Seeing Green: Scoring a Greenlight Green Machine Dodge Charger Pursuit

The diecast gods have blessed me with another chase car.

That's two in a week, and suddenly I'm feeling very good about myself.

It's nice to get a reminder of how fun the hunt can be and how essential it is to this hobby. I used to rely solely on my weekly expeditions to the local store to get my diecast fix. Lately, I've resorted to obtaining most of my diecast from the world wide web, as a lot of what I want isn't available around here. But this past week has solidified my long-standing belief that, yes, the hunt is 90% of the fun in collecting diecast. It can be downright frustrating when stores are going through their dry spells, but damn right rewarding when they're overflowing.

So here we have the Green Machine versus the regular release of the 2015 Dodge Charger Pursuit, from the Greenlight Hot Pursuit, Series 19. I found the regular version a week ago, so it's already been liberated. I hate to say this, but I think the Green Machine will stay in its package. It's just way too rare. Too valuable. Like, you know, I could sell this down the line for a fortune and be a rich man.

I hope you realized that was sarcasm, because you know me: I open all of them. No "if"s, "and"s, or "but"s.

I vividly remember the first time I found a Green Machine. I was on the way back home from K-Day, many years ago, and I figured I would stop by Toys"R"Us for a quick peek. And there it was, the Green Machine Chrysler 300C from the Motor World series. It was pastel baby blue, and a casting I would normally have picked up. But I left the store empty-handed.

I can remember this particular event because I had never booked it so quickly to the restroom before, Seeing those vomit-inducing green wheels really gets your stomach turning. I'm glad Greenlight has started doing these Green Machines with the metallic green paint scheme in lieu of those horrendous wheels. It's like what Auto World does with its Ultra Reds, and it looks Greenlight has started figuring things out. Hopefully M2 is next in line, because those chases are just plain awful.

This one was hiding at the end of the rack, covered in shadows. I could barely make out that green paint color, but it was enough for me to instantly realize that something wasn't right. Yanked it off the pegs to confirm my suspicions. It's the first one I have in my collection, and it makes a great pair with the regular release.

Here's hoping for more.

Mopar or No Car: Two Classic Chargers From Greenlight

When it comes to classic muscle, nothing beats Mopar. I don't know who's fastest around the track, but I know who's gonna be winning the beauty contest. And it's definitely not going to be anything from GM or Ford. Case in point: these two right here, a metallic olive green '68 Charger and a bright red '70 Charger topped with a white roof.

Both are by Greenlight. In my opinion, they are the best when it comes to muscle cars in 1/64. When I first started blogging, I posted about them all the time because I couldn't stop myself from grabbing their cars off the pegs. This stuff seriously looks good, despite quality issues, super fat tires, wobbly stance, and what have you. It's been a dry spell here as of late, and there hasn't been much new product to choose from. I would not order these online because of said quality issues; you really have to inspect each model before buying.

However, I did manage to find some releases here and there, and I think I struck gold by picking up this pair.

The '68 comes from the GL Muscle series, which is really the quintessential Greenlight product line. The '70 comes from the somewhat-new Barrett Jackson series, which is essentially an extension of the GL Muscle line. As I said, they do muscle better than the competition. They do classic muscle car wheels better than everyone else. Greenlight also has great taste when it comes to paint selection and paint schemes. They don't overdo the designs and throw flames on everything. Just simple, clean, and period-correct decos.

Enjoy this wonderful pair.

That olive green though...

Trailer Thursday: Two From Greenlight's Hitch & Tow, Series 6

One of the most interesting diecast series we've seen in a long time.

Greenlight's Hitch & Tow line has reached its sixth release, and I don't see them stopping anytime soon. The idea is pure brilliance and a breath of fresh air from the endless droves of the same handful of sports cars that you find on the pegs today. As such, Greenlight is one of the diecast brands you must check out for yourself if you haven't already. You don't even have to be into trucks and trailers. I, for one, am not, but these excite me just as much as anything else on the market.

Though I own a few models from the Hitch & Tow series, the two trailers shown here are firsts for me: the Airstream Bambi and the Shasta Airflyte. They have been available in just about every release, but these might be the best incarnations yet. The Bambi stands out with its colorful, floral-patterned window curtains; the Shasta is now available in a striking baby-blue-and-white two-tone color scheme. This series is really about the trailers more so than the trucks, and these two were instant purchases the moment I saw them.

To make things sweeter, both of these trailers have metal bodies to go with the metal base. They feel heavy and solid, which is refreshing, considering all of my previous trailers have been largely plastic. One thing I would like to see for the future is a more diverse range of trucks for the Hitch & Tow series. I think I have enough C-10's and D-100's as it is, and there are plenty of trucks out there that haven't been done yet.

Otherwise, kudos to Greenlight for a great series, and we all look forward to many more in the future.

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!