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March 2010
News Archive

 

 

 

3/26/10 - Wish List Results!
 With the release of Ecto-1 as part of the Hot Wheels line, the time has come to remove it from the 1:64 scale Wish List.  Now, the first ten cars on the list come from me and that hasn't changed.  But the next ten cars on the list were voted upon by fans of this site.  Instead of just replacing Ecto-1, I asked fans to re-examine all ten cars on the People's Choice list.  The results are in and they're fairly surprising.  There are several new entries on the People's Choice list, including the '71 Nova from Death Proof, the Crown Victoria from MIB, Frankenstein's Mustang from the 2008 version of Death Race, and the Nemo-Mobile from The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.  Of course, to make room for new entries, previous entries had to fall off the list.  Those dropping out of favor with the fans are the AMC Pacer from Wayne's World, the vehicles from Duel, the custom Corvette from Corvette Summer and the cars from the original Death Race 2000.  Thanks to everyone who voted.  Click HERE to see how things fell into place. 

 

 

 

3/23/10 - Fruitless Search ... Almost
 I have the week off, so after having lunch with a friend today I decided to hit as many stores as I could.  I hit 2 Toys R Us stores, 2 Target stores and one WalMart, only to come up with NOTHING!  There was nothing new at any of these places.  As a matter of fact, they looked as if Christmas was just a few days ago.  The pegs were SORELY in need of restocking.  The only thing I did find was at a little hobby store.  Johnny Lightning's '71 Chevy Vega seems to be shipping.  This is the same car I mentioned a while back that is based on the car from the Drew Barrymore movie Never Been Kissed.  The hood looks much better compared to the sample I received from Johnny Lightning back in February. 

 

 

 

3/22/10 - Hey Vern!
 I popped into Target at lunchtime and came across a couple of new Cars characters.  Jay Limo and Vern are shipping as part of the latest "Eyes" wave.  Although I don't really collect the blinky eyes, I picked them up because they're new.  They're also shipping as part of the Final Lap Collection without the blinky eyes, which I'm hoping to find soon, but my local Target stores are still getting the Nick Stickers wave. 

 

 

 

3/19/10 - Kickin' It Old School!
 Stopping into a Toys R Us near work I was surprised to find THIS on the shelf:  Motor Max's 1:43 scale Old School diorama featuring Frank the Tank's '77 Pontiac Firebird.  I heard they were hitting stores, but I didn't know TRU was selling them.  EARMUFFS!   This is one @#$%&* cool diorama!

 

 

 

3/16/10 - 32 Down, 4 to Go!
 I've come one step closer to completing the Cars Speedway of the South set on my own.  Today at WalMart I stumbled across this lone Lightyear Launcher featuring Sidewall Shine. Sidewall Shine was originally offered as a Toys R Us exclusive mail-away, but I just couldn't bring myself to buy a bunch of cars I already had, cut out the proofs-of-purchase, and send away for it.  It's nice to finally have this one in my hands.  If I counted correctly, I now have 32 of the 36 cars that make up the set.  All I'm missing is Faux Wheel Drive, Gask-Its, Tach-O-Mint (which should be hitting stores soon as a launcher) and #84 Apple Car.  I recently had a chance to buy a damaged Apple Car (paint chip on the spoiler) but I just couldn't spend that kind of money on what could possibly have been a custom.  I may end up customizing one myself using a Shifty Drug car.  If you'd like to see all the Speedway of the South racecars that have been released to-date, click HERE.

 

 

 

3/12/10 - Everything but the Monkey
 I've been keeping this bit of news hush-hush until I had one in my hands.  Liberty Classics has released a VERY  limited (under 300 pieces) run of a 1:64 scale version of the Kenworth K-100 Aerodyne from the TV series B.J. & The Bear (1979-1981).  The truck is incredibly detailed, right down to the name Billy Joe McKay imprinted on the doors.  There is, however, one glaring error.  The top of the semi cab just doesn't match up to the truck seen in the TV series.  If you can get past this flaw and if you can afford the $40 price tag (plus shipping) then you'll want to add this piece to your collection.

 

 

 

 

3/12/10 - In the Mood
 With a few exceptions, I've been pretty much passing on the Cars Haulers.  I just don't have the room right now and they're just too darn expensive.  But while visiting Target a few days ago, this one caught my eye.  The striking blue hauler from team Mood Springs found its way into my collection.  I'm really looking forward to pairing this one up with Wrecked Mood Springs, which should be hitting stores soon, if not already.

 

In other Cars news, the latest version of Lightning McQueen from the Cars Toon line just might be the next big peg warmer.  I walked into a WalMart store to see dozens of Burnt Lightning McQueens clogging the pegs, but upon closer inspection, I noticed that most of them were SOAKED Lightning McQueens!  I could barely tell them apart, and I can't imagine most kids or parents will be able to, either. 

 

 

3/8/10 - 2010 Bandit Awards!
 The results are in!  The votes have been cast and tabulated and the winners have been determined in the 2010 Hollywood Die-Cast Bandit Awards!  The races were incredibly close in some categories, especially the Best Actor race.  Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to everyone who voted.   And now, without further adieu, here are the winners:

 

 

Best Car Movie from 2009 - Fast & Furious takes the honor of Best Movie with  32% of the vote.  Zombieland came in a close second.

Best Car Chase or Racing Scene from a 2009 Movie - The Fast & Furious final chase through the tunnels received an impressive 46% of the vote to come out on top.

Best Movie Car of 2009 (stock or slightly modified) - Bumblebee, the 2010 Camaro from Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen received 22% of the votes and was voted the best car by fans by a narrow margin.

Best Movie Car of 2009 (original creation or heavily customized) - Fast & Furious completed its trifecta when Dom's customized '69 Charger received 47% of the votes to be named the best customized car of 2009.

Best Actor/Actress from a 2009 Movie - In what was the closest battle of the Bandit Awards, the award for Best Actor went to Liam Neeson for his performance in Taken.  It was actually a three-way tie up until the final moment. 

Best Car from a 2009 Television Series or TV Movie - Winning by the widest margin out of all the categories, AND winning for the second  year in a row, KITT from Knight Rider wins Best TV Car.  Since Knight Rider has been canceled, KITT won't be able to pull off the three-peat next year.

Best Individual Die-Cast Car from 2009 (any scale) - The single die-cast car named the BEST by fans with a WHOPPING 55% of the vote is Mattel's Hot Wheels 1:87 TV Batmobile.  Not only is it a thing of beauty, but has been VERY difficult to find in stores, making it coveted by collectors. 

Best Die-Cast Line from 2009 (any scale) - And finally, the Bat-Love continued with fans naming Mattel's line of 1:50 scale Batman Vehicles as the best of 2009 with 22% of the vote.