Which is the best of the recent hyper-premium (RLC and above) Porsche 911s from Hot Wheels and Matchbox?

Recently, several hyper-premium (RLC-quality) Porsche 911s have been released, including:

1. an ultra-expensive Hot Wheels "Mattel Creations" Daniel Arsham Porsche 930 (late '70's 911 Turbo) in white, 

2. a Hot Wheels "RLC Exclusive" Porsche 964 911 "Magnus Walker" "Urban Outlaw" in mint green, 

3. a "Matchbox Collectors" 1980 Porsche 911 Turbo in a pepto-bismal pink.  

All of these cars originally retailed on the Hot Wheels/Matchbox Collectors website for $30+ (including shipping) (the Arsham Porsche was twice that amount), and all sold out immediately.  I bought them on Ebay after the fact, and had to pay roughly $40 each for the 2 less expensive ones, and $130 for the Arsham Creations one.  

Just a few years ago I couldn't imagine ever paying more than $10 for a single car.  And now, I'm writing a blog entry about 3 cars - 2 of which were $40 and 1 of which was $130?!?  Seriously?!?  

So given the relatively insane price points of all of these cars, you'd be forgiven for wondering whether ANY of them are worth the price, and, if you were just going to splurge for 1 of them, which one was the nicest...  

So let me cut to the chase.  They are ALL extremely nice.  All of the paint jobs are spectacular.  All are wonderful models. If you can afford (stomach?) the price points to buy them all, then buy them all.  Period.  

But there are a lot more questions that you may have, such as:

1.  Are they actually worth $40 to $130 each?  

Well, that completely depends on your own financial circumstances and views on toy car value.  But I can at least assure you that they are "nice" models.  

2.  But more importantly - which is nicer?  How do they stack up?  If you were to only buy 1 of them, which should you buy?  

For this question, I have an easy answer for you.  Third place is clearly the pink Matchbox.  Its a nice model, but it just can't compete with the 2 Hot Wheels cars.  So if you don't want to buy them all - then cut out the Matchbox first.  

The race between first and second place is much closer, and so close that it may come down to personal preference, but for me, the ultra-expensive white Arsham studio car wins out over the green 964.  If you only buy 1 car, buy the white 930.  On the other hand, if value for the money is considered, then the green 964 easily wins - since it is just 1/3 the price point of the white 930 - but almost its equal.  

There you have it - that's my judgment!  

Now read on - for a more detailed description of each of the cars!

Pink Matchbox:  This is a very nice car.  In fact, if you view it on its own, you'll really like it, with a nice casting body, amazing paint, and great wheels.  Viewed on its own, the "gotta-have-it" factor definitely kicks in.

The paint detail is amazing - the rear lights detail is the best of the 3.  The deep-dish FUCHS wheels are period correct - even if I'm not crazy about the superman blue color of them.  The opening doors is a nice touch.  Finally - the thickness of the whaletail rear-spoiler feels just perfect - I didn't realize that other whale tail spoilers were way too thick and clunky until I looked at this Matchbox one in detail..

There ARE a few negatives...:  Most importantly - I think the casting is a reused casting from the earlier "moving parts" series.  While the moving parts 911 turbo was a nice casting, this materially more expensive version of the same casting doesn't give you much more to justify the higher price tag.  Are you really willing to shell out $40 to get what is basically a color variation (albeit - a very nice color variation) of a casting that you probably already have?!?  

Plus, the base is PLASTIC, which feels pretty cheapy at this price level.  The color choice for the black interior is unfortunate - the 2 Hot Wheels interiors are lighter with tons of painted-in detail, making the Matchbox's straight black somber interior seem cheap in comparison.  And finally, while the overall paint quality is great and the color scheme works, I just can't quite decide how I feel about a pepto-bismal-pink 911...!  

Again, while the prior paragraphs may make me sound as though I'm not a fan of this model, it's not true.  It is a VERY nice model.  But its not perfect - and its just not quite in the same league as the even NICER Hot Wheels models.  That all makes it an easy 3rd place finish.  

That leaves us with the 2 Hot Wheels premium models - a 964 against a 930, and this time the race is CLOSE.  Both models are absolute exquisite, almost jewel-like in their detail.  

The green 964 initially catches your eye more than the white 930 - mostly because of the mirror-like reflective quality to the paint.  But actually the paint is SO reflective that it is a little unrealistic, such that AFTER that first initial impression, I began to be less high about the paint.  

