Honestly 2019 has been a magical year for Hot Wheels New Models. I can’t remember a year where such a wide variety of models has been introduced. And on top of that, the amount of clean, stock looks with only front and rear decos. When the Lamley Award voting starts – sooner than you think – it will be a blast to put all these together and see how many clean models have been dropped this year. It’s been a lot.
But there is one group that can be separated from all. The plain white models:
It started with the Nissan 300ZX, then was followed by the Porsche 911, Tesla Model 3, and now the Mercedes-Benz A Class. Plain white with front and rear tampos.
A couple go more pearl, the other two more straight white, but all look fantastic. I remember having a conversation with a Mattel employee a few years ago about how much I liked the look of plain white cars with dark rims, and I was told that would not be something we would see often on the pegs. The thought, logically, is that the silhouette and sides are the most important element, considering the car has to pop while hanging on the pegs. White doesn’t pop.
But it does. When done right. And maybe Hot Wheels figured out how to do it. Because these definitely pop:
Hot Wheels has pushed FAR into the realm of realism with their basics, way more than in the past. It doesn’t mean cars haven’t looked real in the past, of course, but we see far more stock versions. Part might be the fact that the cars they have chosen to replicate already look sporty, and that Hot Wheels touch is essentially already part of the car. Maybe a small tweak like a lower stance or a small after-market spoiler jumps in, but that is it. These silhouettes pop in plain white.
Yes, there are a few old school Matchbox collectors throwing fits that realism like this is Matchbox territory, but there is room for both. Plus, Abe and the gang over at Matchbox have their hands full making super cool Mercedes wagons and lowered Caprices. I like both Mattel brands churning out the realistic stuff. Although the space in my closet doesn’t. There is just too much to keep.
It used to be that there wasn’t a blank space Hot Wheels didn’t want to fill with a flame or a stripe. There are still plenty of flames, but a whole lot of blank space too. And white space. Dang things have changed.
I’m happy and I’m glad that hotwheels is making plain and clean white cars now.👍And also making plain and clean cars in other colors now also.👍I hope and pray Mattel and hotwheels keep doing this.
I’m lovin it! It’s good to see Hot Wheels expand their horizons a little bit and make more stock, clean cars rather than deck everything out with wacky graphics and stances. If you swapped the wheels off of these and put Matchbox wheels on instead, it could totally fly. They literally look like Matchboxes from the golden age. Thankfully I have three out of four of those since the A Class isn’t in stores yet.
There’s one more thing these 4 models have in common which gets overlooked and that is side mirrors. Yes it’s a small detail but it makes a big difference. I’m happy to see more cars this year have had mirrors than in the past.
2019 is easily one of the best years for HW. Not only because we are getting some really cool models in both basic and premium lines, but most are pretty stock and well detailed (which isn’t something HW was known for).
As much as I love Matchbox (I really do) I will no longer be saying “this model should’ve been made by Matchbox” because even if they do, the chances of me getting that model in my hand is close to none, thanks to MBX not being available in India and wherever it is, the distribution appears to be horrible. And besides, HW is pretty much nailing it currently in one way or the other. At least I have a chance of getting these cars.
I like solid color decos, but the problem w white and other light colors like yellow and orange is that the paint gets very thin on the edges, which takes away from the fine casting quality. Looking forward to seeing these in other colors.
I am liking what both Matchbox and hotwheels are doing. I like the plain stock look. I too have the Nissan and Porsche castings and they both look great on white. Hopefully nice stock looking cars like the ones mentioned above plus the McLaren Senna are going to continue.
It would be nice to the Senna done as a recolour in white to match the other McLaren models done already.
I’ve got hold of both the Porsche and Nissan so far. Massively impressed with both and if you add in (as another first-timer from a few years ago) the Custom 240Z FuguZ of Sung Kang, then it makes one hell of a trinity! I can definitely give the Tesla a miss and am a little indifferent about the A-Class, though both are decent castings (if you like that kind of thing?) The simplicity of them is enhanced by the colour and the tampos (if you find a nice example, placed accurately) only build on that!
The 300ZX is a beauty, possibly the best new casting in the HW mainline for 2019 in fact.
That Carrera the same can be said of, one of the last great 911s that Porsche made, before the revolting 97 shape & the years when the Stuttgart company lost the plot (see the Carrera GT, Cayenne, Boxster & Panamera to verify my point)….Both these are a welcome inclusion.
Agreed. The plain whites are awesome. Keep them coming. HW or MBX that are plain with front and rear details are the best.
Ironically, that new white BMW M1 from HW is the opposite of what we see here. They put a stripe on the side and lost the awesome detail the red and blue models of the same casting had last year. Why not release it in white with the front and rear detail so it could join this beautiful four car lineup (featured in the blog post). Sadly, they will likely do a recolor with the same stripe and no detail. Meh.
What happened to the Audi wagon from HW? Too bad it is not showing up again. White would work, but I’d prefer other colors. The Audi did amazingly well in the Lamley awards so if HW does watch these then…you’d think it would show up again.
Maybe the lack of front/rear detail from hot wheels is related to US collectors not opening their cars (and kids not caring). After all if you never crack the car open and twirl it around it is easy to ignore the lack of detail in the front and back. It seems that perhaps the difference in packaging between Asia and the US reflects this too.
The Audi RS6 Avant from Hot Wheels is showing up later this year in blue. Probably in one of the last batches, P or Q case. I hope to see white in its future.