Hot Wheels Oil Can Custom '51 Merc from the 12th Annual Yokohama Hot Rod Custom Show 2003

Kool Moe Dee(ages self).  Limited to 3,000, it was sold in Yokohama, Japan.  My original home!  I was just discussing with a Japanese collector on Twitter how we both developed a soft spot for these "Mercs" because of Hot Wheels.  In my case, little bit of M2 & Hot Wheels.

According to the report from this Hot Rod Custom show in Yokohama, the Merc, along with the '71 Dodge Charger were a big hit(sorry, all in Japanese lol).  Attraction of the show included autograph session featuring superstar hot wheels designer Larry Wood & superstar custom & hot rod builder George Barris.  Pics:

Very bad ass amirite.  This one's going to eBay, too.  Sad!

Hot Wheels Mexico Collectors Event Deco Delivery

I have this thing for hot wheels orange wheels.  *drool*  Unlike most "convention" cars, this one's been really affordable for some reason.  I love the livery.  Maybe most collectors don't.  Love this casting too, but again, not much demand for Deco Delivery castings.  Huh.

Hot Wheels Hall of Fame Carroll Shelby Cobra 427 S/C

Been listing stuff on eBay, might as well share it on here as well.

You rarely see detailing like this on Hot Wheels these days.  Impressive.

Hot Wheels Club/RLC Datsun 240Z

Many collectors know, there is no end to mishaps & glitches associated with the operation of RLC(Red Line Club).  Stuff just gets messed up left & right, and no website I've ever seen in all of the cyberspace experiences as many glitches & deadends as their website.  The club actually got me to decide to pull out of the hobby, so enough said. lol

With this red "Z" however, there was even more drama: Before this car went on sale on RLC, Mattel sold many of them to their vendors in error!  Lots of them ended up on eBay, while rest were recalled back to Mattel/RLC, months later, for the sale.  You can't make this stuff up!  Anywho, I had the chance to look at these cars yesterday, so here are few pics:

That's it.  Sorry for the bad lighting!  :p

The Making of Tarmac Works

Courtesy of  Andy from Epic Collage:

Great video.  Short & very sweet look at the production of high quality minicars.  I've complained about GreenLight cars with fingerprints inside the windshields before & after watching this video, you can see how GreenLight assemblers leave their mark inside their minicars.  lol

While I like Tarmac Works even more after watching this vid, consensus amongst the buddy collectors on GTPlanet is that we are not fan of waterslide decals.  They reflect the light funny & they can discolor some years later.

Tarmac Works brand is fairly new & I personally think they have little more ways to go in creating curvier & sharper molds, but I'm certainly rooting for them.  Man, those Evos look pretty sweet amirite.

Twitter Find: Aoshima Grachan Collection "Custom" 1977 330 Cedric

グラチャンコレクション330セドリック
世界で一番売れてるミニカーのホイールに交換‼︎ なんか和製バットモービルみたいになったし🦇
マフラーは作業中に折れて紛失 😱目を皿にしても見つからず悪しからず😁 #グラチャンコレクション #hotwheels #Aosima #NISSAN pic.twitter.com/UZBdtoUeen

— きゃ♡面ライダー天我 (@Masked_rider96) June 23, 2018

From one of my favorite collectors on Twitter: @Masked_rider96

He's definitely into the latest Hot Wheels, but also tweets lot of neat vintage finds from Japan.  This time, it's from the latest Grachan Collection set(Part 10).  He mentions how his wheelswap ended up making the car look like Japanese Batmobile & I couldn't agree more.  It's awesome!  XD

Definitely check out his awesome tweets!

LEGO Cars!

Did you guys play with LEGO as a kid?  I did.  LEGO & Japanese blocks called "Diablocks".  Loved them.  Today, like minicars & hot wheels, LEGO also are hotly pursued collectibles.  I've seen the scalpers in action at Walmart, trying to hijack one of those roll cages from the stocking clerk trying to put them away.  Yikes.

Anywho, today, I wanted to share the cool LEGO cars from Jarrod's collection.  I googled these things & they are not cheap!  I think they start just below $100, then they go up from there.  Let us start off with the LEGO based on the best car ever produced(it's true).

Ferrari F40

As all adults with driver's license know, F40 should have the steering wheel in front of the left seat(I don't want to hear about some custom Brunei Sultan F40s okay lol).  Jarrod's in Australia, land of upside down, so I'm going to let this defect slide this time.  :p

Volkswagen Beetle

Love this Beetle.  Really nice touches with the roof rack & accessories(love that cooler!).

Oh, god.  Sweet stickers.

Mini Cooper

Love the old Mini Cooper.  Sweet color, too.

Volkswagen T1 Camper Van

Another really nice selection by Jarrod.  He has really nice taste.  If Lego made Ford Edge, I'm sure he'll have that in his collection as well(my car lol).  Right Jarrod?

Flatbed Truck

This flatbed's one of my two fav's in here.  OMG, wait for it.....

And there it is.  Bed tilts.  Super awesome.

Caterham Seven 620R

Never been a huge fan of Caterham's, but they are cool, too.  Love those tires.

London Bus

And this one's probably my favorite.  When I was a toddler, buses in my neighborhood looked like this.  One of my dreams as a kid was to ride on the upper deck of the London Bus.  They must be the coolest bus in the world.  Jarrod, this is what I want for my birthday.  Much thanks in advance!  :)

Lower deck & upper deck.

Noice.  *drool*