July 2009 News Archive

7/31/09 - Chasing Cars
I hit quite a few stores this afternoon, and for the most part, came up empty. I did, however, see the second wave of the blinky-eyes Cars at several Wal-Mart stores. Some of the new characters with blinky-eyes include Sarge, Fabulous Hudson Hornet, Hydraulic Ramone and Guido, among others. Unfortunately, someone beat me to the chase car, which I believe is the Dinoco McQueen pictured at left (pic found on eBay.)

7/28/09 - Fastest & Furiousest
The fourth entry in the Fast & Furious series arrives on DVD on Tuesday. So what are the final numbers on this blockbuster? According to the website Box Office Mojo:

Domestic Gross: $155,000, 000
Foreign Gross: $194,000,000
For a grand total of almost $350,000,000

How do these numbers compare with the previous entries of this series? It easily topped all three of its predecessors. The first offering, 2001's The Fast & The Furious, ranks second with a domestic take of $144 million. Without any of the stars of the franchise, Tokyo Drift ranks at the bottom with $65 mil.

7/25/09 - Go Greased Lightning!
Thanks to a tip from Steve AKA "Skinnybird," I found these pics posted by "GLH Turbo" in the HobbyTalk Forums. Motor Max has released two dioramas under the Reel Rides brand in 1:43 scale. First up is a scene from the 1978 classic film Grease (above, left.) Next, is a scene from the 1988 film Rain Man (above, right.) Although I don't normally collect 1:43 scale, I won't be able to resist these when I find them. "GLH Turbo" says he found them at WalMart. I hope Motor Max follows these up with 1:64 scale releases, but I won't hold my breath.

7/24/09 - More News from SDCC '09
Visiting the Cars the Toys forum, I discovered more great news from San Diego Comic Con. Forum member JP had a chance to attend preview night at the Comic Con and provided some great pics of upcoming Cars releases from Mattel. It looks like there's SO much stuff coming out over the next several months, including the long-awaited Bessie (above.) Click HERE to visit the Cars the Toys forum and see more pics and info.

7/23/09 - San Diego Comic Con 2009
Exciting news is trickling out of San Diego Comic Con. First up, Seth Rogen was on hand to unveil the Black Beauty from his upcoming Green Hornet movie. It's great to see they are sticking with the Chrysler Imperial similar to the one used on the old TV series, only with many more gadgets, it appears. Maybe this means we'll finally get to see this car in 1:18 scale die-cast. One can only hope. Thanks to Fernando for providing the photo above. More photos and info can be found HERE.

In other news, Mattel has a display at SDCC featuring all sorts of Batman toys. If you click on the link below, you'll see that Mattel plans on covering EVERYTHING in its 1:50 scale Bat-Vehicle line. In the photo, you'll see vehicles from Batman Forever, Batman & Robin, a "shields-up" Batmobile, and MORE. There's even a Bat-Cycle I don't quite recognize. Maybe someone can help me out on that one. Thanks to Steve AKA Skinnybird for the tip.

7/27 UPDATE: I've confirmed through several sources the cycle pictured at SDCC is indeed Batgirl's cycle from 1997's awful Batman & Robin (below.)

7/23/09 - More Than Meets the Eye
I haven't spotted them here yet, but Patrick Mallette reports finding Transformers RPM singles at his local Toys R Us store. Pictured above, from left to right, are Optimus Prime, Bumblebee (2010 Camaro), Megatron and Ratchet. Thanks for the pics and info Patrick. I'll keep my eyes peeled.

7/24 UPDATE: I found the same four singles at my local Toys R Us. Optimus Prime seems to be the exact same vehicle included in the 2-pack, but the other three are new. I've added the following pics to the Transformers Movie Gallery.

7/23/09 - It's Showtime!
I stumbled onto this fantastic Cars gift set at WalMart today. An angry-looking Lightning McQueen has been packaged up with two lovely Dinoco Showgirls. Personally, I wouldn't be so angry surrounded by such beauty, but hey, that's me. It was a nice surprise to find this today.

7/23/09 - "Say hello to my 'lil fren."
I know the '63 Cadillac Series 62 pictured above was released by Jada in 2006. But recently I bought Scarface on DVD and sat down to watch it for the first time in a LONG time. I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end, but it almost came across as a comedy with Al Pacino's over-the-top performance as Tony Montana. Tony's Caddy with its tiger skin seat covers was featured so prominently in the film, I decided to add this 1:64 scale version to my collection. Jada also produced a '68 Chevy Impala, but I prefer the Caddy myself. Would you believe I got it on eBay for $2 plus shipping?

7/20/09 - 1:50 Scale Bat-Vehicles
A couple of days ago, I found the 1:50 scale camo Batmobile from Batman Begins at Toys R Us. Today, I received the Super Friends Batmobile from sponsor Movie Car Mania in the mail. The Super Friends Batmobile is great, but I was expecting it to be a much-lighter blue. It's fairly dark compared to the image on the back of the packaging (above, right.) Still, Mattel's line of 1:50 Bat-Vehicles continues to impress and I'm looking forward to more upcoming releases, such as the Batwing and Bat-Pod. I'm going to have to buy a new display case to show off this great collection.

7/18/09 - Transformers, Let's Roll!
A few months ago, I noticed a solicitation in the toys section of the Previews catalog that showed vehicles from the Transformers movies in vehicle mode. There wasn't much info. I didn't know what scale they were and whether they were die-cast or plastic. Well, thanks to a tip from Daniel Vasquez, I found out they finally hit stores, Toys R Us, to be specific. I found four sets of Transformers RPMs (Robot Powered Machines) and it looks like four more sets will follow. Apparently, they're very close to 1:64 scale, but sadly, they're made of plastic. Disappointing considering the price of $8 per set. Here's what I found:

Underneath each vehicle is an image of the character in robot form (left.) It's interesting that Hasbro included vehicles from BOTH films. Bumblebee appears as the '77 Camaro from the first film, instead of the 2010 Camaro from the sequel. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but I do believe these are the first OFFICIALLY-LICENSED 1:64 scale vehicles released by Hasbro from the Transformers movies, unless you count the Target-exclusive Optimus Prime that was included in Hasbro's Titanium line. The above photos have been added to the Transformers Gallery of this website.

