I opened the Hot Wheels Beatles Set so you don't have to...

Well, I usually get on here and tout the joys of DLM.  Every car should de opened.  That is one of the reasons I have reserved the summer to move most of my carded collection onto other collectors...

"Why have a model if you can't hold it in your hands?  Or roll it on a desk?  Or place it next to similar cars in a clean wall display?" I might say.  "Release the model from its prison and enjoy it like it was meant to be enjoyed!"  "Kids have it figured out, so why haven't we?"  With most of my collection, that is essentially my theory.

Put that on hold though for a second.

Don't open the Beatles set.  When you find it at Walmart this week, buy a set.  Or two.  Or seven.  But don't open it.  Ok, if you buy seven, maybe open one.

This set is all about the art.  We have grown used to these monthly special assortments, and one thing that seems consistent, no matter what the subject of the set, is the card art is pretty darn nice.  BMW to Porsche to Tom & Jerry to Captain America, Hot Wheels cuts no corners on the art.

Sometimes they do on the models.  For collectors like me, who focus primarily on licensed models in realistic colors and liveries, that means I pass on some of these assortments.  BMW and Porsche?  No brainers.  Captain America and Batman vs. Superman?  I didn't even pick up my beloved Mad Manga.

But Beatles?  That card art cannot be ignored.  Maybe you have to be a Beatles fan, but this set is about the card art, and it is tremendously weird and wacky like the film itself.  I have to think the licensing fees for something like this might be a bit on the steep side, so going majority fantasy models makes sense.  And frankly the fantasy drug trip art of the Yellow Submarine merits fantasy models, so I have no problem with the selection, especially since the majority of the models have a British theme, like the Cockney Cab II and whatever that model that looks like an E-Type Jag is called.

But they did give us a Mini Cooper, which looks nice decked out in flowers, and everyone's favorite little VW, the Kool Kombi.  My guess is the Kombi is there for A) it's flower power origins, and B) a cartoon version of a VW Bus would probably look very similar in the world of the Yellow Submarine.  The result is a very cool looking, very blue, model.

But even cooler looking when it stays on the blister next to its wacky card art.

So, do what you want, but my recommendation is to keep that pretty set intact.  Because I prefer to photograph models our of their blisters, I opened them anyway.  Most of these loose models now go into my donation bin, but the Kombi joins the Kombi Kollection, and I will head back to Walmart to get a full carded set.

Actually open, this models benefit from awesome deco as well.  Whoever was in charge of the model deco of this set deserves major kudos.  They just look better with their cards.

Look for these at your local Walmart in bins this week...