When I first posted that I had the new Hot Wheels Open Track to feature, I saw a couple of comments saying that Car Culture was getting a little tired. It was only a couple, but that surprised me.
We all like what we like, but Car Culture is in no way tired. In fact, I don’t think it can get tired. Super premium models, 5 per mix, insanely good art, each mix with a different theme. The point of Car Culture is that it CAN’T get locked in a specific theme or pattern, and each mix replicates real cars. I’ve said it before, but to me Car Culture is the best thing Hot Wheels has ever done. And I don’t know how anything can top it.
Sure, some assortments will be more popular than others, but there is always something to like. Open Track is the latest example. Honestly each model is better in person than in the photos, topped by the incredible HKS Skyline. Don’t overlook how complicated – and probably expensive – that deco is for Hot Wheels to do.
Nonetheless, I opened them today. Here is the preview. Look for them in US Targets now and everywhere soon. Photos coming.
Beautiful colors, especially love that Nissan. I’m a Camaro collector, but Hot Wheels makes sticking to my niche almost impossible.
Hey, hey, can we please pegwarm the GT3 cars in this set? PLEEEEEAAAASE!!! Call them bad and not worth collecting or something.
Like, say they’re soulless, lifeless, ooo, the old supercars are better, Car Culture should be all vintage. Anything just to keep them on the pegs.
Awesome car culture open track set you open up and you reviewed congrats. 👍I will be on the hunt for all 5 of those and I can’t wait to add all 5 of those to my hotwheels collection. 👍
You cant make everyone happy. I think that premium hot wheels are surely at their finest right now. Every single car that comes out premium has amazing decos, front and rear tampos, and some even have licence plates. Alot of those details were only available by buying an rlc/hwc exclusive car. These people need to stop complaining. Im loving whats going on with hot wheels today and in fact i find it a little hard to keep up with all the premium stuff I want. Keep up the good work hot wheels!
Actually a lot of these details were already present in the Vintage Racing and Drag Strip Demons lines. And the 100% line was even more bonkers. So to me this is more like Hot Wheels finally going back to the level of quality they were at 7 years ago, after some years of cost cutting.
Details werent nearly as refined as in dragstrip demons or vintage racing. Yes there were memorable moments here and there in the last 10 years but it seems now through premium nearly every car is full of detail. Im not a huge fan of the 100% line. The cars are flimsy/fall apart easily and i dont like the wheel/axle types on those cars. Yes i do agree with you that there were several cars in the series’ that you mentioned that did have alot of the detail that i speak of. I just think that nowadays that very detailed or refined if you will. Its more crisp if you get what i mean.
The 100% line was the best HW has done, from a quality and detail perspective. Most of the complaints about them seem to just be various ways of restating that they weren’t toys, but they weren’t intended to be.
I wasn’t yet a collector when the 100% line was still a thing, but from what I’ve seen it was similar to M2 where they’re much more akin to display pieces rather than toys. They seemed to be aimed squarely at serious diecast collectors, and they weren’t nearly as limited in budget as Car Culture, Entertainment, Vintage Racers, etc.
I just really dislike the wheels and axles on 100%
It might just be because of the camera, but I’m very glad that the HKS R32 has a good deco. If you look up the HKS R32 pre-production images (especially the ones from T-Hunted) the inkjet makes it look like it was printed in 240p. While I see some spots here and there that show separate dots, it’s not nearly as bad as the pre-production model.
Getting to the rest of the set, I’ll definitely search for the Momo 190E, the NSX GT3 and the R8 LMS. Not sure about the AMG GT3 though. The deco is nice, but the casting isn’t that great IMO.
OK, here we go. Open Track is absolutely my kind of Car Culture. Keep these types of wave coming! As such, I am far more critical of these release than I am of say Dragstrip Demons which I couldn’t care less about.
My favorite casting of this group would have to be the Mercedes-AMG GT3, followed by the Acura NSX.
My favorite of the real live cars however, is the Audi R8 LMS GT3. But I have to admit I am really disappointed in the way this one came out. It looks so short and stunted, instead of the low-slung car it truly is. Not only that, but this second iteration looks like nearly a dead ringer for the first. While I like the classic white/red/gray Audi color scheme, I wish they would have selected one of the many other racing liveries available (black/red, silver/red) to distinguish it further from the first release.’
Wow, I love that Mercedes-AMG! Looks great in the gray/yellow color scheme and with those dark lace wheels! While the lace Real Rider is a great fit for this model, I do wish they had a bit more depth to them. Maybe painting them gray with the insets remaining black would give them the illusion of depth. The only other thing I could say, is perhaps it could use a few more sponsor logos. Looks ever so slightly under decoed for a race livery.
I have a feeling this NSX casting is going to be a favorite of mine. I’ve always been a huge Honda fan and obviously an NSX fan, being Honda’s halo car. I don’t own the Retro Entertainment release yet, but I can’t wait to find it and bring it home. This one… looks to be a great casting so far (from pictures) and has a decent deco, but I don’t feel (personally) that light blue was the best choice of colors. While it may stand out from the crowd in this blue, I don’t feel it is very iconic of the car.
I’m a definite fan of MOMO and a definite fan of the M-B 190E-2.5-16 casting, but… I’m not 100% sold on the combination. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll definitely buy it, but it will need to grow on me, as it is not an instant fave.
Finally we come to the oddball Skyline. Love the casting. Loved it in Fast & Furious release (though mine had strangely orange-peeled paint). I get that this is a real racing deco and can appreciate the intent to “keeping it real”. I get the 80’s vibe. I lived it in all it’s neon glory. But true to life or not, man is this deco ugly! I’m just wondering how many will connect with this. As a Skyline, I’m guessing this never ran in a U.S. race series. Maybe not even in a Euro series. So that leaves a select few fans that followed Japanese domestic racing? Truth be told, I’ll likely still buy it.
I’ll be on the lookout for these is six months time! It always takes a frustratingly long time for Car Culture to hit stores. Circuit Legends hasn’t hit in significant numbers. I haven’t seen a whiff of Dragstrip Demons (not that I’m looking), and haven’t even found Retro Entertainment Forza yet. It seems like Car Culture is the most ignored line by big box retailers, with Walmart having empty pegs for months on end and Target getting in one case and then they’re done till the next wave. Retro Entertainment is perpetually backlogged, though rarely overstocked. I can only hope I will find all of these models.