A long time ago, in a Kmart far, far away.....

It was September of 2012.  I was in a Kmart out of town, checking out their Hot Wheels when I ran into this:

Newer collectors might see this & go "Wow.  Four ugly cars on ugly cards.  Good for you, dude...."  Apparently, in 2012, Treasure Hunts still came with green stripes.  

Okay, they aren't "$uper Treasure Hunt", but still, it's kinda bizarre to see four Treasure Hunt on same pegs.  Why did I just spend 10 minutes looking for the date when this happened & the picture of the cars?  Because it happened again today:

This time, in a Walmart dump bin.  Maybe there were more.  I didn't go thru half the cars in there.

Okay, again, they aren't the $upers, but five of them this time.  lol  I didn't take one, because I had already found one few weeks ago(probably same store).  It's actually a really cool casting.  Thinking back, I wish I had picked up another one, so I can keep one & give one to one of my nephews.  Too late!  :D

Tomica Limited Vintage NEO LV-N144a Nissan Atlas(F24) Hanamidai Auto Co. Safety Loader

I got couple of Tomica transporters in the mail earlier this month.  Mainline/basic Isuzu Elf(w/orange Isuzu Bellett!) & the TLV Nissan Atlas....  Wait.  So the cheap mainline transporter comes with this beautiful Bellett on the back, but the spendy Nissan Hanamidai safety loader has no sweet bonuses!?

Oh, my bad.  It too also come equipped with the beautiful orange Isuzu Bellett(this is a bull***t lie, I'm sorry lol).

Okay, jokes aside, this one caused a minor controversy when it was released in March.  Its MSRP was roughly $48, preorder price for me from amiami was $36-ish(before shipping), but as March approached, they quickly sold out & comes the secondary market prices(think eBay) of over $100!!  Yeah, nuts.  Whatever.

For me, the intrigue was this "Hanamidai" name.  Hanami is traditional cherry blossom flower viewing in Japan.  Grownups hit the park, enjoy the cherry blossoms & party.  The "dai" in the name would translate to something like a "stand", or "platform" in this case.  Naturally, I thought the name was a cute nickname given for its slick slide-action flatbed.  Until I googled it.

Yes, still probably have come from a nickname, but Hanamidai is the actual name of the company that builds these safety loader trucks.  They are located in Iwaki, Fukushima.  Very cool, as I used to visit my grandparents there every summer as a kid.  Pics:

Look, dude!  Those wheel stops are painted Isuzu Bellett-Orange!!

Yeah baby.  Third transporter featured this month!

Link to the other two: Scion/Chevy + Ford/Shelby

Hot Wheels 17th Annual Collectors Nationals Pittsburgh, PA '55 Chevy Bel Air Gasser

If carded, I think these two cars go for like $500 combined these days?  Mind boggling.  This 17th Nationals Gasser might've been the most I've ever paid for a single hot wheels & it was $166.50, shipped.  It's Bel Air Gasser.  It's cool, but why would I pay that?  It is what it is.

There we go.  It's a car that typically run close to $200 on eBay!  Yeah, it's cool loose, but why would I uncard that!?  Again, it is what it is:

OMG, this has been an expensive post.  :(