It’s time. The most anticipated diecast sequel ever is now hitting stores.
The word is getting out that both Walmart and Target have them, and I can verify both. I jumped on Brickseek.com and saw stores from both chains carrying them. I checked with a couple of Walmarts, both of which were holding cases for the toy section reset planned for this week.
I then checked Target, and kablammy:
Hanging on the pegs, waiting to be plucked. I checked with another Target, and they were also holding them for a reset, but I don’t think it is set in stone. Because they pulled the case and allowed me to buy a set for a friend who could not leave work.
This set is obviously going to be very popular, and demand will be super high, so it is best to do your homework. I have mentioned brickseek before, and it worked well for me today. Most of the time I don’t use it, mainly to enjoy the random find, but in this case I wanted to make sure I could find a carded set to compliment the loose set I already have.
Here are screenshots of what I used for both the Walmart and Target inventory trackers on brickseek.com:
Walmart will tell you how many they have – Car Culture comes in cases of 10 – and Target will only say whether the item is in stock or not.
If you need to go to the store, politely ask an employee and you can use this barcode:
Good luck!! They will be hitting in droves all week.
While we are on the subject of inventory.. Target has been lacking with keeping up with the Retro line. Mix 3 should have been in stores since September, but all the ones i’ve been to have been stocking the 1st two mixes over and over and over.
I’ve noticed how not just Target, Walmart also restocks mailines from a few months prior.. it’s as if boxes are forgotten in the store room and bring them out when they should be stocking newer cases instead.
I’m dying to see how fast these things fly off the shelves. I just hope they’ll be at least the 510 or the Laurel!
it worked! I went to my local target and sure enough they had it, its funny because haven’t had any luck with this store for car culture lately so completely surprised.The prices have gone up to $5.50…now I regret not doing the pre order
Thanks
ka-blammy with that price increase ! in fact i think mattel did me a favor and priced them out of my range. i know it is useless to complain but really ? 2 dollars more for an over -sized card ? the paint and detailing haven’t changed look at them ?!?!…
I did the pre-order on these from A and J toys, and was unaware of the retail price bump. when I placed my order last month. I believe I paid about $10.00 more for the case than when I did the pre-order from them last year. I’m feeling a bit better about the price now that I know they’ve gone up at the pegs too.
Lamley partner A & J Toys took my preorder for this set, and then FAILED to deliver as promised, refunding my money instead.
Good thing I had found some on the pegs last week at Target, or I’d be S.O.L. on these cars, due to A & J’s foulup.
Hope the sent yours to you, buddy…
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It is an unfortunate situation to be sure, but I won’t blame A&J on this. The allotment they received was far smaller than what was promised, my guess being because of the demand by big box stores. You will see that no hobby dealers and distributors got their full orders.
What galls me is that when I checked with Ken at A& J Toys last week about this, I was told:
“We will not have any issue filling our orders.”
Had I believed that–and not purchased the cars I stumbled into at Target as “insurance”–I would be rather upset right now, instead of merely…disappointed.
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My Walmart an target haven’t put any of these out at all yet and probbly won’t shows how sad my area is for hunting
All these people complaining that they’re having difficulties finding these on the pegs, and here I am sitting in a country where Car Culture itself isn’t sold, and no other means (except eBay which I’m not gonna do) to acquire these.
Wow, no car culture at all? Sorry to hear that. Really makes a two dollar price increase seem like nothing
Yeah, there’s no chance I’m finding these. Shame.
These cars look great. Found ‘ em today.
However…yeah…such a hefty price increase (TWO DOLLARS!) just to get the front and rear tampos that we all wanted?
I had to have all five cars in this set (JDM)…but will be very picky about what I buy from future sets. I will not be a Car Culture completist at these prices.
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So, this post will probably sound like complete heresy, but…..
I didn’t check Lamley for about 5-ish days, then today just decided to stop by Target (hoping to find that Cars and Donuts Subaru), then lo and behold, all 5 Japan Historics 2 models hanging on the pegs. I was wondering if maybe Lamley also caught wind of this as well and here is the post.
So I grabbed them (never really see this happen, all models in stock) and………
I think I will return them. Seeing them in person, I’m not as impressed as I thought I was going to be. Its not fair to say they were overhyped in general, because so many people are excited about them, but after seeing them with my own two eyes, definitely overhyped for me. The small wheels are cool, but sitting in those huge wheelwells makes them look to me like those hydraulic-powered low riders with the ultra small wheels. The 240z (which is still heads and tails above the C&D model from what I’ve seen) has that yellow paint, which needs to be executed really well to look good, and the front spoiler area in particular is pretty messy, which was surprising to me. The tampos look great, but I thought I’d like this set more than I do, and in purchasing them I deviated from my normal ‘collect what I like’ to more of a ‘collect what is red hot’ and turns out its not really my thing…especially now that they are 5.49 in stores. Not worth the premium to me.
