Ain't No Hyundai: Greenlight's 1/43 Fast & Furious Series, Part 3

We've reached the last one. The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX from Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift. Perhaps the most unique of them all, it's also my favorite. Why? Because of the environment and culture depicted in the movie. Instead of the same old barren deserts or quiet downtown districts that we see in every other movie, we get bright lights in a big city, where people play soccer on the rooftops of skyrise buildings. Instead of straight-line racing, we get sideways action.

Oh, and the cars. Definitely the cars. I've already professed my love for Japanese cars before, and there's more than enough of that in the movie. If any of the diecast companies out there want to make replicas of all of the cars from Tokyo Drift, be my guest. There's probably at least a hundred unique ones that we see, and I'd gladly buy all of them. Today, we get the protagonist's main car. This is the car in which Sean masters the art of drifting, turning him from the butt of a joke to the top racer in Japan.

This is one of the more recent releases from Greenlight, and it shows. In terms of accuracy and detail, it's better than the Eclipse and Skyline I showed a few days ago. From my eyes, the only thing missing is a front splitter. Without it, the front chin looks a little awkward. Otherwise, this just might be the best replica of the movie car you can find out there.

So, if you haven't already, will you be collecting this series? From what I know, Greenlight isn't planning to stop anytime soon. There will be many more models coming in the future, some of which I can't wait to get my hands on. Hopefully. If I do, you will surely see them here on the blog!

Gallo 12 or Gallo 24? Greenlight's 1/43 F&F Series, Part 2

Neither.

I love 2 Fast 2 Furious, the second movie in the series. It's by far the funniest, the most suspenseful, and has the baddest villain of the franchise. And it doesn't need Dominic Toretto to perform his ridiculous superhero-like acts to make it good. The most memorable car from that movie? This one right here.

It's the Nissan Skyline GT-R R34. Instantly recognizable just by the blue gradient striping on the side. For a car that barely received any screen time, it sure has become one of the most popular cars of the franchise. If I had a dollar for every time I see someone replicate this car in Need For Speed, I'd have enough money to buy the real one. But for now, I'll settle with this miniature.

Of the three models I have, this one is my favorite. Ironically, it's also the most inaccurate. Take a look at the stripes on this model and the way they're angled. Then, find an image on google of the movie car, and you'll see that Greenlight did this one totally wrong. Yet, my eyes still dart towards this one every time I look towards my diecast shelf. Maybe it's the Skyline fanboy in me. Maybe it's the catchy livery. Or maybe it's just that this is such a great looking piece regardless of accuracy.

As usual, Greenlight knocks it out of the park with the details. The license plate is there. The aftermarket decals are there. There are even slotted rotors with red brake calipers. OK, maybe the rear wing is a little crooked, but I can forgive that. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Tuna, No Crust: Greenlight's 1/43 F&F Series, Part 1

Long story short, I'm a fan of the Fast & Furious franchise. Say what you want about the movies, the actors, and the cars, but there hasn't been any movie, ever, that's meant so much to the automotive community than F&F. In particular, it's influenced tuner culture like no other. As distasteful as some of the cars may be by today's standards, we need to remember that there was once a time for all of that. Fashions, trends, tastes, and styles come and go, and I'm sure many of you who were kids or young adults during the early F&F years wanted cars like these.

I got into these movies rather late, so I can't vouch for everyone's experiences and memories, but I can still appreciate the cars. They're flashy, excessive, and ridiculous, but ultimately iconic and nostalgic. And today, I have three of them to show. One from the first movie, one from the second, and one from the third. One car per day, how's that sound?

This is Brian O'Connor's Mitsubishi Eclipse from The Fast & The Furious, the car we see him use in the beginning of the movie before it gets blown up by Johnny Tran and his buddies. O'Connor didn't seem to be bothered by losing his car, but I guess he could never beat Toretto with this car anyways. I definitely think the tuner cars in the F&F franchise are the most iconic, and this one probably ranks second behind the Supra from the same movie. To this day, I still have no idea what the graphic on the side is supposed to represent. Whatever it is, this is the car I picture in my head every time I see an Eclipse on the road.

Greenlight does a fantastic job with these Fast & Furious cars. Some of them aren't 100% accurate to the source material, but I love the detail that they include at this price point. They retail for around $20 each, which is a bit more expensive that I would like to spend on any diecast, but in context, it's about half of what a high-end 1/43 scale piece costs. While these don't have some of the amenities of a high-end 1/43, such as photo-etch badging, plastic inserts for the grilles, and brake calipers, they're more than enough to satisfy the casual F&F fan.

Part 2 coming tomorrow!

M2 Machines: Two from Detroit Muscle Release 33

To many of you, it may seem like I'm a huge muscle car addict. Most of my posts bleed red, white, and blue. I'm really not. I'm a die-hard tuner fan at heart. My top 10 list of favorite cars ever would probably be 90% Japanese. When I was younger, I was all about exotics. Muscle cars were never on my radar until the past year or so. A large part of that is because of this hobby. No, scratch that. 100% of that is because of diecast. I started seriously collecting them less than a year ago. It started with M2. Then, I fell in love with Auto World. Recently, I've been overdosing on Greenlight. Throw in a little bit of Johnny Lightning, Racing Champions, and what have you, and I'm now a fan of good ol' classic American muscle.

