over the state as part of my job, and find myself near a handful of Walmarts, Targets, and other stores. I don't always stop, but if I have time and a reason to stop I will. Many of these stores stock randomly during the day, and that is where I have had my luck.
So let's see if I can find all 15 2014 Super TH's this way. I will update this experiment here on Lamley as the experiment progresses.
And I am off to a good start. 2014 Batch C has been out for a couple of weeks in my area, and we are waiting for Batch D, which has appeared in other areas of the US. That means there have been three Supers released, and here is an update:
1. Chevy Opala SS:
Found in October at a rural Walmart in a sidekick at about 11:30 am. This town has a crazy collector scene, as told to me by the Kmart toy manager, who said she dreads Kmart Days because of the large number of collectors, and how they behave. This was the first time I have encountered a Super in this town, and I think it was because the sidekick was placed in an odd place in the toy section. It was on an endcap, but was placed way too high. The bottom row of the sidekick was at my eye-level, and I am six-feet-tall. I was able to reach up to the second row from the top, and pulled the Opala (photo taken in my car afterwards):
2. Sandblaster:
Found in November at a Walmart close to my house. I have had success at this store before (3 previous Supers, plus the Fast & Furious Mustang), mainly because the toy manager stocks the Hot Wheels at different times during the day. His night staff is instructed to keep the Hot Wheels off the floor overnight, and he stocks them the next day. I found the Sandblaster on some endcap pegs at about 5 pm. I saw the manager soon after and he told me he had pegged one case about 3 hours before, so that is as long as it hung:
How I found it:
Moved to the front of the pegs:
3. 2013 Hot Wheels Chevy Camaro Special Edition:
Found yesterday at a Walmart in a suburb about 30 minutes from my house, at about 3 pm. This Walmart sits right in the middle of typical urban sprawl, which means a lot of young families, and a very busy store and toy section. Especially during the holidays, the staff is constantly roaming the toy section cleaning up and keeping the pegs full. There was a dump bin around the corner overflowing with several batches, but it appeared well-picked-over. It is clear, based on the look of the pegs, that someone had recently filled some gaps with all or part of a case, and the Camaro was right out in front:
How I found it:
And placed next to the Fangster Regular TH I left behind:
So I am off to a good start so far, with Batch D yet to hit. Can I go 15 for 15?
We would love to see your mid-day luck. Please be sure to share with us on Facebook, Twitter, or on Instagram (hashtag #lamleyfinds).
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