7/17/09 - Holy Half-Off, Batman!
Making the usual toy rounds, I popped into a local Toys R Us and noticed Mattel's 1:18 scale Batmobile was on sale for $14.99. That's half off! If you've held off on picking one up, now is the time to snatch one up! For that price, I grabbed an extra.

7/15/09 - 1:50 Scale Bat-Vehicles
I got an e-mail from sponsor Movie Car Mania alerting me to the arrival of the latest shipment of Mattel's 1:50 scale Batman line. Included in the newest case are a camo version of the Tumbler from Batman Begins and the Batmobile from the animated Superfriends TV series. I can't wait to add these to my collection. Click on the link in the right column to purchase these newest offerings from Movie Car Mania.

7/13/09 - Christmas in July!
The sun may be shining and the kids are at camp, but Hallmark unveiled its line of holiday ornaments this past weekend. I stopped into one of my nearby Hallmark stores and spotted Ecto-1 from Ghostbusters and the Landspeeder from Star Wars. Both are approximately 1:43 scale and made of plastic. The other three that you see above won't be released until October. I'm looking forward to finding Cousin Eddie's RV from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Like Cousin Eddie said, "It's the gift that keeps on giving all year long." Click HERE to see other great ornaments from TV and film.

7/8/09 - Fast & Fury-ous
This Hot Wheels red '57 Plymouth Fury caught my eye, but since it's a Treasure Hunt, and I've NEVER seen a Treasure Hunt in stores, I had to resort to eBay to add this to my collection. The reason it caught my eye is that I believe this is the first red '57 Fury ever made in 1:64 scale. (I know, I know, Johnny Lightning did one as part of its Fright'ning Lightning line, but it was terrible.) As we all know, Christine was a red '57 Fury, even though I'm told by several sources that Plymouth never released a '57 Fury in red. (They used many Plymouth Belvederes in the movie.) Anyhoo, I thought this would be a fun addition to my collection. And despite being a T-Hunt, I only paid a couple of bucks to get it.

7/5/09 - "Top of the world, Ma!"
After seeing Public Enemies I got to wondering why no one has ever done a line of gangster-era automobiles in 1:64 scale. It sounds like something that would be right up the alley of M2 Machines. I sent an e-mail to M2 Machines and here is the response I got:

Thanks for your email and for the compliment as everyone at M2 Machines will say "THANK YOU". I personally would love to do that era of cars and I hope that within the next couple of years that will happen. Remember The Untouchables TV series? Just like the movie Public Enemies the cars would be fantastic. There is a lot of money that would have to be invested in new tooling so we need to do our homework and see if it does make sense. Hope that there will be enough collectors that will buy them. Thank you for your support and have a great 4th of July!!!"

So, my question to you the collector is, "Would you support a line of gangster-era die-cast automobiles?" Pictured above is the 1934 Ford V8 from the movie Bonnie & Clyde. The real-life car is more olive-gray in color. With enough support, this may be our best chance to have this car and others from that era (like police cars) done in 1:64 scale. Vote in the poll below and I'll pass along the results. In the meantime, show your support by e-mailing the company directly at support@m2machines.com

7/1/09 - Public Enemies: My Review
Since I took some time off this week, I decided to catch a matinee this afternoon. Being a huge Johnny Depp fan, I was looking forward to seeing Public Enemies, which opened today. Public Enemies is easily the best movie I've seen this year. In a summer filled with explosions and yelling, it was refreshing to enjoy a movie that was subtle and authentic, with little or no apparent special effects. Johnny Depp is practically guaranteed an Oscar nomination for his understated approach to portraying Public Enemy #1 John Dillinger. Only Depp can evoke charisma and garner sympathy as a murderous, bank-robbing folk hero like Dillinger. Depp's subdued performance only made the film's moments of gunfire and car chases that much more thrilling. This movie will rank among Bonnie & Clyde and The Untouchables as one of the greatest gangster films ever made.

1930's-era cars were featured prominently in this movie, especially the Ford V8 (which was also a favorite of Clyde Barrow of Bonnie & Clyde fame.) It would be great if a die-cast car company, like M2, would give us a line of classic gangster-era cars, complete with bullet holes.

7/1/09 - Holy Heart Attack, Batman!
I popped into a Toys R Us this afternoon intending to pick up Hasbro's TRU exclusive 12" Joker figure (which is spectacular, by the way.) But while browsing the die-cast aisle, I almost had a heart attack when I spotted the 1:87 scale 1966 TV Batmobile! There was only one amongst the other scattered 1:87 Hot Wheels cars, but somehow, whoever had rifled through them earlier must've missed this. The reason my adrenaline was pumping is because this car has been routinely selling for $20 or more on eBay. I've put in bids and have been consistently outbid, so to find this car at retail for $3.99 was startling. Examining it up close, it's amazing how much detail Mattel put into this tiny creation. Check out the pics above. What a great find!

7/2 UPDATE: I've gotten a couple of e-mails regarding the Joker figure I mentioned above. For those of you who haven't seen it, here's a pic (left.) Like I said, it's spectacular. Personally, I feel it's the best likeness of Heath Ledger's character from The Dark Knight that I've seen. Apparently, the version that includes a knife ships one per case.