Posted on by jtl46

Hot Wheels got all Bee-Em-Doubleyou-y this year and we are all benefitting…

The Japan Historics aside, is it BMW or Porsche in 2016?

Really hard to say.  2016 kicked off with the splendid Porsche 934 Toy Fair model, and since we have had a 993 Super, numerous basic releases, the release of the 356A, the RLC Gulf model, and a heavy presence in upcoming Car Culture assortments, including the debut of the 964.  That’s some good credentials.

But BMW is no slouch either.  A fantastic new model in the 3.0 CSL, an upcoming Super TH, a presence in the Car Culture series, and of course the recently released BMW Series.  With undoubtedly more to come.

So while it is hard to pick a winner, there are definitely no other candidates.  Porsche and BMW have dominated.  (Which they need to do, considering Mercedes-Benz is looming around the corner.)

Need further proof?  Check out this ongoing poll.

So let’s look at one of BMW’s major offerings this year.  The stunning BMW Series, which is exclusive to Walmart here in the US, but is available in many markets worldwide.  Like the Porsche Series last year, the set is a total winner.  Great model selection (although I can easily be talked out of the bike, even if it looks decent here), great decos, and amazing card art.  I talk about Golden Ages a lot here on Lamley, and we are most certainly in a Golden Age of cardart at Hot Wheels.  I would put the cardart Hot Wheels is releasing now up against the boxart of Lesney-era Matchbox.  It’s beautiful.

Nonetheless, the set is a must-have.  So much so that I did something I rarely do.  I bought an extra set to keep carded, and put next the – you guessed it – Porsche Series from last year.

My favorite?  Anything in signature BMW colors wins, especially when said colors are on the E30.

Your fave?

With the 3.0 CSL

With the 2016 Basic 2002

9 Replies to “Hot Wheels got all Bee-Em-Doubleyou-y this year and we are all benefitting…”

  1. And the best thing about this BMW set? They are made in Thailand, which has a great track record for HWs. I've yet to come across a majorly flawed one of the series.

    I've said it before and I'll say it until the Malaysia plant gets its act together: anything premium needs to be done in the Thailand plant.

    Reply

  2. John, I agree the card art is great. The M4 and the E30 are my 2 favorites. Mainly due to the subdued schemes. The E30 if it had white wheels would have had the boy racer look of the time. I passed on the set mainly due to the refocus of my collection but also due to the over the top markings on most of the models. I get it is a HW thing, but for a car guy it matters to me. I can take the $8 and buy a premium model from Kyosho, etc.

    Also if HW is going to do all of these classics, they need to add a regular classic type wheel like MB has. I can imagine a small minilite looking wheel that would work well on numerous models.

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  7. Whoaaaa… look at that wing on the M3 GT2! Wow.. think it would have been a little bit better if it had the metal one, but that's just my opinion.
    The silver M3 w/black hood looks awesome! The headlight tampos really wake it up. Matter of fact.. tampos would work really well for the rest of the line up.
    M1 is pretty cool.. wondering what it would be like if it had a deep base red, but I haven't seen this version yet to justify.

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  8. Forgot to mention.. the CSL. It kicks major butt and is the clear WINNER next to the other BMW Series castings and the funny thing is that the CSL is a mainline – should have been included in the Series!?!?

    Remember when John wrote back in the Feb. 2015 posting about having a 3.0 CSL as a new entry? Look at the example he included… now picture this being done in Jet Black with crosslace wheels!!!

    http://www.lamleygroup.com/2015/02/first-look-hot-wheels-bmw-m4-chevy.html

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