Friday the 13th

Another Friday the 13th is upon us. Friends of mine, have all types of “rituals” they do for fun on this supposively “cursed” day. From getting $13 tattoos to watching horror movies, my friends seem to embrace this floating holiday. This Friday the 13th happens to land in September meaning retail stores are in full-force Halloween mode. I decided to wander out to my local Fry’s Food Store, a Kroger brand store, and look for the new Halloween cars that were exclusive to Kroger stores this year.

While this years batch has great graphics and even have a zombie washing the Hot Wheels Bone Shaker on the blister card, 4 of the 5 castings chosen were some of the same old Halloween castings–Gangster Grin, Fangula, Evil Twin & Rigor Motor. While I normally grab a set of the Halloween cars every year, I passed this year because they are priced at $2.50 each at my local Fry’s. The 5th Casting, I went ahead and purchased since it was a new casting with an excellent paint job and a cool feature.

The Hiway Hauler 2 shown above was the one Halloween casting I opted to purchase. It has only been released once before as a 2012 New Model which was one of the few 2012 New Models I never found on the pegs of any of my local retailers. Besides being a casting that had previously eluded me, the colors on this hauler look great and I like the “Halloween Horror Show” graphics on the side of the box. The box itself does look a little weird being an off-white on a black and orange vehicle, BUT this is the kicker; the box GLOWS-IN-THE-DARK! Certainly not the first Hot Wheel to glow in the dark, but a very cool feature to say the least. Put on your 8-year-old set of eyes and imagine a glow-in-the-dark vehicle going around a Hot Wheels track with the lights off! That would be a sight to see.

While the Hiway Hauler 2 won’t work with most Hot Wheels tracks, the others in this 5-car series will all work quite well. The 2013 Halloween Hot Wheels Series is currently available at Kroger stores so venture out, avoid black cats, and pick up this set including the Hiway Hauler 2.

A Super 8 Crate

Had your attention with the word “SUPER” in the title? Well, rolling with the DC Comics theme from yesterday, we have the Hot Wheels 8 Crate from the Superman line. The Superman line was released in May exclusively at Kroger stores in the United States. This one-off line of several Superman decorated vehicles was released in May to coincide with the premiere of the newest Superman movie, “Man of Steel”. While there were six cool cars sporting the Superman “S” logo and even 1 all-green “Kryptonite” car, this 8 Crate shown above got my attention.

The 8 Crate was originally released as a 2003 First Edition and was Hot Wheels Designer Phil Riehlman’s take on a Custom ’50s Ford Wagon complete with an 8-Cylinder crate engine in the back–hence the name 8 Crate. Often released in a two-tone paint job, this Superman 8 Crate was no different. Metalflake Blue on top with a gloss white bottom held together with a red stripe down the side.

Try and seek out all the versions of the 8 Crate as there have been over 30 versions (including variations) of this vehicle released since 2003, not to mention a separate panel version of the 8 Crate which made its debut in the Hot Wheels Delivery line.

10-Second Car?!?!?

The Toyota Supra, a new Hot Wheels model for 2013, was released with licensed graphics that appeared on the popular ’94 Toyota Supra from the 2001 movie, The Fast and the Furious. Driven by Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) in the movie, this car went toe-to-toe with Dominic Toretto’s (Vin Diesel) ’70 Dodge Charger.

Released as a mainline as part of the HW City – Street Power Series, this version (left) lacks the detailing that the Fast & Furious Walmart Exclusives version (right) had—which was disappointing considering both retailed for $1. However, the Fast & Furious Walmart version was definitely less common as than the mainline version. This may be because Hot Wheels marketing decided to take less of a profit to produce these limited cars with extra details and/or a last-minute decision was made to add these details (base codes are 4 weeks apart). See below for the difference of details from the back end. Notice those iconic taillights!

Still, this is one way cool car that had a major role in a popular racing movie and it could be yours for a dollar. Now who has a downhill track for a Supra/Charger rematch?

Sunday Funday

The Fig Rig is a new 2013 Hot Wheel that had collectors talking right away! Released in the HW Stunt – Stunt Circuit Series, this Hot Wheels truck brings a new take on customization. You can literally add on to this truck many Lego or Mega Blocks items—or as it may have been intended, figures. You know, for stunt riding as the name of the series implies. With a partially-exposed engine, you can add pieces or figures onto the hood. There are another two in the truck, as well as “hand grips” on the roof and spoiler (see above pic).

Shortly after this casting starting showing up at retailers, Hot Wheels and Mega Blocks announced a lineup for Hot Wheels Mega Blocks products. Every boy and collector alike had waited for the day he or she could use their Legos/Mega Blocks with their Hot Wheels cars—including this collector! Back in the day, I would use Legos to form garages for my Hot Wheels. Legos were also nice to use to build features, such as jumps, along my downhill track.

The Mega Blocks figure in the picture above was released as a Comic Con San Diego Exclusive this year. I was able to secure one on eBay for $5.50 shipped. As you can see, he makes a great stunt rider for the Fig Rig. Hot Wheels Mega Blocks are now in stores (in the Mega Blocks section) as well as the Hot Wheels Fig Rig shown above. Look for the yellow version of the Fig Rig coming in September/October of this year.