| 2001 First Editions |
 |
020 MS-T Suzuka; 28745 |
Here
is a very aggressive looking sports coupe, complete with a high-flying rear wing and lots
of contemporary styling. Painted lime green metallic, yellow/black/metallic silver tampo,
"I I I E T 2", smoked windows, black interior, new 5 spoke wheels, black plastic
base; Made in Malaysia. |
 |
021 Panoz LMP-1 Roadster S; 28744 |
Here
is the roadster version of the Lemans Prototype Panoz, a moderately successful car that
competes in the American Lemans series. This one is painted red, with
green/blue/white/black tampo, Panoz badge, American flag, "Panoz Racing School",
"11", "Hella", black interior, lace wheels, black plastic base; Made
in Malaysia. |
 |
023 Dodge Viper GTS-R; 28743 |
The
Viper continues the tradition of blood-raw sports-muscle car tradition. This is a pretty
good likeness of the concept car, even the stripes are accurate. This does however
represent a missed opportunity as the new 5-spoke wheels are very similar to the wheels on
the real concept car and would have looked very nice on this model. It has red paint,
silver metallic tampo (double racing stripe), clear windows, black interior, 5 spoke
wheels, black plastic base; Made in Malaysia. |
 |
039 Riley & Scott Mk II; 28765 |
When
I first saw this car I thought it was a variation on the Cadillac LMP but it is, in fact a
new car. The resemblance could be due to the fact that both cars were designed and
manufactured by Riley & Scott, famed vendors of prototype cars to the IRC and LeMans
communities. This car is painted in blue metallic, with red/white/orange/metallic silver
tampo, large Hot Wheels logo, checkered flags, various sponsor markings, white wing and
interior, lace wheels, black plastic base; Made in Malaysia. |
| Anime |
 |
061 Muscle Tone; 50096 |
I
don't know anything about Anime except to say that it has a very dedicated following. I
will leave it to them to decide if the decorations on these Anime-inspired vehicles are
worthy. This variation of the Muscle Tone is emerald green metallic, with silver/gold
metallic/black/green tampo, Anime character, "Unit Four", white interior, yellow
windows, directional 3 spoke wheels, black plastic base; Made in Malaysia. |
 |
062 Ford GT90; 50097 |
This
car sports a nice color scheme with white paint, silver/gold metallic/blue/black tampo,
Anime character, "Unit Three", blue windows, gray interior, new 5 spoke wheels,
bare metal base; Made in China. |
 |
063 Dodge Charger R/T; 50098 |
Another
interesting interpretation of the Anime styling with orange metallic paint, black/green
metallic/brink red/white tampo, Anime character, "Unit Two", "R/T",
black interior, green windows, 3 spoke wheels, black plastic base; Made in Malaysia. |
| 2001 Final Run |
 |
2 55 Chevy; 26993 |
After
a break, we are being treated to another series of Final Run vehicles, subjects that are
being discontinued. No matter how you look at it, there are some nice cars in this series.
I was really surprised to find that the '55 Chevy was among those slated for oblivion.
This one is painted in a two-toned white/orange, with silver tampo, stylized flame
graphic, black-out windows, "Hot Wheels BAD 55" number plate, painted grill,
head and tail lights, "55 Final Run" Real Riders with chrome hub wheels, white
plastic base; Made in Thailand. |
 |
3 Gulch Stepper; 26994 |
It's
been a while since this 4x4 has been part of the regular series. I am sorry to see it go,
but is going out in style with yellow paint, black/white/silver/red tampo, painted details
including head and tail lights, gas cans, spare tire and roof, zebra stripes, 'Final
Run", black-out windows, "fr" "Final Run" off-road directional 3
spoke wheels, yellow painted metal base; Made in Thailand. |
 |
4 Ramp Truck; 26995 |
With
the Tow Jam doing a good job hauling our broken-down Hot Wheels vehicles, I guess it's
time to retire this old faithful. It is painted with gold metallic,
red/white/black/gold/silver tampo, "FR", "24/7 Towing", "Final
Run", detail painted features including grill, lights, tools and equipment, black-out
windows, Real Riders with chrome hubs, wheels black painted metal base; Made in Thailand. |
 |
6 Porsche 911; 26997 |
This
is a very nicely done version of this long-running model. I am sorry to see this one go.
Blue metallic, silver tampo, "Final Run", "FINRUN 2M1 911, painted head and
tail lights, Porsche badge, clear windows, black interior, gold Pro Circuit 5 spoke
wheels, blue painted metal base; Made in Thailand. |
| Rat Rods |
 |
059 Phaeton; 50094 |
This
car has subtle styling and equally subdued decoration: flat brick red, red/black tampo,
flames, clear windows, black roof and interior, regular white wall wheels, painted black
metal base; Made in China. |
 |
060 Shoe Box; 50095 |
This
is one of my favorites this time around. Somehow the color works. It is also nice to see
the white-walls coming back into use after a couple years of retirement. This '49 Ford is
painted in flat lavender, has black/orange/white tampo, "Lucky Nines", dice,
pinstripes, chrome engine and interior, blue tinted windows, regular white wall wheels,
chrome plastic base; Made in Malaysia. |
| Rod Squadron |
 |
065 Dodge Daytona Charger; 50100 |
This
car appears to be inspired by a fighter jet. The simulated aluminum body with rivets is
well done. It is painted silver metallic, sports black/white/yellow tampo, a fighter
motif, "Night Prowler" with black cat perched on 8-Ball, "Mildred",
checker pattern on rear wing and nose, clear windows, black interior, lace wheels, black
plastic base; Made in Malaysia. |
| Rick from Sayville, NY writes: Love your articles in Toy Cars and Models, it's the reason why I subscribe to the
magazine. I wanted to bring up a subject that I haven't seen in your articles.
Out here on Long Island, I'm noticing many card variations but no car variations.
Maybe you can check it out. Here is my list so far....
| School Bus |
41 |
Rigor Motor |
| Sol Aire |
42 |
Ambulance |
| Firebird |
43 |
Speed Blaster |
| Camaro |
44 |
Combat Medic |
Also,
| #120 |
SLK Mercedes and Hammered
Coupe |
| #39 |
MKIII and Mustang |
| #105 |
Demon and '57 Chevy |
This of course, is wreaking havoc on my
pre-planned wall space at work... The Horror!
Paul responds: The packaging is
notorious for changing. This year it is compounded by the fact that Mattel restarted
the collector numbers in 2000 and again in 2001. So if you look closely you can see
that the collector number is also marked with the year. I was a little surprised by
this, and maybe even a tad disappointed. I would have been happy to see the numbers
keep on rolling upward from where they started in 1989 but I forgot to send in my vote...
(just kidding, I don't have a vote). You probably also noticed that the way the
packages are labeled, as well as the graphics have changed, and some cars can be found on
both the old and the new style packages. For anyone who wanted to get all the 2000
cars on the "old" style packages, or wants to get all the 2001 cars on the
"new" style packages, this is also tricky. No one really knows for sure if
that can be done! I guess that is one of the things that makes this fun. |
Paul M. Provencher
http://whitemetal.com
ppro@whitemetal.com
Click here to see a selection of
Die Cast Collector books from Amazon.com
|
