Best Motorcycle 2014: Chevelle

Showing posts with label Chevelle. Show all posts

Just Unveiled: Hot Wheels Zamac Exclusives for 2014 Batch N...

Wait, aren't we waiting for the Batch L Zamacs to arrive?

We are, and they should arrive very soon. The Chevelle Wagon, Lincoln Continental, and '69 Chevy Pickup should be in stores in the next couple of weeks. But in the world of Hot Wheels they are already old news.

Some interesting eBay listings

popped up from Texas this weekend, showcasing what the specific three Zamacs would be for Batch N, and they do not disappoint. We knew these were coming eventually, we just didn't know when. A little Ford, a little Chevy, and a little JDM never hurt anyone:

Nice trio, eh? Mustang fans will love the '67 Custom, but we here at Lamley can't wait to get our hands on the Hakosuka Skyline and Chevelle SS. In fact, we might have to get an extra, or 10.

Nonetheless, the Zamacs continue to be a very strong line in 2014, with three more to be unveiled. At the pace we are going, we might know what they are tomorrow...

The Great Super Treasure Hunt Experiment of 2014: Two stores, two Supers...

The experiment to see if I can find all 15 2014 Supers by only visiting stores during normal daytime hours hasn't been going so well.

I got off to a good start by finding the Opala SS, Sandblaster, Camaro Special Edition, and '71 Mustang. I haven't been so lucky since, until yesterday.

I had a minute to spare in the morning on my way to a meeting, so I stopped off at a nearby Walmart just before 9am. The pegs were a bit disheveled, as someone had clearly been through them a little earlier. I went looking for anything interesting, and at first went right by this:

I went back after a minute thinking it might be the MC5 vari, and was more than surprised to see the Summit logo on the roof:

There were no regular Hunts, so my guess is this one was missed. I have to think that previous visitors had their mind on the H and J Supers, and the Chevelle is VERY easy to miss. If you aren't looking for it, there is a good chance you would pass it off as the standard version. You practically miss it with the two versions sitting right next to each other:

Nonetheless, I was very happy to take it with me.

Fast forward to the afternoon. I just finished an appointment around 4 pm, and decided I had a minute to hit a nearby Walmart, hoping to find the Zamac J cases. Once again, picked over pegs, but this was waiting on the top left-hand corner:

Who woulda thunk? My second Chevelle, only this time an afternoon find.

Not 15 seconds later another collector arrived, roughly looking through the pegs. I asked what he was looking for, and he said Hunts only, and told me they were impossible to find, and not to worry about looking. I might have played a little dumb, and asked him what to look for. He said Hot Wheels does 250 Supers a year, one for each model, and that I would never find one. I finally told him it was 15, one for each batch, but I didn't mention the one in my hand. He was nice enough and went on his merry way. Another collector arrived, gave the pegs a quick gander, and left just as quickly. Based on that frequency I witnessed in only a couple of minutes, I have to think this Chevelle went unnoticed by earlier visitors as well.

Plus, I don't think standard collectors know what to make of the bearded guy wearing a bow tie and orange-souled wingtips looking through the pegs. The looks are always a little amusing.

A lucky day to say the least, but I am still a bit behind in my quest to find all 15 on the pegs. I have to hope that, like this Chevelle batch, older batches will hit some stores and will find the '07 Mustang, Chevy Gasser, and Twin Mill. And maybe the J cases will arrive at a nearby Walmart one of these days and I can get lucky and find the Nova Wagon. Finding all 15 on the pegs in 2014 is starting to look a little bleak...

For now, I will just enjoy these two finds:

Just Unveiled: New color for the Hot Wheels Gran Torino Sport, and a Zamac Chevelle SS Wagon...

Just wanted to share a couple of images that appeared late last week that got us here at Lamley excited.

There are certain models that we are always happy to see in the mainline, and the two we are previewing today are high on that list, in fact both are in our top 5 American car castings done by Hot Wheels.

Both have already been released in the 2014 mainline, both with licensed logos on the doors, and now both are getting recolors.

