Introducing the brand new Matchbox Shark Week Series...

This appears to be becoming the norm...

The last few years, Hot Wheels has had a lot of success with monthly special assortments.  Pick a theme, create 6 to 8 cars for the assortment, and release it usually at one retailer.  Walmart seems to be the main retailer, but we have seen others at Target, Kmart, Kroger, and other smaller chains.

Sometimes the theme is a particular carmaker like BMW or Porsche, other times a particular car like Mustang or Corvette.  In between those VERY collector-friendly assortments come entertainment themes like Captain America, Star Wars, and Tom & Jerry, or general deco themes like camouflage or red, white, and blue.

Hot Wheels appears to be having a lot of success with these, and I don't think they are going anywhere.  They cost the same as a basic model, and are usually mixed in with basic assortments.

Well it looks like Matchbox is joining the fray.  Right now the Walmart-exclusive Jeep Series is in store, and the Land Rover Assortment is coming soon.  And there are more to come.

Matchbox has allowed Lamley to showcase another upcoming assortment.  It isn't a carmaker like Jeep or Land Rover, but instead a tie-in with the ever popular Shark Week on the Discovery Channel. There are more assortments like this planned, where there will be a mix of licensed and unlicensed castings, all with deco centered around a similar theme.  And yes, these will be in addition to the basic models.

So let's talk Shark Week.  Matchbox will release 8 models, and it is a mix of licensed and unlicensed. Some are ocean-oriented castings, others just cool cars sporting a Shark Week livery.

So let's start with the unlicensed.

Two boats, a submarine, and a beach buggy.  All ocean-ish.

Can't say which one I am most keen on, so why not move on to the licensed models.  A nice assortment, with the Chevy Van, Corvette ZR1, Checker Can, and VW Thing:

Of these, the cab is the most interesting to me, followed by the van.  At least the models are licensed, which makes this assortment that much more interesting.

Will I collect these?  Maybe a couple, only because I am a completist of the casting.  But I don't mind a set like this being released.

My guess is these models will frustrate a few of you.  You might think it is a return to the goofy colors and liveries of the last few years, after such a promising move to realism by the brand the last few months.  I think the opposite.

Having special assortments like these let's Matchbox focus even more on realism in the basic range.  These assortments are an additional release next to basic and possible premium ranges like Best of World.  These allow Matchbox to create very kid-oriented models, while still pushing the true essence of Matchbox in basics.  I think it means we can be more confident that there will be more cool models to collect on the standard pegs.  I guess we will see as 2017 is announced next month.

Plus, we will hopefully get more collector-oriented assortments like Jeep and Land Rover, which is always welcome.  Porsche?  Police?  Wagons?  Mercedes?  Who knows?

This could be a very interesting expansion for Matchbox...

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First Look: Hot Wheels '76 Greenwood Corvette Toys R Us Mail-in Exclusive...

Ok, I am feeling a little overwhelmed.  Here is what is on the docket for the blog:

• First Look: Hot Wheels Simpsons Family Car
• First Look: Matchbox BMW M5 Police
• First Look: Matchbox Ford Cargo
• First Look: Matchbox Dodge A100
• First Look: Matchbox Everett Marshall Charities Exclusives
• A look at all the upcoming 2015 and 2016 Matchbox models
• A look at all the preproduction models donated by Mattel to the Gathering Auction
• An interesting history on the donated prepro that I won at auction
• Larry Scaduto's final Matchbox Ambassador Report and Gathering roundup

That is a lot.  And I leave for vacation today.  Yikes.

But I will chug along and get all of this out to you.  There is too much interesting stuff to keep you waiting, especially those upcoming Matchbox model pics.

Looking at what I need to get to, I see a lot of orange, and that is to be expected, considering I just returned from the Gathering.  But blue deserves a bit of attention, and they have provided a beauty that is definitely worthy of a full post.

That model is the latest mail-in promo from Hot Wheels, the Toys R Us exclusive '76 Greenwood Corvette.  I don't pursue all the Hot Wheels mail-ins, but when I do, it is because it looks like the Greenwood.

The Greenwood is a special model, and happily Mattel knows it.  I could argue that amid a sea of Skylines, Porsches, and that infamous Datsun Wagon, Jun Imai's true design gem is the Greenwood.  Who knows if it was Jun or another designer who chose the Greenwood for the HW Racing line a few years ago, but whoever did made an inspired choice.  It is a loud, over-the-top racing model, with enormous - ENORMOUS! - flared wheel wells, a huge nose, and something resembling headlights.  The result is an unforgettable Hot Wheels Corvette, that no one can complain about because it is based on the real model.

And this summer it became extra special.  John Greenwood, the legendary racer behind the car, passed away earlier this month.  We certainly pass our condolences onto his family and friends, and can think of no better way to remember him by showing the fantastic casting based on one of his most iconic cars.

If you were to only have one Greenwood Vette in the collection, it would still be the Hot Wheels Racing version, which sports the actual racing livery.  But it makes more sense to have all, and considering the premium treatment this model continues to get, that can be hard.  You need the Racing, two basics, a Super TH, the 2015 Nationals Finale Car, and now this mail-in.  Hard to do, but totally worth it.  All are handsome models.

This one is no exception.  The red and grey of this year's exclusive suits it very well.  We will let the photos do the talking...

Hot Wheels '76 Greenwood Corvette (TRU Mail-in Exclusive):

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First Look: The highlights of Hot Wheels Batch K...

Alright enough talk about finding 72 Super Treasure Hunts.  It was fun, and we got A TON of comments, and it was obviously a topic that brought a lot of strong opinions out.  Hopefully we can all understand everyone's perspective.

But let's get back to ogling over some models.  With all the other things to post about (J Case Report coming tomorrow), the K Case models have been piling up.  So we are going to knock them out in one go.

Not that these are models to gloss over.  There are some disappointments (the NSX, which we have already featured, and the Aston, which has an upsloped chin that is worse than originally thought), but there are some gems as well.

But let's get that Aston Martin Vantage GT3 out of the way.  I sometimes read back at what I wrote about a model and think that I was a little harsh.  Models getting some modifications for more play-ability is not a terrible thing at all.

But this Aston.  It's a disaster.  I am shocked that Aston, after Hot Wheels and Matchbox have churned such good looking models, approved this one.  This "ready for the track" trend with Hot Wheels race-oriented models is something I have a lot of thoughts about, and once I organize them I will do a post about it.

But here is the Aston.  Look at your own risk:

Moving on...

Let's go from that thing to what, in my opinion, is the best-looking model of Batch K.   The absolutely stunning Corvette ZR1 in Gulf livery.  We will do a post showing all these models soon, but the Corvette deserves to be shown on its own:

Pretty eh?

Which leads to a couple of other logo cars, the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo and Buick Riviera.  The Riviera is lovely in red, the Evo is just too busy, although the subtle Speedhunters logo you have to look closely to see is pretty cool:

Next, the flames.  Flames get a lot of grief from a lot of collectors, but they have been on big cars and little cars for a long time now, and Hot Wheels now reserves a subset for the flamed cars.  And many are worth getting.  In this batch, its the pickups.  The Chevy C10 finally makes a return, as does the (now called) the '78 Dodge:

And then there is the VW Caddy.  The Escort is great, the BMW M4 is growing on me, and the Acura NSX is, well, we've gone over that enough.  The Caddy?  Awesome choice, awesome execution, and while the orange is more of a signature color, the silver brings out the fantastic detail in the casting.  The Caddy is easily one of the best of 2015:

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