It has been well established here on the blog that I think Car Culture is the best line Hot Wheels has ever done. Premium assortments, all with a different theme, and executed flawlessly.
I like the line so much I dedicated one of my Carney Wall Displays to Car Culture, and add each new assortment as it is released. This particular display also serves as my video background.
With Cars & Donuts out, it is time to update the display. Enjoy.
Thanks for letting us watch you liberate these cars. It whets my appetite for my own set and the additional Car Culture releases to come. Speaking of which, what was that at 9.:13? Can you tell us more about what will be in that box, or is that for a later episode?
Thanks for showing this. The WRX looks absolutely gorgeous! I was on the fence about that one, but after seeing it up close, it is awesome and I am going to be hunting for one for sure. In my opinion, the Z car is a huge letdown. From my vantage point – the back view is nice, but in plain white, no front tampo, black on black wheels…I’d rather just have the mainline. Even the casting looks a little sloppy. You would think for all the strength that HW displays in their JDM enterprising, they would have done this one a bit more justice. If they sold the convention model as a premium instead, it would be gone in seconds. It should be interesting to compare the C&D Z car to the JH#2 Z car…I’m betting there is little to no comparison.
The Alfa, which I found about a week ago, looks just as good or better in person. The lack of tampos is unfortunate given the beauty of the model…it really deserved them, as did the M1. But still very, very nice models all other things considered.
The Subaru takes the cake!! M1 procar is second, but lacks front and back tampos. A disappointment for the premium debut. The Alfa still can’t top the Forza debut in terms of color, details, and wheels. The Z and P1 are the pegwarmers, what a let down. They could’ve done better with colors, tampo, and wheels.
I tend to agree with you on the Alfa, especially with those shiny chrome wheels that really made that model pop. However, two things stopped me from picking that one up – every one that I saw had really sloppy paintwork, between the red and the white. And 5.99 vs 3.49 between the two models…the $2.50 upcharge for front and rear tampos is a lot to ask. Given the paint, I just couldn’t do it for the price. It also reminds me of the similarities between the new C&D Subaru WRX and the Retro Entertainment Fast and Furious R34 Skyline – you’d think both were the exact same car with a quick glance. Yet one is 3.49 and the other is 5.99. Retro Entertainment is overpriced for the most part, in my opinion. So this WRX release at 3.49, with front and rear tamps, hits that ‘premium line’ sweet spot with the price/feature ratio. Love it! And I hope HW continues that line of thinking.
I was lucky enough to find two whole sets at my Wally World a couple weeks ago. Instead of being greedy, I just bought one set for me and left another behind. Plus, as nice as these cars are, I don’t want to be stuck with extras if I don’t have to, especially considering their pricing. Not wasting extra money that I could be saving instead of being a selfish scalper who doesn’t want anyone else to have them and instead looks at them as money makers.
Sure enough, I went back the next day out of curiosity and they were long gone. My favorite will have to go to the Subaru. The proportions on the front seem a little off compared to the real one but overall a great looking casting. Plus, the detailed taillights and plastic inserts for the bug-eyed headlights are a wonderful touch! Looking at pictures of the whole set, it looked like the wheels on the McLaren P1 fit too big but in person, they’re just fine. The lack of detailed taillights is a downer. Just like many others, the FuguZ is a let down considering it looks way too much like the mainline but with Real Riders. Also, no detailed headlights.
However, what I love most about this entire series is the artworks. I’m a cardboard collector so I really appreciate it when Hot Wheels goes all out and glamorizes the blister pack designs. I love every single theme for every sub-series and this one is no exception. I really like how in the background they illustrate the cars that you get all parked beside one another and the one that you actually get is right in the foreground parked angular with style!