Starting with the Gran Torino Sport in white:

The Milodon logo remains, and it looks sharp in white. Interesting that last year's K&N version came in blue and was recolored white. Same this year.

Now while the Gran Torino Sport is our favorite of the two castings, the latest version of the Hurst Chevelle Wagon takes the cake. We have already seen this on our favorite Brazilian website, but we wanted to share. This model was a GREAT choice for a Walmart exclusive Zamac:

Zamacs look best when the design is simple, that is why we were such fans of the 240Z, Ferrari F12, and Lamborghini Aventador J last year. This model may be the best Zamac so far in the two years Hot Wheels has been doing them via Walmart. But we will reserve judgement until we have it in hand.

First Look: Hot Wheels Kmart Mail-in '69 Chevy Chevelle SS 396...

Something is wrong with this model.

It is not the choice of casting. The '69 Chevelle SS is a great choice. It seems there is a small contingent of models that are used for premium mail-in models. Chevy Panels, Blown Deliveries, etc etc. Those are great models, but it is nice to see a mainline type model get the treatment. We hope this means we will see more. Maybe even some Euro or Japanese cars.

It is not the choice of wheels. These are great wheels. GREAT wheels. The watanabe-looking rims don't just look good on JDM models. They look good on pretty much any classic model. Plus we would not be surprised if a few folks just got this model to use the wheels on a custom.

It is not the deco. The burnt orange and flames really works, especially with the black trim. We have seen the Walmart 69 Camaro with the deco over Zamac, which works, and we assume the other three mail-ins will as well. We are in on this year's set.

So what is wrong?

The base. It's plastic, and that presents a problem.

Look, we normally don't care one way or the other if a base is plastic or metal. Metal bases are great, but we don't get too caught up in that. How the model looks is far more important. And that goes for premium models as well.

BUT, we have a problem if what is promised about the model is not what happens. While whether a base is metal or not would not convince us to buy a model, it does convince a lot of collectors. So if Mattel said the base would be metal, and it shows up plastic, that is a problem.

So will Mattel do something about it? Probably not, and we don't know what they could do. Surely something has been mentioned in the El Sug office, and things will probably be a bit tighter the next time around.

So, does this bother you? Do you want Mattel to do something about it? Mistakes happen, but we are sure many would like Mattel to at least acknowledge it. Maybe they will, maybe they can't.

(Want it? There are plenty on ebay

...)

Hot Wheels '69 Chevy Chevelle SS 396 (2014 Kmart Mail-in):

Variation Alert: 2014 Hot Wheels '70 Chevelle SS with PR5 wheels...

We love wheel variations, and we have just learned of another...

It looks like the Hot Wheels '70 Chevelle SS in purple, which is part of Batch G, is coming on two different shoes. It was one of the first-to-market models in the Kmart cases, and all of them, as far as we know, sat on MC5 wheels, as shown in an earlier Lamley post:

But now comes word from our friends at Wheel Collectors that that some of the G Cases they received had Chevelles with PR5 wheels

Some Chevelles in the Wheel Collectors cases had MC5 wheels, so at this point we have no idea which variation will be harder to find. Time will tell. At this point we can say we want both. Or all three, if you found the Super TH.

If you like this casting as much as we do, and want to ensure you have both variations, Wheel Collectors has listed the PR5 variation:

Hot Wheels '70 Chevelle SS with PR5 wheels

Which do you prefer?

The Cars of Kmart, Part 2: First-to-Market '70 Chevelle SS & '70 Camaro...

Maybe we would have included the First-to-Market Dodge Demon as well, but let's instead pay tribute to 1970 with these two. Plus, I forgot to pick up a Demon. And I am not returning to Kmart for a Demon.

Hmmmm, 1970. My grandfather died. My wife was born. So was my sister. I was still four years out. Tribute done.

The Camaro and Chevelle? Great models. The yellow Camaro is a bit of a throwaway design, but I love the casting, so into the collection it goes. I love the Chevelle casting too, and I do like the Summit livery. The Super is cool too.

So, here are both cars, out at Kmart