Alright let’s make sense of this out of the gate. Today I am previewing Release 3. Release 1 is out, Release 2 is not, but here is Release 3.
If you don’t follow Auto World you may not care, but considering the new Chevy Squarebody Trucks are mashed into this group means a lot of folks are watching closely. The Squarebody Trucks are in Release 2, and it is coming. In fact, I have the models in my possession and ready to preview. That is coming soon.
But for whatever reason, Release 3 is hitting hobby dealers, and I assume Walmart, first. So that is what I am showing today.
And this mix is no slouch. No mix of Auto World ever is. One overlooked element of collecting is that collecting specific brands can be different experiences, and that has to be accounted for. Collecting Auto World is different than collecting Hot Wheels for example. Some folks seem to be bothered by the fact that AW doesn’t release a lot of new castings, just new colors of existing castings.
But that is part of the experience. There is no doubt AW is a niche brand compared to Round2’s Johnny Lightning brand, and it focuses on fewer releases with high quality to-scale vehicles, with an emphasis on all the directions those vehicles can go. Mainly stock colors and some custom styles. There is a ton of variety WITHIN those castings, just not a huge variety of castings. And I like it that way. I can get the other collecting itches scratched elsewhere.
It also means new model releases are big events, and the Squarebody might be the biggest of all. And we will focus on that when Release 2 gets previewed. For now, let’s focus on the variety within the 6 castings used in Release 3. They are awesome.
Collecting Auto World is pure joy. It really is.
I am a big fan of Johnny LIghtnings and have found many of their models to be just as good, if not better, in quality than Auto World. I do buy Auto World as well but would love to see some previews/reviews of Johnny Lightnings. It is their anniversary year after all and they are doing some really cool things to celebrate that milestone! The box set of anniversary editions is a thing of beauty!
Nice Gulf Mustang. I’ll be grabbing that one if I ever see it.