The year is coming to a close, so why not look back a bit?
It has definitely been a good year for diecast, at least in my view. Hot Wheels made major waves with the Car Culture series, primarily Japan Historics, Matchbox seemed to get back on its feet again, M2 created major buzz among collectors, and Majorette has reappeared, much to the delight of many.
Not to mention the return of Johnny Lightning and the continued stellar output of Tomica Limited Vintage, Auto World, and Kyosho. Now understandably those are the brands I care most about. but there was a lot of other elements to be excited about as well, and I am definitely looking forward to what is coming in 2017.
And you better believe I am thrilled that you readers look to Lamley as part of the collecting experience, or at least as a place to come and enjoy the hobby. I really enjoyed this year. I feel MUCH better since I dumped showing unauthorized images of models stolen from the factory, and am still annoyed with myself that I fell into that trap. There was none of that in 2016, and I hope in a small way it will help what has been a growing problem.
This is also a year I have played around a bit with Facebook Live and YouTube, and I appreciate the support there as well. Needless to say I am having a lot of fun. And I promise, if I stop having fun doing this, I will quit immediately.
So looking back, what articles were the most-read? I have the Top 5 listed below, and I think it speaks to a few things. One, Hot Wheels will ALWAYS be the most popular brand among Lamley readers at least. Two, you like hearing about and seeing what it new and upcoming. And three, there are elements of the hobby you may not like, but they do spur a lot of discussion.
Here are the five most-read, from top to bottom:
1. The 2017 Hot Wheels Mainline list has been released. It’s gonna be a fun year…
This one came on right at the end of the year, in fact last week. We thirst to know what is coming, and the number of readers of this article confirms that.
In all honesty, I would love it if Hot Wheels didn’t unveil the whole mainline list each year. Part of the fun are the surprises, and that is why I always like the beginning of the mainline when we know very little. But, there are some cool cars coming, and I can easily be excited about that. Plus, Hot Wheels has left a few “TBD” on the list, so we have some surprises coming.
2. Are you a “scalper”? The thrill of the random find vs the pursuit of the pot of gold…
This was easily the most talked-about article I wrote, a profile of Joe aka “diecast_hunter” on Instagram, who goes out almost every night hitting fresh bins at Walmart all over Las Vegas. Joe sells much of what he finds, and obviously there are some strong opinions about what he does.
I knew there would be some backlash for this feature, towards Joe and towards me, but this topic is a large part of Hot Wheels collecting today, and I thought it was worth talking about. I have been frustrated with stuff like this myself, but I found Joe to be a nice guy who just goes about things differently than I do. Does it frustrate me? Sure. Do I have time to go out every night? Nope. Do I want to? No way. But ultimately if you want to, you can, and Joe does.
What I think this article and the response to it afterwards speaks to more is that all of us share a similar passion for the hobby. In other words, we have more in common than different. There are surely some bad guys out there, but not many. My guess is if most of knew each other personally we would like each other. There is little place for vitriol in the hobby.
3. Case Report: Opening a 2017 Hot Wheels B Case…
Last year, while on the phone with Matt at Wheel Collectors, I asked if he didn’t mind documenting a case opening for me every time they got a shipment from Mattel. Just pick a case at random, photograph it, and photograph its contents 3-by-3 as they pulled the models out.
I figured it would be nice for readers to know what was coming, but I didn’t foresee it becoming one of the most popular features I do. But it has. And as Lamley Readership continues to grow, so will these features. I will always be committed to the photo “Case Reports” like this one, as well as the “Unboxing” videos on YouTube. Pick your poison.
4. Lamley Showcase: Hot Wheels Entertainment Forza Motorsports…
Another feature I loved doing, this time on YouTube. Mattel was nice enough to send over a set of Entertainment “Forza”, and it did not disappoint. The Alfa deservedly got most of the attention, but there isn’t a weak one in the bunch. Oh, and I embarrassingly mucked up the pronunciation of “Giulia” in the video, even though I have said it correctly in the past. I won’t live that one down. Nor should I.
5. Jun Imai unveils the eye-popping 2017 Hot Wheels Datsun Fairlady 2000…
JDM, yo. It’s still hot, especially coming from The Godfather of HW JDM, Jun Imai. I love that the HW Design Team is taking to Instagram to mingle with collectors and share what they are working on. Previews from that side are the best way to combat the interest in the stolen stuff, plus these are the folks who create these beauties, and they deserve to be the ones to show them off. This is one of the best developments of the year, and I am sure there will be a lot more IG previews in 2017.
There they are, the five most-read Lamley articles of 2016. Analyze it how you want, but that is what you read the most…
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“scalper” is a pest that takes all of the shops and let the collector in your hands
“since I dumped showing unauthorized images of models stolen from the factory, and am still annoyed with myself that I fell into that trap.” hahahaha now isn't that isn't the biggest load of horse shit that I've ever seen! You didn't fall in to no fucking trap toy got out of it cause 1 your butt buddie over at t-hunted already had a bigger blog with that shit and 2nd you had to drop it or Mattel (Matchbox) was going to drop your sorry ass and you wanted the free cars and the ability to keep the pre production sample cars (all the ones in the cases that should be returned to Mattel)
Give me a break Matchbox back on its feet? Are you fucking kidding us? You've been spoiled with the free crap from your eBay hookups cause Matchbox is still shit when it comes to distribution go into any store you'll see the pegs empty for months or have the same stupid casting clogging them. When the stores get new stuff it's only 1 or 2 good models and people like your “friend” joe grab them all and charge 20-30 bucks each for a $1 car!
I hope in 2017 you get exposed for being the biggest hack job asshole and this blog goes down in a fire ball or as fast as you to suck off any new contact to give you free shit.
Vader your a total douche bag. There was good in all those articles. What the #@£€ are you a a cry baby locked in your room with nothing better to do or are you looking for your own free stuff. You sound like a little b￦¥tch now. Bro grow up! Fact is Matchbox liscened stuff and new stuff coming puts Hot Wheels to shame and I've been collecting since you were shitting yourself. Your rants are bullshit that is as bad if not worse than what your complaing about. You either a ten year old or one miserable fuck. Sorry Lamely but you should of stepped in by now! Block his stupid ass already. He has some valid points but that gives him no right to hijack the site. I will continue to step in and set this childess punk some manners until you do.
Vader is more than your average troll. He is a scalper. His rants and raves are typical of a scalper. Being unable to get advance notices and models from A&J, Wheel Collectors and Japan Boosters cuts into his goal of getting ahead of everybody else and making a killing in the process.
Scalpers have been a topic of discussion since I started collecting back in the 70s, and I have been dealing with them personally since the 90s. This behavior nearly made me quit, until I realized my passion should not be halted because of a few greedy clowns.
I don't care if Vader or his followers come after me. Vader, you've exposed yourself. You're a scalper. Go back to harassing children at the Walmart toy aisle. You're no collector.
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Hahaha Israel Moore you really think I'm a dirty scalper? That's too good almost spilled my beer! Japan booster, A&J, wheel collectors and that joe D-bag are the real scalpers. They get the stuff before or right as they hit the stores and put ridiculous prices on stuff and once it does become more common to find in stores they drop the prices.
I'm not some troll I'm someone who dealt with this asshole before and burned me and if you go to any convention or event and lamley is brought up nothing but shit talk happens.
He is a cocky arrogant asshole who is way too willing to brown nose to get what he wants and thinks he is the hottest shit. Just like mark aka racegrooves has be come soon this asshole will be asking for them to pay him to show case the cars.
You want people to see the light, right? Might want to rethink your approach, unless that's already failed for you.