I know for a solid fact that someone will enjoy them more than me, which gives me enough reason to return them. I hope everyone else is successful in finding what your after – happy hunting.
Okay confession time…I saved two, the 510 and the C210. Even though the wheelwells on the 210 are still a little generous, the color is striking and it is an interesting car. It stays. I don’t have a good HW 510 yet, and the one I was looking at (2009 teal) would be at least double or triple the price of this one in the store. Plus, it is a good, balanced model.
I did end up seeing even more (!!!) at another target and the Z cars there definitely did not have the bumpy paint I missed at first.
I do have to say the art is fantastic…and I like it (even more than the cars!)
I’m checking the quantity on Brickseek and it’ll say 20, for example, so it says “in stock”… now would that indicate the product is scanned in and in the storeroom or does it mean they’re on the shelves ready to grab?
I’m assuming the vehicles have been accepted into the system, but you don’t know how many exactly are on the shelves. I see if the quantity is an odd # it could mean the items have stocked on the pegs & have been sold.
Forgot to mention I’m checking Japan Historics 2 on Walmart for the search. sorry.
It means it is in the store room or could be on the pegs. Most Walmarts I have visited show 10 or 20 available but nothing on the shelves yet. One Walmart did have only parts of one case out so you can’t be for sure if the boxes are on the pegs or still in the store room. The only thing you know is they are at the store, either in the store room or the pegs
Thank you Jake!
You’re welcome! I’d start checking soon they are appearing in Walmarts around here at least
In checking the Target stock status, is this showing just the Japan Historics assortment or is this any Car Culture? Could be Modern Classics for example.
Sadly, a BrickSeek search of Walmart stock shows no inventory in my area.
What happened to Cars And Donuts? Wasn’t that assortment due before Japan Historics 2?
It is a new SKU for the Japan Historics.
The cars and donuts don’t seem to have hit at Walmarts around here. I only saw them at Walgreens and 1 in 7 Targets I visited
Sadly, A&J Toys cancelled my preorder as well, stating that Mattel sent them 5% of what they ordered.
WTB: Japan Historics 2.
Very sorry for Ken at A&J Toys if Mattel screwed him over like that.
Milezone Toys just quit the business due to a change in policy at Mattel which made staying in business untenable for small hobby dealers.
Is Mattel so in the grip of Wal-Mart that they are forgetting about the hobby dealers that support them through thick and thin?
VERY shortsighted of them if that is the case…
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Yeah.. I got the great news from one of my suppliers… no case for me thanks to Mattel’s chokehold on internet distributors. What’s the deal with that? Maybe WM & Target are greasing Mattel’s palms.
I can see that some WM’s in my area are only stocking 20 Japan Historics 2 vehicles and if they sell out, is that it?
Can WM, for example, re-order more or is this some kind of special ‘when they’re gone, they’re gone” kind of deal? If for some reason it’s unlikely a store like WM orders only 2 boxes (4 sets total) and they never re-order.. then why would they discount themselves more business by cutting off supply? Unless maybe Mattel has a say into it!
Mattel is no fool. They know who their largest client is. Walmart! Likely followed by Target, Toys R Us, maybe Amazon and Kroger. You can’t look at it as just Car Culture or Hot Wheels, but all the hundreds of Mattel SKUs these big box retailers stock, from cars to dolls to action figures and games. Mattel is going to make sure their biggest accounts are taken care of first and foremost. You would think at this point Walmart would know how many units of Car Culture they sell in a given period prior to any clearance and be able to forecast what their orders should be on the following waves. Of course it may be harder to forecast the higher demand for say Japan Historics vs. Trucks.
That’s harsh re the cancelled pre-orders.
For what it’s worth, I’ve been surprised to see some of these in the wild. One walmart had 2 Laurels and a Z. Another had one Mazda. Still another had one lone Skyline. And then there was the Target where I encountered two full sets sitting on the pegs.
This set is truly awesome.
In eastern PA, Kiddie Kar Collectibles had ordered 100 cases of JH2 & didn’t receive any of them. The owners report that none of the other orders for JH2 from other hobby dealers (serviced by the same Mattel rep) have received theirs either.