Post by The Hegemon on May 9, 2023 22:12:37 GMT
I've heard about these but only recently decided to grab one, and luckily I found it the first time I looked for it at my local Walmart. Not exactly the rare collectible that some resellers profess it to be, but YMMV.
Anyway, it's this car:
And they've released it for several years with simple color variations. The car itself isn't very car-ish, basically a flat platform with a 3x7 stud pattern on top, a recessed 1x2 stud mounting on left and right sides, and a 1x3 stud mounting on the front. The rear of the car has a 1x3 stud space but it doesn't really work as a mounting point. As a nice touch, the car fits perfectly in a 4x8 stud footprint.
I applaud the intent here; Mattel is trying to give Hot Wheels fans a way to integrate construction blocks into their 1:64 car hobby. The execution falters a little IMO, but nothing fatal.
I'd prefer that they foreground the Mega aspect a bit more, but Mega doesn't feature anywhere on the packaging or the product. It would be nice to see the Mega imprint on the vehicle or on the modular elements, but it's just smooth like any third-tier construction brick. Also, they could have included a few extra elements; all cars in this series come with a 3x4 windscreen element and a (roughly) 2x3 engine block. Maybe an antenna or a flag or a radar dish or something else to let the user customize the build before they even tap into their construction brick collection.
Mega has, of course, done small scale vehicles in the Need For Speed line as well as Hot Wheels, not to mention a few small Pro-Builder sets back in the day, as well as the even smaller-scale Streetz line. But I'd like to see wider integration of Hot Wheels cars themselves, with maybe a simple vehicle frame on official Hot Wheels axles, with custom panels or bricks or plates to dress up the vehicle.
For that matter, it would be great to see a 1:64 scale city theme, with roads and buildings that ultimately could be made to fit very well with existing Hot Wheels track and sets. They dabbled in this with the Track Builder series a few years ago, but I don't think that they really committed. It was basically a series of track sets with a handful of more or less random Mega bricks thrown in.
And one minor disappointment for me in this set is that the windscreen and engine elements don't have visible part numbers anywhere on them. The engine has GRX43 2019 on the underside, but that's simply the first set in which it appeared, along with the mold date.
Still, for $1.26 it's hard to go wrong, and I'm pleased to see any attempt at intra-brand integration.
Anyway, it's this car:
And they've released it for several years with simple color variations. The car itself isn't very car-ish, basically a flat platform with a 3x7 stud pattern on top, a recessed 1x2 stud mounting on left and right sides, and a 1x3 stud mounting on the front. The rear of the car has a 1x3 stud space but it doesn't really work as a mounting point. As a nice touch, the car fits perfectly in a 4x8 stud footprint.
I applaud the intent here; Mattel is trying to give Hot Wheels fans a way to integrate construction blocks into their 1:64 car hobby. The execution falters a little IMO, but nothing fatal.
I'd prefer that they foreground the Mega aspect a bit more, but Mega doesn't feature anywhere on the packaging or the product. It would be nice to see the Mega imprint on the vehicle or on the modular elements, but it's just smooth like any third-tier construction brick. Also, they could have included a few extra elements; all cars in this series come with a 3x4 windscreen element and a (roughly) 2x3 engine block. Maybe an antenna or a flag or a radar dish or something else to let the user customize the build before they even tap into their construction brick collection.
Mega has, of course, done small scale vehicles in the Need For Speed line as well as Hot Wheels, not to mention a few small Pro-Builder sets back in the day, as well as the even smaller-scale Streetz line. But I'd like to see wider integration of Hot Wheels cars themselves, with maybe a simple vehicle frame on official Hot Wheels axles, with custom panels or bricks or plates to dress up the vehicle.
For that matter, it would be great to see a 1:64 scale city theme, with roads and buildings that ultimately could be made to fit very well with existing Hot Wheels track and sets. They dabbled in this with the Track Builder series a few years ago, but I don't think that they really committed. It was basically a series of track sets with a handful of more or less random Mega bricks thrown in.
And one minor disappointment for me in this set is that the windscreen and engine elements don't have visible part numbers anywhere on them. The engine has GRX43 2019 on the underside, but that's simply the first set in which it appeared, along with the mold date.
Still, for $1.26 it's hard to go wrong, and I'm pleased to see any attempt at intra-brand integration.