There is a very good chance that any Honda coming from Hot Wheels these days was designed by Ryu Asada. It isn’t 100% – the Honda Odyssey was designed by Jun Imai – but it’s close. He is the Resident Honda Head at Hot Wheels.
But remember that Ryu Asada has worked for both Hot Wheels and Matchbox, so his Honda legacy spans both Mattel brands. That becomes especially clear with the new 2016 Honda Civic Type R. Sure, it is paired in the Then & Now Series with the 1990 Honda Civic EF (also designed by Ryu), but its most proper pairing might be from Matchbox.
Because Ryu designed a Type R for Orange as well, back in 2008.
So, I decided to do two showcases, one with the EF Civic, and one with the Matchbox Type R:
Neither pair is a bad pair. Now to find that older Hot Wheels Civic Type R.
(Find the Hot Wheels Honda Civic Type R and EF on eBay.)
“You’re killing me Smalls”.
That hotwheels version is way better than matchbox
Disagree
The matchbox version is way better than the Hot Wheels
Agreed
The Tarmac version is way better than either!
(just trolling 😉
Awesome Honda’s you open up and reviewed congrats thumbs up.
The real version is better than the Tarmac, which is better than the Matchbox being better than the Hot Wheels, which is better than the Matchbox, but worse than the Tarmac, which is better than the Hot Wheels being better than the Matchbox but worse than the Tarmac… confused???
Why didn’t Hot Wheels use the EP3 Civic Type R instead of the EF? That would have been the most accurate pairing ever in the Then & Now series. Wasted opportunity.
Another good jdm release from Hotwheels. Looking at the jdm scene now, how about showcasing the Toyota MR2 in your next Lamley Daily? A japanese car by Larry Wood released way before the jdm craze. I think it’s quite interesting.
I don’t have any
The Honda Del Sol would have been better than all of these. “Thumbs up” – Samuel Ace
In general, I think the Matchbox Type R can’t be beat, it’s damn near perfect. Having said that, I am really really excited for the new Hot Wheels Type R. From the pics, it looks to be a tremendous model, and one that I couldn’t be happier to have in my collection. Now I just have to keep my fingers crossed on finding one with properly aligned tampo….The Matchbox Type R is a master class in tampo alignment, I really hope the Hot Wheels can duplicate that, they’ve been really spotty of late.
I don’t know much about the Honda’s technically. I do know always liked the Civic. That said imo MBX and HWs can’t be compared. I mean they can but MBX dose a defferent style type of casting dose. That’s why I personally collect both. MBX will do a stock version but I’m looking forward to next year so much! HWs dose the bells and whistles on castings and they do it right. I would have to pick the MBX here. The MBX is crisp as close to flawless as you can get. I have both and looking at both the paint on the HWs looks thick maybe heavy. Maybe it my model but I doubt it because a lot of HWs cast look as though the paint is heavy. Well certain colors.
The pearl white does tend to be kind of thick on some models, I noticed that as well. I’m waiting to get one in hand before I come to a conclusion on that though
All look good, wish I’d picked up more of the Mbx type r when it was released (and Mbx were easier to find in the UK…). Be good to see the ’03 Civic casting again, think it started out as an Si with a sort of tuner/touring car livery then was changed to a type-r in 2005…a mk1 or mk2 Civic would be nice too…
I’m so glad they are releasing the Civic EF again. Looks great in white, though like you John, I am a big fan of the 90’s teal. So true to the Si hatchbacks of that era. That particular release was a tough one for me to find. And when I did the tampos were not the straightest. I don’t recall if I have the EF in red, but I do have the black one with all the racing graphics.
I also remember being thrilled when the Matchbox Civic Type R came out. I have several versions of that one as well. Looks great in basic red, white and yellow, but I think my favorite has to be the oddball metallic tangerine.
I’m thrilled to see the Civic love continuing at Hot Wheels. I am very much looking forward to the all-new 2018 Civic Type R. Bring it on!