Cool is Cool is Cool: Hot Wheels Vintage Racing Parnelli Jones & George Follmer '70 Mustang Boss 302's...

Can it get any cooler than the Trans Am Racing season of 1970?

If you are not qualified to answer that, google the names Parnelli Jones, George Follmer, Marc Donohue, Sam Posey, and Dan Gurney.  Or "1970 Trans Am".  Then prepare to go deep into the google-sphere.  Photos, stories, videos, it is a bit addictive.  And the cars.  Oh the cars.  Trans Am fans know what I mean.

I am not the racing nut that some are, but the Trans Am series is so intertwined with the pony car era that it is impossible to not become familiar with it if are even a casual fan of these cars.  Not to mention the sub-2.0 liters category, with its Porsches and Alfas and Audis and eventually Datsuns, the Trans Am series of the early '70s is a goldmine of gearhead porn.

After your little google voyage, we then dare you to try and avoid hitting ebay and gobbling up the Trans Am models from the Vintage Racing series in 2011.  It is near impossible to not want them, it just might be the aftermarket pricing that will keep you from jumping all in.

There are a lot of great models in the Vintage Racing series, and of course we have spent more than enough time on the BRE Datsun.  But in all honesty, for me the gems are the Trans Am cars from 1969 and 1970.  And over the next few months we will try and get through all of them.

So it is probably appropriate to start with the two cars that won the series for Ford in 1970: Parnelli Jones' #15 and George Follmer's #16 1970 Mustang Boss 302's.  There is not one without the other, so it makes perfect sense that Hot Wheels did both, even though they look so much alike.

And both are amazing models.  The '70 Boss 302 casting made its debut in this series, and to us there is no doubt this is the best Mustang casting Hot Wheels has ever done.  It may also be one of the most realistic models Hot Wheels has ever done as well.  The details are so spot on, the stance screams Trans Am, and while it seems trivial, look how perfectly the wheels fit in the wheel wells.  Considering other castings have been botched, this is at least evidence that they can do it right when needed.

As much as I am sad that this type of series hasn't continued, we can at least be happy that the 2011 Vintage Racing Series was completed, and we have some amazing models.  It was the Racing Series of 2012 that didn't make it, cutting short the Japanese Racing batch.  Now excuse me while I go cry...

(Find the 2011 Hot Wheels Vintage Racing on ebay...)


Hot Wheels Parnelli Jones '70 Mustang Boss 302 & George Follmer '70 Mustang Boss 302 (2011 Vintage Racing):

Coming next:

Lamley News: Don't miss the "Lamley Sale" on Hot Wheels Real Rider Models at Wheel Collectors...

We are very excited to be a part of this sale...

Our friends at Wheel Collectors want to clear out some of their inventory, and thought there would be no better way than to offer a huge sale to Lamley readers.  And this is huge.

Matt and the gang have picked a slew of models to put on sale, all at prices cheaper than retail, many UNDER $2.00 each.  There are Boulevard (the good Boulevard), Retro Entertainment, and Vintage Racing all on sale.  And here is the thing.  They are all worth collecting.  Follow the link below to see what is available:

Wheel Collectors' Lamley Real Riders Sale

We all have models that we regret passing on, that are now way too expensive to get.  I personally have a huge list of models I wish I would have bought when they were cheaper.  With that in mind, there are a ton of models here could very well be the next sought-after model once things dry up.

Like the Vintage Racing Toyota Land Cruiser & Sand Blaster:

Or the Retro Entertainment Morris Mini in white:

Or the Boulevard Hurst Olds, Racing Chevelle, & Ford GT (a personal fave):

Or one of the most underrated models from the last few years, the Vintage Racing '40 Ford Coupe in black.  This is a model no one will regret having once in hand:

There are quite a few more, and like we said, some are at or under $2 each.  Follow the link to check them out:

Wheel Collectors' Lamley Real Riders Sale

Once these are gone, they are gone, so be sure to take advantage and get these models at these prices before you regret missing it.  We love sharing our favorite models with our readers, and we are always thankful when Wheel Collectors makes it easy for our readers to get those models.

Also, keep checking back, as more listings are bound to come...

First Look: Hot Wheels RLC exclusive BRE Datsun Bluebird 510, along with its Vintage Racing brother...

What is it about the BRE Datsun?  In our little corner of the diecast world, that iconic BRE racing deco shows up everywhere.  Customizers love it, and we have seen the deco on the obvious choices (Datsun cars, wagons, and trucks), to the less obvious (Skylines, Toyotas, the Mad Manga), to certainly not-obvious-at-all (Kool Kombi, Camaros).  Nissan used an obvious tribute to the BRE deco when it unveiled its 510-inspired IDx in November.  If you are at any event Datsun, the slanted red, white, and blue will most likely be somewhere.

This BRE infatuation is an interesting one.  Part is history.  The little Datsun that could is a classic American racing story, as the racing team with the wimpy Japanese car zipped by all of its Euro-competition.

Part is design.  I would challenge anyone to come up with a better racing design than what Brock Racing Enterprises did.  It is perfect.  Bright, fast, and easily recognizable.  And it looks great almost anywhere, including as we have just learned, on a diecast replica cardback.

Which brings us to the RLC BRE Datsun 510.  Those reasons above may be what motivated Hot Wheels to do a second BRE 510, this time as an RLC exclusive, after putting one in the Vintage Racing line in 2011.  The model looks so nice, why not do it twice?

Another reason?  Just look at what the Vintage Racing version commands on ebay.  In just the last few days, several sold for an average price of $87.  That is a lot for a model that was on the pegs just a couple of years ago.  Appreciation for Japanese cars continues to skyrocket, and many just discovering Hot Wheels' mini versions are kicking themselves for passing on the Vintage Racing version.  So Mattel released another, albeit even more limited.

It has been fun to see the reaction of collectors as the RLC model arrives in their mailbox.  It is clear that those who may not be as enthused about j-tin as we here at Lamley are happy they bought one.  And there are others that passed on it that are now regretting they did.  Neato.

The model looks fantastic, and even the Neo's don't bother us too much.  In fact, they look a lot like the hubcaps we saw on tons of Datsuns from that era (just not on racing cars).  But one of the biggest surprises is what might be the best packaging we have ever seen on a Hot Wheels car.  We will let the photos do the talking:

The artwork is superb.  That alone makes this model worth it.

And Mattel has done something to drive collector frenzy even higher.  Apparently numbers 1-46 were shipped directly by Mattel, signed by driver John Morton, and randomly dispersed with the other 3000.  A few lucky collectors have opened up their mailboxes to find one, including this one found by HWC member Budman340:

How cool is that!?!  If it weren't for the special John Morton/Peter Brock signed edition we have coming from BRE themselves (arriving soon), we would be knocking down doors to get one, especially since this one below is already in the Lamley Collection (signed by Mr. Morton himself when we met him at JCCS a couple of years ago):

Alright, on with the pics.  We could talk about this model forever, but we know you want to see it.  We sacrificed the amazing packaging on one of ours so you could see it up-close, so we hope you enjoy.

We hope many of you can get this one.  We are trying to get a few RLC members to hook up with overseas collectors who could not get one, and those updates are coming to those who inquired, but now the best bet is ebay:

Hot Wheels RLC BRE Datsun 510

Good luck...


Hot Wheels BRE Datsun Bluebird 510 (RLC Exclusive):