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!

Do You Really Get What You Pay For? Analyzing Both of Hot Wheels' Gran Turismo-Themed Ford GT's

Two Ford GT LMs, both Hot Wheels and both with the same Gran Turismo-inspired livery. But one is five times the price of the other, which begs the question: is it actually five times the model?

In short: yes.

Not sure what prompted Hot Wheels to finally start producing cars based from video games (seems like common sense to me), but it's better late than never. And, in my opinion, they've knocked it out of the park with these Gran Turismo cars, which are featured in both "mainline" and Retro Entertainment forms. The mainlines can be found at Walgreens and online hobby dealers, and consist of a set of eight cars; the Retro Entertainment is a set of five and can be found at all major retailers. Both series feature different models, but they do share one in common. This one.

Thus, it's only right that we compare these two.

This is neither the first nor the last time Hot Wheels has produced the same casting with the same livery in two different "levels" of detail. Earlier this year, the Aston Martin DB10 from the James Bond thriller Spectre was first introduced in the mainline and then thrown into the Retro Entertainment series. I picked up both and regretted neither. The "premium" version is many times more expensive, but totally worth it. I would say the same here as well.

Starting with the basics, the Retro Entertainment Ford GT LM wears Real Riders (plus Goodyear lettering on the tires) to go along with its metal base and cast rear wing. The basic one curiously has a separate, plastic wing that sits a little shorter. I say curious because recent releases of this model have all been converted to the cast wing. The premium GT has windscreen decals, wing decals, printed fuel caps, and full rear detailing, none of which the basic one has. The headlight treatments are slightly different in execution. The interior of the premium version is a little darker and more metallic, the body paint a bit glossier. Everything else remains the same.

At five times the price, Retro Entertainment models would seem like worse value than their mainline counterparts, but trust me, they're completely worth it. The Real Riders alone completely change the look of the whole model, just as having the right set of wheels would on a real car. Which is why most Hot Wheels premium lines tend to sell very quickly and why they're wildly popular with customizers.

Quality over quantity - the golden rule of collecting diecast.