Of course, living in the U.S.A. means I get exposed to these all the time. Not necessarily when it comes to 1:1's, but definitely in 1:64's. All of the premium diecast brands we get here specialize in American muscle. No surprise, really. And I have no problem with it at all. The great thing about this hobby is it allowed me to gain an appreciation for all makes and models, regardless of country of origin.

Today, we come full circle and feature the brand that got me started on all this: M2 Machines. Two neat pieces from the Detroit Muscle line, Release 33. Two castings that I already have, but disguised in new colorways, one pink and one orange. As much as I knock on M2 for having such a limited selection of castings, they always knock it out of the park with inventive designs and colorways. That's called making the most of what you've got.

This is the 1970 Oldsmobile Cutlass 442. I should note that I'm a sucker for anything pink. This one isn't hot pink or bright pink. It's a more toned-down metallic lavender type of pink. And it looks so, so fabulous. Throw in some stock wheels, simple striping, and spoiler delete and it's one of the classiest and cleanest 442's you'll ever see.

And then there's this 1970 Ford Torino Cobra SCJ Twister Special. A mouthful to say, but a sight to behold. I love collecting diecast that have trim-line designations. Small variations make a huge difference to me. The fact that this one is specifically the Twister Special really sweetened the deal.

Even if you couldn't care less about muscle cars, I'm sure these caught your attention. If you haven't already, get out there and take a good look at something you don't normally collect. You just might fall for it!

It's St. Patty's Day! Here's a Couple Holiday Themed Cars for the Occasion!

I started collecting diecast about seven years ago. I remember being able to find all the cars I wanted back in the day. When it came to Hot Wheels, that meant walking up to the pegs and finding tons of exotics and imports, cars that I've always liked. I also remember those were the days when Holiday-themed series were actually good. Great, in fact. Valentine's, St. Patrick's, Christmas, you name it. Good casting choices with nice colorways and attractive decos, and all definitely worth getting. Nowadays, they all seem very uninspired and lacking effort. Granted, the older stuff retailed for double the price, but I would gladly pay that, if not more, for a more well thought out product. Here are two to take us back to the good ol' days.

First is the Chevy Corvette C6. It's not a Grand Sport, Z06, or ZR1. Just a regular 'Vette, but a nice one nonetheless. St. Patrick's Day colors all around. I love the little touches on this model, especially the clover and "317" printed on the front fenders, there just in case you forget it actually is a St. Patty's car.

And then there's this limousine, or Limozeen, rather. I rarely ever purchase generic castings, but I made an exception for this one back in the day. How could I not? This one screams St. Patrick's Day. Big, bold 4-leaf clover on the hood. Wild green flames running through the side. Oh, in case you didn't notice, it also flat-out says "St. Patrick's Day". If Hot Wheels is going to throw a bunch of generic castings in its Holiday cars, they should at least be as good as this one. 

So, with that being said, Happy...

...and good luck hunting!

Bravo, Matchbox: The Fantastic Exotic 5-Pack

It seems once every year, Matchbox does a 5-pack that just about every collector wants. Last year, it was the Classic Rides 5-Pack which, although nice, contained a few models that had already been released as singles. This year, Christmas came early with this Exotic 5-Pack, featuring five models that are all exclusive to this set. Five brilliant models, may I add.

It features the Ford Shelby Cobra Concept, Ford GT, Lotus Evora, Porsche 911 (996) Turbo, and Chevy Corvette ZR1. Five modern sports cars. Five licensed models. Zero generics. That alone makes it a winner in my book. Let's take a look at these models. Shall I start with the good or the bad?

Okay, I'll start with the bad. What's crazy is this casting isn't even that bad; it's simply outshined by all the other models in this pack. This is the Ford Shelby Cobra Concept, a car that I don't particularly care for. It certainly doesn't do any justice to the original Shelby Cobra, which was a beautiful car. This, however, is not. In an attempt to modernize the Cobra, Ford took away the curves of the original in favor of a more square-bodied shape. In my opinion, it's far from a success.

Nonetheless, you can't really blame Matchbox for it. They did what they could to make it true to the real thing. However, I do think the wheels are too small for the casting, which is abnormally large to begin with.

You know you have a great 5-pack when the Ford GT isn't even near the top of the list. It's always been a great casting, and this time it comes in a pretty metallic blue color with two-tone, 5-spoke sport wheels. I love these wheels to death, but they somehow manage to look wrong on this model. I think something more traditional, like the 6-spoke or the multi-spoke wheels in mono-tone, would've looked better.

Things are starting to heat up now. Here we have the 911 Turbo of the 996 generation. It's a fairly old casting that doesn't see much production anymore. It briefly made an appearance as a single a few years ago, in dark purple, and has since gone into hibernation, until now. I have a weakness for the 996. I think it looks miles better than the 997, and I don't mind the kidney-shaped headlights at all. Needless to say, I'm glad it's back.

Then we have the Corvette ZR1 in black with a touch of red and white striping. Not too much, but just the right amount. It looks absolutely sinister when paired with the black 5-spokes.

It's been a while since we've gotten a ZR1, and I've started to miss seeing these on the pegs. Even though this may be one of the rare instances where the Hot Wheels model is better than the Matchbox, there's never been a more deserving runner-up. And here in this 5-pack, it finishes in second place once again, but just barely.

The award goes to...

The Lotus Evora. British Racing Green. Gunmetal wheels. Racing decals. How could you not like it?

And I don't even care one lick about the real car. That's how good this one is. And that's how good this 5-pack is. Go out there and get it!