Due to the fact that I am staying home, and so is Mattel, I had to piece together the latest mix of Hot Wheels Fast & Furious Premium. Glad I did, a it is a fantastic mix.
I posted this video last night, and was quickly reminded not to toy with Fast & Furious fans. After stating that the Lighting was “ a fantastic replica of a truck I could care less about”, I have heard a bit about it. I actually do like it, I just don’t like the truck. Design-wise it wasn’t Ford’s finest hour. But a great model.
But as you watch the video it is pretty obvious what I think about the Grand National. Because this set has been out for about a month or more, I have seen what most collectors are talking about, and it seems to be the Lightning. Considering the Grand National is such a cool 80’s car, and Hot Wheels FINALLY ditched the old casting for a far better new tool, I thought this would be the talk. It is with me at least, for whatever that is worth. In a year of fantastic new premium castings – isn’t that every year now? – the GN should be a standout.
Enjoy the video.
I like them all but have to say that Impala is my favorite.
Just watched the video, agree completely the GN is the star of that set
I hate to break it to you, JTL, but those were not F&F fans who berated you. You encountered a bunch of rabid Ford F-Series fans instead. Those Alan Jackson Ford Truck commercial jingles from the 1990s were pretty much their rallying cry. You’ll be surprised just how fast the Ford pickups or any other Ford truck-related diecast models disappear once they hit the market around here. Even the Matchbox Convoys Ford Cargo truck and log trailer vanish faster than the rest of the Convoy set.
I’ll admit I’m not a fan of that Stepside as well, and I’ve had my share of harassment when I said so. Watch out for the crazy.
I’m going to relate your disinterest in the Lightning to my disinterest in the GNX (although I like the GNX more than you seem to like the Lightning) and we’ll call it even lol. Jokes apart, both are brilliant castings no doubt. But I will agree that the sheer “wow factor” of the GNX is a lot more than the F-150 just because how badass it looks in full black with those wheels. As far as new-castings-looking-better-than-old-castings go, this is one of the best. I wasn’t keen on it at first but after watching your video, I’ll be happily adding it to my collection.
The only other from this set that I’ll get is the truck. Needless to say, that is my favourite of the set for obvious reasons (PW, FnF and one of my favourite pick-up trucks. I am not a Ford truck fanboy though.) and it’ll sit nicely next to my Matchbox F-150 Lightning (which is also red).
The other 3 just don’t have my interest. The Impala has horrible rake (in the movie it had same size wheels), the Torino I already have the basic version so not sure I’ll get this one and the Nova, although a beautiful model (my favourite of these 3) doesn’t have any relevance to the movie at all (I can’t see any other reason to add a Nova to my collection).
Anyway, thanks for the showcase. Enjoyed it. Hope to find the cars soon post-lockdown.
I think most collectors glanced at online pictures of this set and assumed the GNX was just a rehash of the old casting. It’s by far my favorite of the set. I like the others, but I’ve always thought the Nova was too big in scale compared to other cars. As for the truck, there actually was a slammed step side jellybean F150 from back in the ‘90s (?) that was in a 100% set along with a Chevy dually.
I found the set and only grabbed the GNX! Left the others on the peg. I just do not care for that pick up either!
This is by far my favourite Fast and Furious set yet, and I’m in John’s camp as I’m not a fan of the movie series at all, so for me it’s all about the actual cars as opposed to their relevance to the films.
The only let down for me – other than the questionable wheels on the GNX – is the Gran Torino, which is a release I was really looking forward to. The casting is awesome as always, and the wheels are great, but the base needs to be body colour! That’s the whole point of the design of the casting! The break exists so that the interior piece can double as chrome bumpers, and then the base serves as a continuation of the body to provide the semblance of realistic bolted-on bumpers. They did it right on all of the basic releases of the F&F Torino, so why not the premium one? I’m also disappointed that the interior is chrome. On the premium version of the black ’70 Charger they chromed the interior piece so the engine and and bumpers would look correct, but then painted the actual interior and grille bits matte black. Why not do that here? It just looks incomplete.
Other than that, great set! The details on the Nova and Impala are exceptional, and the Ford truck is a very nice casting with its realistic black bed liner, albeit not a vehicle I’m entirely interested in.
John, I’m sure you mean “a fantastic replica of a truck I COULDN’T care less about.” Sorry, grammar is a pet peeve of mine.
The only two I got from the set was the Buick and the Ford the Buick because it’s a cool car and the Ford Because Paul walker drove it in the first movie
I agree with Chris on all his observations about the Gran Torino. I love this new Grand National, for all the reasons mentioned, breathlessly, in the video. I think the Nova is awesome, but I agree the casting is a bit big. The real car is so neat because it’s little. The Lightning… I’d be onboard, but the wheels look horrible! Too small, and much too tall aspect ratio. Maybe another version will do it justice!
This mix is not particularly my cup of tea. The Ford F-150 Lightning was a big deal when I was younger, jellybean shape and all. I briefly considered picking this up, but I don’t really collect trucks, so I passed. I want to say the Buick Grand National GNX was before my time, but it wasn’t. It just felt old to me even when new. I’m sure this was part of the appeal, as I am now finding I crave more of the “old school” style vehicles than many of the new hybrid, electric, digitized and electronic nanny-ified cars of today. So yes, I do find a “slight” coolness to the GNX, especially in black on black and even considered picking up that one briefly. I’m glad they did it (re-did it) for the fans, as I’m sure many are going to be ecstatic to have this in their collections. The other 3 look well enough put together and detailed, just not vehicles of my interest.
While not a fan of F&F movies, I am glad this line exists to give us a wider array of premium models. And even though I may not be a fan of Motor City Muscle, I am happy to see more clean, nearly stock looking models come in this line.