8 Replies to “The next Hot Wheels Mooneyes model is out. Here is a mainline update.”
Wow, I actually have a lot more Moon Eyes than I realized. I have the STH Moon Eyes van, but its in my kid’s bin because I never really liked it that much. This new release isn’t really my cup of tea, but I think its cool and is a nice addition to the livery.
It would be great to see Lamley speak out on this Japan Historics 2 issue. I think this is very important. Canning distribution of C&D, cancelling pre-orders, huge price markups. Instead of defending some of these practices (see the ‘Car Culture is worth every penny’ post), I wish the blog would be willing to swim upstream and defend some of the collectors who love this brand and really got a raw deal. It seems that there are no degrees of separation between Lamley and Hot Wheels and it is a great opportunity to represent some of the most loyal customers and go to bat for them. Without that critical thought, or at least being willing to open the conversation, it just feels like that magazine that is willing to get free stuff as long as great reviews are given.
I cannot and will not speak for everyone, but I’m at a fork in the road. CC was around $3.50. Then we were told that JH2 would be 4.50 for the additional tampos. Then pre-orders at that pricepoint were cancelled and we see it in stores for 5.50. Now we are being told to expect 5.50 from here on out. And just total acceptance, even by omission? I’m not a big-time collector, nor a completist. I’ve really enjoyed Car Culture – some really beautiful cars! However, if this behavior from HW is what the ‘culture’ in Car Culture is becoming, then I will not be purchasing Car Culture moving forward, even if they are models I really like.
100% agree with you. Hot Wheels (Mattel to be precise) is really testing the collectors patience with this. These price hikes are not acceptable. I mean, they increased the price for extra tampos? But isn’t that what the original Car Culture was already supposed to have but didn’t have? And at the end of the day, we’re paying six times the price of mainlines only to see terrible distribution and cancellation of orders.
I’m a big, big fan of Lamley but even I can’t help but think he praises these things just because he’s so closely associated with Hot Wheels now, regardless of how the product is. But then again, he may have his own perspective and he may be right. I don’t know.
But at the end of it, Car Culture isn’t even available in my country so why am I even bothered about all this?
I feel like I’m somewhat on the outside looking in. I’ve been collecting for maybe a couple years…very short. I enjoyed it growing up, and now I enjoy it with my son and daughter. We’ve got a bin full of hot wheels (and that STH Moon Eye van haha) and I have my small, meager collection on the wall. Maybe there are a lot more people in this ‘casual collector’ category, maybe not. I love nerding out, so I really get into the details and discussions of the finer points, but I’m not an RLC member, and I don’t really go after Supers, etc. So a lot of what may be totally justifiable for a hardcore collector…I think many others just simply walk away from. I don’t know if Mattel sees that.
I have really enjoyed this blog. John has worked his tail off developing it and I respect that. He has really honed his brand and all the photos, videos, research, etc…what a ton of work! There have been so many models that I have learned about and found myself really liking after finding this blog. If it is monetized, I see that more as John earning something from his hard work…very well deserved!
I would like to see John be willing to challenge Mattel/Hot Wheels when necessary (like now) and offer an independent, rational and dissenting thought. Even if one is sponsored, a respectful disagreement can be seen as honest – natural even. I think sometimes the entire nature of being a collector is to be disagreeable (haha) so I think that is just fine. I cannot think of a better HW blog and its nerdy, quirky, detailed posts remind me about why I got into HW in the first place – its fun! I really hope ‘fun’ stays the metric by which Lamley is run, and not a takeover of promotion and advertising driven by sponsorship, which even if it is not, has been more the tone as of late. Perception is reality.
Blackwind – sounds like at least you miss out on all the drama haha. Really, in my opinion the card art is nicer than the cars.
For me, the content on this blog took a wrong turn around the time of the “no more sneaks” posts. Since then most posts have become shill for sponsors and hype “previews” of what I’m guessing was received from Mattel for free. I’m not against monetizing something you’ve built but it should be more transparent. When I discovered this blog it was from the perspective of a fellow collector, and the tone has certainly changed.
And more on topic: if Wheel Collectors can move these originally-$3.50 JH1 models at $22-$49+ a pop, they clearly don’t need this (distasteful) help. So what’s in it for you?
I have no issue paying $6 for a car if I want it. I am buying autoworlds, GLs and M2s at that price point because they make what I want. If HW makes a similar product with similar details, I will pay for HW too. But the JH and JDM cars do nothing for me, so I’m waiting for that fad to pass and see if we get back into some realistic American and other stuff. I do seem to be amassing BMW 2002s and 3.0 Coupes from HW. I don’t particularly care if they have opening doors and hoods – detail too small to be real anyway, so $4 for a M2 with sealed hood and doors is fine with me. I do like detailed headlights and grilles. A mainline always needs so much extra detail. And the HW name usually means graphics, which can be good or bad. Right now, in my life, I’d prefer no graphics and stock appearance – hit the lights, grilles and badges. And with the exaggerated proportions, the HW line sorta misses the mark for me so much of the time. There are some I want, but not as many as the other $6 cars.
It’s all in what you want and are willing to pay. In a day of $5 coffee, a $5 car will give me pleasure much longer.
I can understand why it might rile if they have increased the prices, but they’re so rare in the UK, we have to rely on resellers and very few select specialists and they’re considerably dearer than even the increased US price. The C&D Impreza has cost me close to 20 dollars equivalent, all in.
