#tranquilcollecting
My guess is you won't find too many buses showcased here on Lamley. Along those same lines, you probably won't see many models here that can't fit in a standard Hot Wheels/Matchbox blister, or TLV box, or Kyosho display. Or to make it more clear, the Lamley displays made by Carney.But today we have some …
Continue reading "Cool is Cool is Cool: The Japanese City Buses of Tomica Limited Vintage…"
In the last week or so, two of the final models of the 2014 Hot Wheels year were unveiled, to much applause from collectors. The Porsche 934 and 2015 Mustang both are making pretty big waves:The response from collectors has been universal: These two models are fantastic. One is a car that is as current …
Continue reading "Ryu Asada, Hot Wheels’ next great designer?"
If we are being honest, this is not a model to which we would normally dedicate an entire Lamley First Look.But when a model has such a nice deco as this one, it merits some showcasing.The '64 Sting Ray is a model that has been around a bit, and can easily be upstaged by other …
Continue reading "First Look: 2014 Hot Wheels ’64 Corvette Sting Ray…"
It is Gathering Week. The biggest Matchbox event of the year, the International Collector's Gathering of Friends begins this Friday in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is Mattel's adopted event for Matchbox, and every year sends a members of the Matchbox Design and Marketing teams to meet with collectors and present the details for the next …
We look forward every few weeks to the unveiling of new models in the Tomica Limited Vintage line. A few models are released each month, some new versions of existing castings, and others brand new.Well yesterday the news got out of what TLV is producing for November and December of 2014, and there was a …
Exactly as week from now, we will be enjoying the Southwest in the great town of Albuquerque, New Mexico, with our fellow Matchbox nerds at the 12th Annual International Matchbox Collectors Gathering of Friends.We have already mentioned numerous times how much we enjoy this convention, so we are happily counting down the days. And to …
Last week we passed along the news that Mattel and Ferrari were parting ways, at least when it came to the 1:18 scale line. We still have not heard if that will impact the basic range. Honestly, we don't think it will, but we don't know until we know.If it is, there is a good …
Continue reading "First Look: 2014 Hot Wheels Ferrari F12 Berlinetta in yellow…"
The Hot Wheels year is getting closer and closer to the end. Batch N is in hobby stores, Batch P is on its way, and Q is waiting in the wings for its August/September release. That means that my attempt to find all 15 Super Treasure Hunts in the store in the middle of the …
Had enough of Tomica Limited Vintage on Lamley? We hope not.We have gotten a ton of comments from so many of you here on the blog, or by email, or Facebook, or Twitter, or Instagram, or even collector forums mentioning that you bought your first TLV when the Nissan IDx was released. And like us, …
The second-to-last major unveil of 2014 is here, and it is a doozy. 2014 has been a great year for Hot Wheels New Models, but with all due respect to the Aston DB5, Datsun 620, Honda Civic EF, and the upcoming 2015 Mustang, the Porsche 934 takes the cake. We have been waiting with bated …
Continue reading "Just Unveiled: Hot Wheels Porsche 934 Turbo RSR…"
Ambassador Report 46INTRODUCTIONThere are no images available or any answers to questions this week as the Matchbox team prepare for the Gathering in just over a week’s time coupled with the public holiday on 4th July restricting the time available. I hope to issue a penultimate report for the coming weekend and my final one …
Continue reading "July 9th Matchbox Ambassador Report, by Nigel Cooper…"
This will probably not get too many votes for Best Super of the Year. It's an older casting, and one that hasn't been used much lately. Most will likely compare it to the Riviera Super from last year. We agree.But this has a little nostalgia attached to it. At least for me. When I returned …
Continue reading "First Look: Hot Wheels ’65 Chevy Impala Super Treasure Hunt…"
We are sure quite a few of you have either opened or will be opening your TLV-N IDx Nismo in the last couple of days. According to our friends at Japan Booster they have sent a shitload of these to addresses all over the world in the last few days. We know many of you …
