Bad to the Blade

This Hot Wheels casting needs no catchy title as Bad to the Blade already has a great name. With the recent release of the Bad to the Blade in the 2013 Hot Wheels Tracks Stars Series as a hidden Treasure Hunt car, I’ve decided to take a look at the origin of this extremely arrow-dynamic “Indy Car”. Before continuing here, watch the Hot Wheels Test Facility video that shows the Bad to the Blade defy gravity.

This fictional video was created by Hot Wheels for promotional use during the Indianapolis 500 on May 29, 2011. As you can see, the Bad to the Blade 1:1 car was created for the purpose of defying gravity for a short period of time. The Bad to the Blade shown in the picture above was the first release of this car in 1:64 scale. This 2012 Team Hot Wheels: High-Speed Wheel version is almost an exact duplicate of the 1:1 version. The only thing that is different are the green high-speed wheels they decided to give the 1:64 scale version. As described in the video, this “Indy Car” has exceptional arrow-dynamics that create a down-forced on top on the car allowing it to essentially “stick” to the track while upside-down.

If there is one cool thing that the Bad to the Blade has over mostly any other Hot Wheel, its that this vehicle HAS a video that demonstrates the 1:1 in action! Thats 1 more video than popular Hot Wheels castings like the Blown Delivery and Convoy Custom have. Without the video this is just another Hot Wheels Designed “Fantasy Casting” but with it, this casting is truly BAD TO THE BLADE!

The HSW Genesis…

HSW standing for High Speed Wheel appears on this Hot Wheels Hyundai Genesis Coupe from the 2012 Team Hot Wheels: High Speed Wheel line. We know of Hot Wheels origin, being that these were originally California Custom Miniature cars released in the late 1960’s and that the brand has gone through many metamorphoses through the years. You had Redlines, Spectraflame Paint, Flying Colors, Super Chromes, Real Riders, First Editions, Treasure Hunts, Race Team Cars, Adult Lines, Faster Than Ever Wheels, and now this, Team Hot Wheels and the High Speed Wheels.

While not receiving a lot of interest from collectors, there were a few that really liked the wheels on these vehicles. Rivaling the “Faster Than Ever” or FTE wheels that originated in 2005, these HSW were just as much built for speed on the Hot Wheels Track System. The wheels were made of acetyl (just like the original redlines), a low-friction material and the axles were nickel-plated, allowing for less friction as well. The wheels were colored to match drivers of the Team Hot Wheels branding. There are, at this time, four teams of drivers–Red, Blue, Green & Yellow. These colors/teams were represented in this line in addition to white and classic black wheels.

“HWC Mark”, an administrator on hotwheelscollectors.com, had the following to say on January 5, 2012:

“This is our new Team Hot Wheels line, and the wheels are meant to represent the different drivers. The Moto aspect is a big part of Team HW, and we felt we needed to include it. The bikes are obviously not meant to go on track. You’ll see four different approaches to the decos in this one – Exhibition (Team HW vehicles as you’ve seen them at events), Racing (how the cars would look if they were deco’d for competition), Testing (a sleek experimental look from the HW Test Facility where the team trains) and Support (ramp trucks, etc. that are there to assist when needed). The wheels do indeed book it, thanks to the nickel plated axles and low-friction acetyl material. It’s a fun line, but the aesthetics are certainly designed more with kids in mind.”

This line barely finished out in 2012, but the branding continued into 2013 and as of now, looks like it’ll continue in 2014. The grunge-style, kid-like, hand-drawn graphics originally designed by designated “flame guy”, Hot Wheels graphic artist Mike McClone, have carried into the mainline into 2013 and across several Hot Wheels lines including Monster Jam. Several collectors have even made notice that this may be the “New Hot Wheels Race Team” and become very collectible just like the original Hot Wheels Race Team vehicles. Only time will tell.

Lastly, the casting featured above, the Hyundai Genesis Coupe was originally released in the 2011 New Models series in blue. It then appeared in white in the aforementioned 2012 Team Hot Wheels High Speed Wheel line. An orange version spottily appeared as a multi-pack exclusive throughout 2013. Another easily obtained car that could spawn a complete casting collection of 3.