Hunting is part of why we collect, right?
Sure, a few of you will say it isn’t, and I believe you, but if you are a Hot Wheels collector, there is a good chance that getting out and hunting is something you enjoy.
Now when I start a feature with that statement, you might assume I am jumping into a Super TH post, describing a Super find of whatever. But while I will never argue the joy of finding a Super, it is those hidden gems that can even more fun.
That is doing a deep dive into the 9-packs can be a treat.
It is always interesting to see what Hot Wheels will throw into a 9-pack. There are obviously some exclusives, some totally worth getting, mixed in with mainline releases. Beyond that sometimes Hot Wheels throws in some wheel variations, whether they are aware or not. For example, right now you can find the 2017 releases of the Lamborghini Huracan and Lincoln Continental with different wheels than what you will find on the card:
If you are a completest of either casting, these are worth it, but I would not call them rare. There are quite a few.
But beyond the exclusives and exclusive wheel variations, there are some real zingers. Look through a few 9-packs and you are bound to come across an error or two. Some are cool – no tampo – others are good for an IG post but not worth buying:
For me though, it is the rare wheel variations that are the most fun to find. Especially those you don’t expect or have never seen before. Something you are actually surprised you caught as you flip through the packs.
I found one of those yesterday, and it was pretty exciting.
I stopped by a rural Walmart in my travels and came across a pile of 9-packs. It seems that Walmarts were the place for a massive multipack dump over the holidays, and there are quite a few still there. I had a minute so I decided to look through a few.
Our brains are crazy things, or must be, because I have no idea how I spotted the Porsche. Something caused me to double take, and even after looking at it for a bit, assuming there was something about it that made me stop, I couldn’t figure it out for a minute. I remembered the wheels on the Porsche were black, or thought it they were (funny how we second guess ourselves), so I needed one for comparison.
Sure enough, this chrome-lipped J5 Porsche was different. A transition piece, if you will, from the first release in red. I collect the Porsche, so it was a no-brainer purchase. A foray through the rest of the packs didn’t yield another one. Same with another pile in another Walmart I encountered today.
I haven’t heard of this wheel variation being reported, but there has to be more out there. Either no one has noticed it, or they don’t care. Maybe this post will help a few of you find one.
Whether a one-off or not, I am happy to have it. Interestingly, the town that housed this Porsche is the same location of my other one-off wheel variation 9-pack find. That was a black BMW M3 GT3 with chrome-lipped wheels instead of red-lipped. Again, no idea how I noticed it, but I did, and never heard of another.
So keep looking. There are always surprises…
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I found a 10 pack that has an orange Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4, so for someone who primarily collects supercars like me, it's a no brainer and I just grab one.
Pic:
http://hwcollectorsnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Lamborghini-Gallardo-LP-560-4-g.jpg
Your finding the wheel variations only seems to validate my “wheel swapping” when I customize. Not always do you have to get some real rider awesome wheel to make a casting look better than it normally does. I took the 68 Nova and put good ole fashion 5 spokes on it and in my eyes it is perfect for it, but I am a nut for that casting, so I have a few wheel variations. Thanks for showing us there are other places to look,I know that I came acress the green spider car thing with afull axle missing in a 9 pack, leave behind for sure, IG worthy? Yes if I had one of those fancy phones. Still Shatnering it with the flip
It's definitely neat finding little variations like this…Unfortunately, when found in a 9-pack I just can't justify paying the $10 to get such a minor variation. A 5-pack, perhaps…depending on the model and what kind of variation, but not on a 9-pack.
Cool find nonetheless.
Trucks 5-pack – that's what is interesting. It contains '49 ford f1, never released on mainline.
here You can find a sigle from Europe. https://littlecars.wordpress.com/2017/02/10/porsche-911-gt3-rs/
I have a 9 pack from 2015 with a wheel error on the 11 Dodge Charger R/T, the front wheels aren't chrome-lipped and the rear wheels are (both were supposed to be). This is the first error I found and I've kept the pack sealed.
Modern 5 packs are all cars not in the mainline. That 49 Ford will be in the mainline at some point I bet, just not in that deco from the 5 pack.
Yes sir.. I had to get that one too. I wonder what the exact color is? It looks like the color similar to the hue found on the Mitsubishi Eclipse Concept and the Dodge Challenger Concept.