Continue reading "First Look: Tomica Limited Vintage Neo Nissan IDx Nismo…"
If you are a Lamley reader, we assume that your passion for this hobby revolves around the real cars these mini cars mimic. But if you are honest, a small reason we collect is that excitement that revolves around either that random lucky find, or anticipating and finally opening that parcel full of goodies.That is …
Can the hype get any more frenzied?Probably not, but it is bound to surge up a bit as the first image of the Datsun 510 Wagon Super has emerged. And we thought we would pass it on:Yep, she's a looker. Just seeing it on the card makes me want to get all the sleep I …
Continue reading "Just Unveiled: Hot Wheels ’71 Datsun 510 Wagon Super Treasure Hunt on the card…"
Another week of great customs. Enjoy...@smallcarspecialties - InstagramDaniel HewAlfred Lam HcBalázs Kisgyörgy@JLDCO - InstagramNicholaus TambotoCorey Ambrose@ragingduck - InstagramSafwan Kamarudin@rikkshady - Instagram@satwikanarendra - Instagram@ameerude - Instagram@hw_by_panda23 - Instagram@5pudly - InstagramChristophe François@diecast_zombeaz - Instagram@gooberspad - InstagramQayyum Advan菊池正久@artflores_8405 - InstagramBrian MollisonAndy - Epic Collagematchbox14customsZ Rahman MilkyFloriano Jr Gajo@lil305garage - Instagram@swipe_custom_hw - Instagram@kennpot - Instagram@polak_r32 - Instagram@hwc_sweden - Instagramgr8_mini …
Continue reading "As is the Custom: Our faves for the week ending July 5, 2014…"
We know many of you have the Tomica Limited Vintage Nissan IDx Nismo and BMW 318i headed your way. For some of you that will be your first TLV, and we can assure that you will not be disappointed. We have them coming to us as well, and you can bet First Looks will be …
A quick post for those of you who are as excited about the upcoming batch of Hot Wheels Zamacs at Walmart.The batch will feature two of our faves, the Hakosuka Skyline and '70 Chevelle SS, as well as a pretty fine looking Mustang. To get us all hyped, Hot Wheels just released the card artwork, …
Continue reading "Just Unveiled: Hot Wheels Batch N Zamac artwork…"
To all of you in the United States, Happy Fourth of July.Since we too reside here in the States, it seems appropriate to showcase an American car. And we picked a good one. We have already professed our love for the Trans Am Racing circuit cars before, so there is no need to rehash that. …
We were very surprised to see this announcement today, wherein Hot Wheels has officially announced that its licensing partnership with Ferrari will come to an end on December 31, 2014. It was accompanied with this statement:That is the date that Mattel’s current contract with them expires and has been mutually agreed not to renew it. What …
Now that wasn't so hard, was it Mattel?Mattel finally addressed the backorder issue with its RLC models, admitting to some manufacturing issues that have compromised the quality of the models. It seems to us that this could have been mentioned a long time ago, and it would have saved Mattel from a lot of the …
It is so nice seeing this model back in the mainline. The KGC110 Kenmeri and its Skyline counterpart, the KGC10 Hakosuka, have both made their triumphant return to the basic range after staying away since 2011.And it is obvious that Hot Wheels sees how popular both models have become. The Hakosuka returns looking sharp in …
Continue reading "First Look: 2014 Hot Wheels Nissan Skyline H/T 2000GT-R…"
Ambassador Report 45INTRODUCTIONApologies for the late publication this week. It was all linked to the French Air Traffic Controllers; strike – but that’s another story – oh and my internet down for four days!! I am very grateful to Graham Tomlinson for his help again this week.MATCHBOX ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS 1. Any hope of the real …
Continue reading "July 2nd Matchbox Ambassador Report, by Nigel Cooper…"
Bosozoku.We are sure a good number of you are familiar with that term. If you are not, think Mad Manga, the Hot Wheels model we famously named our Model of the Year for 2012. Bosozoku is the most extreme of Japanese car scenes, with their mind-boggling exhausts, chin spoilers, shark noses, and less-than-subtle colors.A car …