We have said this before, and we know it applies to many of you: The Hot Wheels Pop Culture line really hasn’t struck our fancy. There is definitely a lot of people out there that do love it, but we aren’t one of them. Many times the castings don’t fall in our area of interest, and models plastered with non-auto-related logos and cartoons don’t float our boats.
But you can’t deny the quality of the models, the thought that goes into them, and the amazing artwork. This line gets better and better, and it seems more and more they grab our attention. The Grateful Dead set was spectacular, and not this General Mills set has us sold as well.
It starts with the models. We see some new additions to the normal cycle of Pop Culture models, including the always-popular Texas Drive ‘Em, ’62 Custom Chevy Pickup, and the Mig Rig. There are some cool vintage General Mills cereal logos and characters, and frankly some really clean decos. There is another cool little detail on a couple that we will get to shortly.
Among the new additions, the Ford F-150 and Mig Rig have been modified for premium use:
For anyone familiar with the Ford, the change is obvious. It now sports a built in camper shell, obviously to give it more real estate for decos. The Mig Rig has happily gone metal, after its plastic body debut in the mainline. Larry Wood’s creation was met with a lot of enthusiasm, which diminished quickly when folks realized it had a plastic body. This all-metal version will make a lot of people happy.
One other thing. Look at the wheels. We love the Lucky Charms clovers on the F-150’s tires, and the (what we assume is) Boo Berries on the Mig Rig’s. We assume a few customizers might have fun with these:
All in all, we like this set. It was worth grabbing it from Wheel Collectors, which you can do too.
Hot Wheels 2014 Pop Culture Batch V:
Texas Drive ‘Em:
Custom ’62 Chevy:
Mig Rig:
Custom ’59 Chevy
Ford F-150
Smokin’ Grille:
Have to admit.. esp. w/ your awesome photos John, these look very premium. I dig the Cocoa Puffs Texas Drive 'Em & the Trix '62 Custom Chevy Pickup. They have a retro appeal to them. I might have to consider them since there are no Pop Culture items currently in my collection.
I assumed the Mig Rig was still plastic, but it seems to have more substance now that it's metal. Looks cool!
I really like this set. Especially the Count Chocula Panel Wagon and the all metal Mig Rig. I can see many customs made from these models. Would like to get my hands on a few myself.
Can you speak to the wheels on the Smokin' Grill? I've never seen them before.
… f150rims.blogspot.com