KING OF THE CAMO JUNGLE BAPE® x Hot Wheels 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL

What a BS this was.  Unlike the typical Tuesday morning Hot Wheels RLC release, this one went on sale at night.  I think it was 6pm Saturday or something.  I was pretty excited.  I have this RLC casting in silver & green.  I'm not gonna lie, I'm a fan of camo & I was all over this one.

The exact moment it goes on sale, it reads "sold out".  Immediately I suspect bots & I think I was right.  I kept refreshing the page & within a minute, it was available for sale.  I was in line for checkout, then within 30 seconds or so, it was "sold out".  This time for good.  I want to say that all this took place in less than 2 minutes(I could be wrong).

I get on eBay right after & there were many on sale there already.  When I couldn't get it for I want to say $100 or so, I gave up.  Following week, I gave in & paid $165 for this guy.  Thankfully, the "preorder" went without a hitch & got mine safe & sound today.  Some eBay sellers are shady, and I've been ripped off on eBay preorder before.  Once the seller take your money, many weeks later the official sale date come & go, but no word from the seller.  Been really careful on eBay preorder stuff ever since.  Thankfully, I got my money back by either eBay or PayPal that time.  

Sorry for the rant, but I think these shares of experiences only helps newer collectors.  God, I wish Hot Wheels/Mattel did something about these bots though.  Impossiburu.  Pics:

G O R G E O U S 😍

 

Hot Wheels RLC Gulf Datsun 510

I got a cool "Bluebird" in the mail today.  It's the Gulf livery Datsun 510 by the Red Line Club!

Yeah.  No hologram sticker with serial #'s.  Kind of disappointing.  🤷

Pic was borrowed from the Mattel Creations/Red Line Club, since I didn't open the hood.  Nice detailing.  👍

I'm not gonna lie to you.  I feel like both 510 & Gulf liveries been done to death.  Saying "meh" would be harsh, but not as exciting as this guy from several years ago.  Still glad to have it in my collection!

 

INNO64 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ60

This one was roughly $25 with shipping.  surplusgoodies is a reputable seller on eBay & I highly recommend them.  Great experience, every single time.  Also see other recommended seller on the right side of the page.  

INNO I think is Chinese?  When I buy a INNO model, while I don't except perfect execution, I tend to expect a very interesting model + high level of detail & realism.  Even with somewhat rough looking headlights, FJ60 did not disappoint.  There even were couple of amazing surprises.  

 

Really sad photography.  Sorry.  It's been awhile I did macro diorama shots & I was rusty to say the least. 😭

Okay.  Surprise #1:  Roof rack.  It's not too skinny, it's not bloated.  I think it's the most well detailed & the best looking rack at this scale.  INNO nailed it.  👍

 

Surprise #2: Instrument cluster!  See those gauges?  In 1/64 scale?  Add the side mirrors(TLV would make you install it yourself most of the time).  I found it very impressive.

I thought $25 was bit steep, but after seeing those two surprises, I can recommend these to any collectors or Land Cruiser fans!  

 

Hot Wheels Red Line Club 1991 BMW M3

It's been awhile.  Couple of really cool cars made me want to slap together a new, original blog post... but I was very rusty with the photography.  😬  More on this later.  One of those cool cars is this Hot Wheels HWC/RLC BMW M3:

Old members know.  RLC(Red Line Club) website used to be a nightmare of site to deal with.  While we see lot less glitches as of late, when it came to this BMW, they didn't send me a sale notification email.  

As soon as these bimmers "presale" started popping up everywhere like on eBay & TTP, I knew that I had missed a RLC sale.  Funnily enough, while 2 other recent sale didn't sell out same day, this one did.  You don't take it personally though, most RLC members get screwed by the club every now & then.  😩

Anywho, I got mine from a TTP seller for $60, shipped.  I think it was $30 + shipping from RLC, but it is what it is.  Pics:

Shame about the left taillight tampo looking little ragged.

Opening doors & interior detailing looks really sharp..... but I really couldn't care less.  I personally don't care for opening hoods, doors & other gimmicks.  At least most of the time.  In my opinion, gaps, misalignment, etc., takes away from the aesthetics.  What made me pay the secondary market price was the basic casting design.  I don't know who designed it, but they nailed this one.

P.S. This blog saw original feature posts like this from 2014 to 2018?  After '18, there's been posts about random finds on pegs, old pics, cool imports from Japan, etc., but no features of new minicar "pics" as the blog name suggests.  Not that original photography was great to begin with, but I tried to recreate the magic on a whim this week(w/old iPhone even), and result was very heavy photo editing.  😅  

Anywho, thanks for reading & I hope you enjoyed the pics, or found them useful.