The Zamac party continues…
When Hot Wheels 2016 Batch E hits Walmarts here in the next few days, it will mark the start of the fourth year of Walmart Zamac exclusives. Once again, every other 2016 batch, starting with E, will contain three mainline models with no paint and different colored deco, if the model has deco at all, and they will only be found at Walmart. Look for the Ford Fiesta in Heralda’s deco, the flamed Pontiac Firebird, and Corvette Stingray.
Since they were introduced 2013, I have been a huge fan of the Zamacs. The unpainted look is perfect on Hot Wheels, and with very few exceptions the model selections are spot-on. Some are Hot Wheels original castings, but most are licensed models, and they selections span all kinds of auto interests. Old, new, classics, supercars, Japanese, German, Italian, Brazilian, muscle, gassers, trucks, hot rods, you name it. Oh, and a shitload of Camaros.
We have had some casting repeats, some similar brands of vehicle types, some models that were Supers in the same year, and some First Editions or New Models. Oh, and a shitload of Camaros.
I have even had a few favorites. While the Skylines were great, I think these three take the cake:
And with 18 each year, the possibilities of more popular castings baring it all gets fun to speculate on. Kool Kombi? Datsun Wagon? Urban Outlaw 356A? Jun’s Z? You never know.
Zamacs didn’t debut with the Walmart exclusives. Special Zamac models have been around before. I remember a Convention set from about 10-12 years ago that was hard to complete, and there was a special mainline set in 2004>, which starred the hot casting of the time, the ’69 Charger. Hot Wheels, and Matchbox even, have released unpainted models since then as well, highlighted by the Speed Machines Ferrari 599XX:
But they have hit their peak with Walmart. Before the Zamacs, Walmart exclusives were mostly mainline models in a different color than their standard releases. The most famous of those would be the satin red Bugatti Veyron:
There were also basic models that sported different wheels, like redlines or BF Goodrich wheels. These were fun to collect, but ultimately not much different than their mainline counterparts. I am guessing most people had no idea they were looking at an exclusive when perusing the bins.
But the Zamacs are unique, and hard to ignore. And at least for me, many times the Zamac is the best version of that casting that particular year. So you can guess I am happy to see them again in 2016.
But before we get to the 2016 Zamacs in a few weeks, let’s look back at last three years of Zamacs. Meaning let’s look at all 54 that have been released at Walmart since 2014. It is an impressive list, with some very cool cars, some of which you might have forgotten about. One way or the other, these are superfun to collect. There are even a few variations, which we didn’t cover here.
There are two ways to see all 54. There is a video I produced for the Lamley YouTube Channel below, and below that is a photo of all 54. I have them in order of release – they are always released in groups of three – from oldest to newest. I think you will enjoy looking at these.
And by the way, if you want to collect these, or fill in some gaps, Have fun perusing.
Enjoy…
All 54:
2013:
2014:
2015:
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