Corvettes here, Corvettes there, Corvettes everywhere…
Glad I am starting to like them more, because there has surely been a campaign waged to get me to change my mind about them. I have talked about my slow but sure shift towards liking Corvettes, especially those of the last 2-3 decades, so I won’t bore you again. But no matter how much the newer Corvettes are growing on me, they will never surpass the Vettes of the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s.
Unless we are talking about Hot Wheels castings.
Hot Wheels has released two more Corvettes in the final (for good) batch of Boulevards. One, a ’63 Stingray paying homage to Bob Bondurant’s #614, and a Corvette C6R in what appears to be a generic racing livery (although it might be based on some racing deco). While doing the 614 was a great choice (and Hot Wheels has done it before), this 63 Vette casting is one that should probably be retired. The Wheels wells are too large, too narrow, and the casting just doesn’t sit on par with the more recent classic Corvette castings. At least the design works.
On the other hand, the C6R continues its run as one of the best HW Corvette castings, especially of the current C6 body type. And once again, it looks great.
In the near future, we will get into the sadness that we can’t get over as the Boulevard line comes to an end, but this final batch is definitely taking it out on a high note. We will preview the others shortly.
For now, enjoy the Vettes…
And find them and all the latest Boulevard at Wheel Collectors…
Hot Wheels ’63 Corvette & Corvette C6R (2013 Boulevard):
Just a few notes on the '63 Corvette. One key thing to keep in mind about this casting is that the general design is 33 years old, debuting in 1980 as a Hi-Raker casting (meaning, it had an adjustable rear axle). Even at the lowest setting, the casting still had a rake to it. When it was tooled w/o the adjustable axle, the rake went away and the wheels were the same size all around. Since then, the only release w/ 'medium' wheels in the rear and 'small' on the front was the RLC release in red. The base was mildly retooled for the 2011 Hot Ones release to have the rake, and this has the same base.
In the end, they probably should have used the '64 Corvette for this release. This release was originally supposed to be in one of the last two mixes of 2012 Racing that never made it. Still, I really like this one 😀
As for the C6R, I haven't been the biggest fan of the casting. But this one is FAR better than the 2011 Garage release.
-doomus
I don't like the C6R casting, just because it is HUGE. Put it next to the other C6's released by HW like the ZR1, the C6 coupé and convertible, the Grand sport or the Z06. It is at least, 1:60.
I must admit though, that the model featured here is very pretty and the deco works really well. I agree with the previous comment about the Garage release being not that good. The color and deco don't work on that one.
About the 63, yes, those wheel wells are way too big. I bought a 63 once and returned it to the store because i hated it. So probably that casting should be retired and redone.