This Blog presents cool photographs of die-cast cars. I am dedicated to photographing die-cast cars of all shapes and sizes. I feature photos of die-cast cars from Action, Bburago, Hot Wheels, Johnny Lightning, Matchbox, Maisto, and many other sources. Ideally, I'd like to show a cool new photograph of a die-cast car every day!
If you want a Corvette C7 Z06 Convertible, it helps to have $60,000 to $80,000 available. If your budget can't accommodate it, you can downsize your Corvette dream to a more manageable $1 or so for this Hot Wheels version.
Since this pocket-sized version doesn't have a 6.2 liter V-8 pumping out 650 horsepower, it sits easily atop the gas pump. The full-sized version would get about 13 miles per gallon in the city and 23 miles per gallon on the highway.
No matter what size your Corvette comes in, it always looks fast!
This is my Hot Wheels Volkswagen Käfer Racer. In yellow, it's a fantastic little car that really stands out in any Hot Wheels collection.
Hot Wheels Volkswagen Käfer Racer.
Amazingly, according to the Hot Wheels Fandom site, this car was inspired by real life race cars that competed in the Fun Cup, custom V-8 Volkswagens, and a Porsche race car.
In my night time photographs, I like the way this Hot Wheels combines whimsy and menace in one little package.
Hot Wheels Volkswagen Käfer Racer.
Hot Wheels Photography Tip:
If you want your car to look like it would in a well-lit parking lot, take your photo in a well-lit parking lot. Streetlights provide awesome lighting for Hot Wheels photography.
I took my latest Matchbox car to the tire store recently. It's a Matchbox 1935 Ford Pickup Hot Rod. I took a few photos while getting a tire on my car patched. As the sun was climbing in the early morning sky, it provided some nice lighting for a couple of quick photos.
Matchbox 1936 Ford Pickup (profile)
While the silhouette in the rising sun conveys a feeling about this model, a photo from home does a little more justice to the details of this miniature masterpiece. This car model is number 5 out of the 20 cars in the MBX Construction series and number 21 out of 100 for 2019.
At the garage, the tires on display provide an interesting background and automotive theme for photographs.
Of course, with a Matchbox car, it's easier to throw the truck on the back of a tire than to throw a tire in the back of the truck. What an amazing level of detail!
While this little Matchbox model isn't made to run on any kind of plastic track sets, it does have a mean face to show the world.
This morning sun photo provides enough light and shadow to show even more detail on the cars front end. I love the drab rat rod style paint color. I can imagine this car starting out as a barnfind for sure! This is a well-done Matchbox car!
From any angle, the Matchbox 1935 Ford Pickup is a winning model!
The Matchbox 2019 MBX Roadtrip '55 Cadillac Fleetwood has to be the official Cadillac of Summer. It's a pink dream parked alongside a tasty treat from Baskin-Robbins. It is the perfect pink Cadillac to conjure up the Ghost of Elvis and the good times we've been missing this Covid kaboshed summer.
This car is very nicely detailed for a Matchbox car with hot pink colors set off with serious tires and rims. It's number 15 out of the 20 car MBX Road Trip series and car 11 out of 100 for 2019. This Cadillac may be pink, but it is perfect for any collection of little die-cast cars.
If you like this pink Cadillac, you should see the other Pink Cadillac in my collection!
Here's my mid-life crisis car--a Chevrolet Corvette C7 Z06. Against the backdrop of brilliant red, it looks like it's out on the town and racing towards excitement. With a 650 horsepower V-8, this 'vette should get there plenty fast.
Of course, this Hot Wheels Corvette is a tad small to serve as a mid-life crisis car, but then I've always found real Corvettes to be a tight squeeze so it works out.
So where was this Corvette off too? What was its exciting destination? I'll reveal a Hot Wheels photography secret. There was no fancy backdrop.
This little Corvette was headed to the drive thru window at my local Wendy's one evening when I took these shots. The walls that serve as a backdrop are merely the exterior walls of a newly remodeled Wendy's fast food restaurant. The lighting was from streetlights nearby. When you hit a fast food joint with a $1 Hot Wheels car in your pocket, you don't have to worry about burger or fry grease. For more information on this Corvette, visit the Chevrolet website for the 2019 Corvette Z06.
To buy a real Corvette, check this out:
Sometimes you have to take advantage of beauty when it presents itself. For example, this butterfly came to visit when I was hosing off my car. It seemed to enjoy the damp pavement and cool water so I took the opportunity to take a photo of the butterfly with my Hot Wheels Plymouth Barracuda hot rod.
Since I don't have much of a budget to hire models to pose with my cars, I let this model take a quick spin to show off.
For the real thing, check out this hot rod Plymouth Barracuda on Youtube!
I recently had a chance to take my Hot Wheels Bone Shaker pickup out on the town. It's definitely one of the best looking out of the box Hot Wheels cars.
It's no wonder that the Bone Shaker has captured the imagination. It's been brought into the Forza Horizon 3 video game universe as shown here:
I took my Bone Shaker hot rod down to the Tire Shop and saved $1000 on tires when it was revealed that a 99 cent die-cast car has plastic wheels and tires that never need to be changed.
While I think it looks great as a car that fits in the pocket, the Hot Wheels Bone Shaker has also been recreated for real life car collections. This article on Sunset Garage covers a real life version of the car.
When you've got a MOPAR 6.1 liter Hemi V-8 under the hood, you're going to need to some maintenance. That's probably why it's no surprise to find this Hot Wheels Dodge Challenger SRT8 at a local garage. With 425 horsepower on tap, the owner may need to get some tires and brakes, too!
Hot Wheels 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8
Powered by a monstrous V-8 engine, the Dodge Challenger SRT8 is a thirsty beast. It gets about 13 miles per gallon in the city and 18 on the highway. Fortunately, diecast versions are far more economical. While the Hot Wheels approximately 1/64 scale casting is great, I also had a larger 1/24 scale Dodge Challenger SRT8 from Maisto. It was nice for a modestly priced model and allowed for the display of more detail. You can read a review of the Maisto model here. If you'd like to hear the rumble of the Hemi and see a full-size Dodge Challenger SRT8 test drive, check this video out:
The new Challenger has brought a lot of excitement to the Dodge lineup. It's retro-design successfully evokes the Dodge Challenger muscle cars of the past. With all that history and all that horsepower, it's a great model to add to any diecast car collection.
Build Your Own Dodge Challenger SRT8
If you'd like to hand-build your own diecast model of the Dodge Challenger SRT8, you can get a Maisto model in kit form, One advantage of the kit is that it provides a couple of different wheel styles to choose from and it only has 33 parts. The kit is available from Amazon.
The 1968 Chevy Nova SS packed a 350 cubic inch V-8 or optionally a 396 cubic inch V-8 that generated up to 375 horsepower. When properly sorted, the Nova is a contender. There are plenty of hot rods soldiering on at drag strips all over the country. It's a great car for Hot Wheels to model.
Hot Wheels '68 Chevy Nova
This Hot Wheels Speed Graphics 68 Chevy Nova is car 7 out of 10 in the Speed Graphics line. The car simply looks beautiful in the setting sun.
While I haven't seen any evidence that Gulf Oil sponsored a Chevy Nova on the tracks, this car is definitely evidence that a Chevy Nova would have looked great in the livery.
HW '68 Chevy Nova - Gulf Oil Colors
From any angle this Nova is a fine looking model, it's a great addition to any Hot Wheels collection.
