Two Hot Wheels BRE Datsun 510's autographed by John Morton...

There was a treat waiting for me the mail on Monday.  (Well, kind of waiting for me, considering it was UPS and the shipping address was wrong, but that is a stress-inducing story for another time.  Needless to say it eventually got to my door.)

While not a surprise among the Lamley set, the recently released Hot Wheels RLC BRE Datsun 510 has garnered a lot of attention.  It has surely introduced many collectors to Peter Brock and John Morton, and there is no denying how intoxicating the BRE racing livery is.

But besides all that, Mattel went and had a little fun with the model.  As told by Hot Wheels designer Steve Vandervate, Mattel held an event celebrating the release of the RLC 510, and John Morton himself was there.  Mattel had the first 46 numbered (you just need to look at the model to know why that number was used) models shipped to them and had Mr. Morton sign them.  They were then sent to their distribution facility and randomly mixed in with the other 3000 to be sent out.

So among the lucky collectors that were able to get one of the 3000, 46 were surprised to find an autographed version as well.  These special 46 have mostly been kept by the collectors, but a few have changed hands.  Two have been sold on ebay, and a third is up right now, and they are fetching extremely high prices.

#44 has changed hands as well.  It is now in the Lamley collection, thanks to a trade I was able to make with a great collector named Rob out of South Carolina.  Rob is not particularly into Japanese cars or BRE, and after chatting with me for a bit decided the autographed #44 would find a much happier home at my place.  So we were able to agree on a trade that brought some models his way that he has struggled to find, and here we are:

This takes a special spot in the Lamley collection, right next to another BRE Datsun, autographed by Mr. Morton when I met him at JCCS in 2012:

And there is a third coming.  As many know, Mattel sent 100 RLC models to BRE, and they decided to have them signed by Peter Brock and John Morton and sold on their site.  Those 100 sold out quickly, but I was able to get one.  They have not been sent out yet, but once I have mine I will be sure to post it.

We all have special parts of our collections, and this is surely one of mine.  I am truly indebted to Rob for being willing to part with his, and making this collector very happy.  Isn't collecting great?