The Hot Wheels display is finished, and Car Culture is getting a lot of love…

Over the last few weeks I have asked for ideas for one of my Carney diecast displays that I house in my office.  I have three, and until recently two were dedicated almost entirely to Matchbox and one to Tomica Limited Vintage.  But a few days ago I put up my newly acquired Matchbox store display, which allowed me to move many of my Matchbox from the Carney.

So now I have one Carney for Matchbox, the store display for Matchbox, another Carney for Tomica Limited Vintage, and now one for Hot Wheels.

I need more displays though.  Kyosho needs some love, so does Auto World, Majorette, Aoshima, Greenlight, and M2.  That will come with time, but based on the ratio of brands in my collection, Hot Wheels was definitely the brand that needed some attention.

So I asked, and you responded.  Some gave me specific models to show, some said all JDM, others all Real Riders, some said “Who gives a shit!?! Just fill it up already and get off my lawn!”  Ultimately, all those suggestions were taken to heart.

There is some JDM, but no way would it be all JDM, because that is only a small fraction of what I collect.  There are mostly Real Riders, because Real Riders usually accompany better-looking, collector-aimed releases.  But ultimately it is a slew of favorites, mainly from the last few years.

There is one series that got a lot of love though.  Car Culture in its entirety is on the wall, from Japan Historics to Euro Style to Trucks, and I left five slots open for Track Day when it arrives soon.  Car Culture is becoming the best premium line Hot Wheels has ever done.  It isn’t too big, each batch is themed, and they are choosing some of their best existing castings to go along with tremendous new castings. My only complaint is that the models don’t get the full front and rear tampo treatment, and maybe that will change over time.  If it does, Car Culture will be just about perfect.

So for my display, it seems to me to be a prudent idea to just go with Car Culture in full.  The models look amazing, the variety is spot-on, and the themes work perfectly.  So for now I will make space for each batch as they are released in 2017 and hopefully beyond.

For now I like what I see up on the wall.  I know I do because I catch myself sitting back at my desk staring at the wall, pleased with how awesome Matchbox and Hot Wheels have been lately, and how cool the TLV collection is.  Now I just need to put more displays up…

9 Replies to “The Hot Wheels display is finished, and Car Culture is getting a lot of love…”

  1. Excellent Display! I agree with you on the brilliance of the Car Culture, but respectfully, the 4 2013 Boulevard mixes get a slight nod over the 4 2016 Car Culture mixes. Maybe Track Day will change my mind on that. Enjoying your work!

  2. Hey Lamley, I’ve noticed looking through the cars in your Hot Wheels case & one of my favorite manufactures is missing. Plymouth. I missed out on posting what I think should be in the case but the Chrysler Corp is almost nonexistent (1 Dodge & 1 Jeep). On the other hand there are way too many General Motors products (30). I do understand how hard it would be to weed out what to put in & not put in. Also, It’s your case but I wanted to make a few suggestions for the Plymouth/Chrysler Corp:

    '58 Plymouth Belvedere (black/red RLC)

    '63 Chrysler Turbine (Boulevard)

    '70 Dodge Power Wagon (pink RLC)

    '71 Plymouth Satellite Wagon (RE Brady Bunch)

    '63 Plymouth Belvedere 426 Max Wedge (Cool Classics)

    '68 Hemi Cuda (2010 Mystery Car #24)

    Custom '77 Dodge Van (STH) – you did recently say it was your favorite super of all time

    My Personal Favorite: '70 Plymouth Roadrunner (1998 Mainline – First Edition)

    Yes I know the STH that came out a few years later is probably the best but the original has always stuck with me. Being a Mopar fan the Roadrunner is one of the best. A stripped down car with a big engine and no frills. So this original release was exactly that, not some fancy STH. I know you’ve kind of summed up that era of Hot Wheels as the “dark ages” but it’s a great casting with great tampos. In my opinion it launched a great era in Hot Wheels Mopar die-cast. I have several of these Roadrunners unopened. I’ll gladly send you one (to DLM) weather it goes in your case or not. Also, a buddy of mine would suggest the 1987 Toyota Pickup (The Hot Ones) needs to go in the case. Keep up the good work.

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