Wow, I actually have a lot more Moon Eyes than I realized. I have the STH Moon Eyes van, but its in my kid’s bin because I never really liked it that much. This new release isn’t really my cup of tea, but I think its cool and is a nice addition to the livery.
It would be great to see Lamley speak out on this Japan Historics 2 issue. I think this is very important. Canning distribution of C&D, cancelling pre-orders, huge price markups. Instead of defending some of these practices (see the ‘Car Culture is worth every penny’ post), I wish the blog would be willing to swim upstream and defend some of the collectors who love this brand and really got a raw deal. It seems that there are no degrees of separation between Lamley and Hot Wheels and it is a great opportunity to represent some of the most loyal customers and go to bat for them. Without that critical thought, or at least being willing to open the conversation, it just feels like that magazine that is willing to get free stuff as long as great reviews are given.
I cannot and will not speak for everyone, but I’m at a fork in the road. CC was around $3.50. Then we were told that JH2 would be 4.50 for the additional tampos. Then pre-orders at that pricepoint were cancelled and we see it in stores for 5.50. Now we are being told to expect 5.50 from here on out. And just total acceptance, even by omission? I’m not a big-time collector, nor a completist. I’ve really enjoyed Car Culture – some really beautiful cars! However, if this behavior from HW is what the ‘culture’ in Car Culture is becoming, then I will not be purchasing Car Culture moving forward, even if they are models I really like.
Thanks for speaking out about this and putting it so eloquently. I completely agree and I’m sure many others would share this opinion
100% agree with you. Hot Wheels (Mattel to be precise) is really testing the collectors patience with this. These price hikes are not acceptable. I mean, they increased the price for extra tampos? But isn’t that what the original Car Culture was already supposed to have but didn’t have? And at the end of the day, we’re paying six times the price of mainlines only to see terrible distribution and cancellation of orders.
I’m a big, big fan of Lamley but even I can’t help but think he praises these things just because he’s so closely associated with Hot Wheels now, regardless of how the product is. But then again, he may have his own perspective and he may be right. I don’t know.
But at the end of it, Car Culture isn’t even available in my country so why am I even bothered about all this?
I feel like I’m somewhat on the outside looking in. I’ve been collecting for maybe a couple years…very short. I enjoyed it growing up, and now I enjoy it with my son and daughter. We’ve got a bin full of hot wheels (and that STH Moon Eye van haha) and I have my small, meager collection on the wall. Maybe there are a lot more people in this ‘casual collector’ category, maybe not. I love nerding out, so I really get into the details and discussions of the finer points, but I’m not an RLC member, and I don’t really go after Supers, etc. So a lot of what may be totally justifiable for a hardcore collector…I think many others just simply walk away from. I don’t know if Mattel sees that.
I have really enjoyed this blog. John has worked his tail off developing it and I respect that. He has really honed his brand and all the photos, videos, research, etc…what a ton of work! There have been so many models that I have learned about and found myself really liking after finding this blog. If it is monetized, I see that more as John earning something from his hard work…very well deserved!
I would like to see John be willing to challenge Mattel/Hot Wheels when necessary (like now) and offer an independent, rational and dissenting thought. Even if one is sponsored, a respectful disagreement can be seen as honest – natural even. I think sometimes the entire nature of being a collector is to be disagreeable (haha) so I think that is just fine. I cannot think of a better HW blog and its nerdy, quirky, detailed posts remind me about why I got into HW in the first place – its fun! I really hope ‘fun’ stays the metric by which Lamley is run, and not a takeover of promotion and advertising driven by sponsorship, which even if it is not, has been more the tone as of late. Perception is reality.
Blackwind – sounds like at least you miss out on all the drama haha. Really, in my opinion the card art is nicer than the cars.
Love this post, Joe.
Thanks!
.
For me, the content on this blog took a wrong turn around the time of the “no more sneaks” posts. Since then most posts have become shill for sponsors and hype “previews” of what I’m guessing was received from Mattel for free. I’m not against monetizing something you’ve built but it should be more transparent. When I discovered this blog it was from the perspective of a fellow collector, and the tone has certainly changed.
And more on topic: if Wheel Collectors can move these originally-$3.50 JH1 models at $22-$49+ a pop, they clearly don’t need this (distasteful) help. So what’s in it for you?
I have no issue paying $6 for a car if I want it. I am buying autoworlds, GLs and M2s at that price point because they make what I want. If HW makes a similar product with similar details, I will pay for HW too. But the JH and JDM cars do nothing for me, so I’m waiting for that fad to pass and see if we get back into some realistic American and other stuff. I do seem to be amassing BMW 2002s and 3.0 Coupes from HW. I don’t particularly care if they have opening doors and hoods – detail too small to be real anyway, so $4 for a M2 with sealed hood and doors is fine with me. I do like detailed headlights and grilles. A mainline always needs so much extra detail. And the HW name usually means graphics, which can be good or bad. Right now, in my life, I’d prefer no graphics and stock appearance – hit the lights, grilles and badges. And with the exaggerated proportions, the HW line sorta misses the mark for me so much of the time. There are some I want, but not as many as the other $6 cars.
It’s all in what you want and are willing to pay. In a day of $5 coffee, a $5 car will give me pleasure much longer.
I can understand why it might rile if they have increased the prices, but they’re so rare in the UK, we have to rely on resellers and very few select specialists and they’re considerably dearer than even the increased US price. The C&D Impreza has cost me close to 20 dollars equivalent, all in.