Taking a Chance With The Hot Wheels Speed Graphics 5-Pack

Each year, there's a grand total of about two 5-packs worth getting, and they both revolve around the same theme. One is the annual Hot Wheels Exotics 5-pack, usually featuring five of the hottest European sports cars and supercars, with minimal graphics and occasionally the odd stripe or two. The other is Matchbox's version of the Exotics 5-pack, which is similar but with far better castings and more realistic designs. Otherwise, most of these multi-packs are best suited as children's gifts, for the ones who haven't yet reached the age to differentiate good taste from bad taste.

This year, there's a third, and it's this Speed Graphics fiver. There are two particular models in here absolutely worth having regardless of what you collect, and the rest is a toss-up depending on who you're talking to.

I personally like three of these models: the Corvette Grand Sport, Ford GT LM, and the Toyota Supra. Three out of five, for five bucks, is not bad at all. Last week, I took opportunity of Target's 40% off all Hot Wheels promotion on Cartwheel to snatch this quintet for $3, which brought me to a single dollar for each car I intend to keep.

Now that's more like it!

After examining each of these in person, I felt the Corvette was more ho-hum than I had thought. The yellow base is, naturally, hideous, at which point I had to remind myself that Hot Wheels and common sense are not synonymous with each other. The GT, while a bit simplistic, is pretty as always. The Supra really wowed with its bold colors and perfectly suited (and very underrated) Y5 wheels. It's fantastic and my favorite release of the Mark IV to date.

I think I'll keep those two tucked away safely and toss the others in the donation bin.

The Dodge Charger Drift car is merely a shell of its former self.

Love the colors and the livery, but this casting is plain awful.

Hot Wheels designers sure love their yellow bases!

The Super 'Stang: GT Spirit's 1/18 Ford Shelby GT350R

In my short time collecting 1/18's, there's one thing I've learned and it's that GT Spirit always exceeds expectations. Take, for example, this monster right here.

It's the recently-released resin model of the Ford Shelby GT350R, a car for which I won't need to copy Wikipedia facts and paste them here. There have been some mind-blowing Americana machines to come from each major domestic manufacturer in the last few years (Hellcat, Z06, anybody?), but I will contend that none have been more exciting than the GT350R. I lost my mind when I saw one at the auto show a couple years ago, and I can't wait for the day I see and hear one on the streets.

GT Spirit released this model initially in white with black stripes. Rather underwhelming for this bad 'Stang. They're known for releasing additional colorways as European and Asian exclusives, for designated hobby dealers. I always knew I wanted a model of the GT350R, but I didn't think the white one does it justice. I waited it out, hoping GT Spirit would put out a blue one, just like this.

It's as if they listened to my wishes, because here I am, blue Shelby in hand, ogling it as I type this passage.

Simply put, this 1/18 GT Spirit model is absolute perfection, much like just about anything else they make. This is about as realistic and accurate as it gets for a scale model. Their quality is generally very good, but there are some areas you should be careful with. If you're like me and you handle these models by holding the bottoms of the bumpers, watch out for the splitter and skirt pieces; they're individual parts and may come loose in the process. Ask me how I know.



The colorway shown here is a European-exclusive release, limited to 500 pieces. It's limited by number, but they're readily available right around now and likely will be for months to come. What I'm trying to say is there's no real need to rush, but you won't be able to help it once you see the photos.

The 2017 Ford Focus RS in 1/18, by Ottomobile

One of my favorite Hot Wheels new models of the year has now spawned a larger version in the same color. This is the 1/18 '17 Ford Focus RS produced by Ottomobile, and it's another magnificently impressive resin piece that makes you question why you still feel that plastic models are inferior to metal ones.

This is the most recent model to come out of the Otto line and there is one particularly notable upgrade that I haven't seen before on a couple of the older models that I own. It starts with the grille. Finally, a proper mesh unit that replaces the paint-on-top-of-plastic of old. This, to me, was the largest difference between Otto's and the slightly-more-expensive-sister-brand GT Spirit's models, and it looks like they are starting to close the gap between them. All other aspects of the RS are spot-on, as you have come to expect from these resin models.

I do have to say that, now that I have a replica I can stare at, the style of the Focus RS has not grown on me as much as I had thought it would, and I love hot hatches. The front end, still too tall, too bulky, and too awkward. It doesn't have the sleekness of the original Mazdaspeed 3 or the muscle of the former WRX STi hatchback, two of my all-time favorite cars. Nonetheless, you can't go wrong with the combination of 350 HP, 5-door utility, and a price tag of just around $35k. It's sad to see other manufacturers starting to move away from hatchbacks in this segment (for example, the STi is no longer offered in 5-door form and there is no current Mazdaspeed 3), but Ford keeps the spirit alive with the Focus RS.

Long live the hatches.

Minor blemish.