The opening trunk is a nice touch , with a highly detailed engine bay.  I love the custom after-market gold wheels (though I've read other internet commentary that didn't like the wheels).  The interior is beige, but with an absolutely beautiful tartan insert on the seats that just takes it over-the-top.  With its metal base, the model has a nice heft that the plastic base Matchbox can't touch.  Overall, this is an amazing model - well worth even the $30-40 entry purchase price - and it's hard to imagine that anything could beat it. 

But then you look at the white Arsham studio 930...   ...and...  ...you just can't take your eyes off of it!  The white paint is...  ...amazing...?  ...flawless...?  ...perfect in execution and choice of color...?  How much more complementary can I get about it?

Simply put - I love the color.  In addition, the paint detail is equally great/perfect.  

The wheels are beyond perfect (aside from the tires oddly saying "Arsham Studio" on them when they should say "Pirelli" or "Goodyear").  I absolutely love the choice of wheels/design of the wheels.  

The interior is off white - with beautiful contrasting seating surface trim.  I couldn't imagine having a nicer interior - that is until I compare it to the 964's interior - with its amazing tartan inserts (c'mon Hot Wheels - why couldn't you have given us those Tartan inserts on this car?!?).    

So, in sum, the Arsham 911 wins, eclipsing even the amazing 964 (albeit for a LOT more money).  

Again - all 3 cars are great pieces.  If you have the funds, buy all of them.  If you can only buy 1, splurge for the Arsham 930.  If you can't afford the Arsham, then buy the 964.  You can't go wrong with any of them!

New Matchbox castings that repeat old castings finally are legitimate contenders to Lesney models!

I really dislike when Matchbox makes a new model of a car they've modeled before...   Invariably its a more plasticky and poorly done version of an excellent Lesney version.

About 10 years ago they issued new castings of a '68 Marcus Cougar, a Lotus Europa, a VW Microbus, and others.  In every instance the new car was poorly done.  I always wondered why people would buy these new guady and plastic creations, when the high quality originals are so easily available on EBay for just a few dollars in fair/good condition?

But I also dislike it because each time they do it, Matchbox throws away an opportunity to do something truly new.  With so many cars that have never been modeled (how many Nissan Altima's have you seen in 1/64 scale?), it seems a pity to do a second rate job of something that has already been done well.  Why make a second casting of a Lotus Europa when Matchbox could do a Lotus Evora instead?

Well, Matchbox is up to it again, making new models of cars that were done during the Lesney years.  Except this time, the new models are premium 50th anniversary models, with a $5.50 price tag.  And this time, the quality is indeed better...  Which made me ask the question - of whether any of these new models of previously modeled cars are actually and finally better than the original Lesney models?

The first model in question is my least favorite of the 4 new castings being compared today - a VW Microbus.  Interestingly, this is an earlier version than the late '60s one they did 10 years ago - this one is a 1950s version.  But even more interestingly - during the Lesney years Matchbox also made a 1950s version AND a later 1970s version of the Microbus, meaning that modern Matchbox has now made TWO new versions of older Lesney castings...  And even more interestingly - the original Lesney 1950s microbus actually came in 2 versions itself - the green version with the low roof, and the silver version with the raised roof.

To be honest, I never was crazy about either of these two original Lesney 21 window Microbuses.  Maybe its that they never came in superfast form?  Regardless, this might be a good opportunity for the new casting to finally be declared better than the original.  But the Microbus is also my least favorite of the 4 new castings as well...

The new casting is a red and white Microbus, with opening doors.  The paint looks pretty good - but somehow my impression of it is poor.  It just looks and feels like a toy rather than a model.  It doesn't feel like metal rather than plastic.  The wheels are too wide, etc., etc.

Overall, when it comes to the new microbus, I'm not crazy about the new casting.  Even though I'm not crazy about the old Lesney versions either - they remain better than the new version.  Given the choice between a new Microbus for $5.50 from WalMart, or a reasonable condition original for $5.50 on EBay - take the EBay version...





Next up is a bit harder of a comparison.  The original Lesney 300SE is a beautiful and high quality casting.  It came with BOTH opening doors AND an opening trunk and was available in blue and green - and then in gold in the superfast version (though oddly many lost the opening doors in the transformation) - (and later an army staff car (though now also losing the opening trunk)).

The new version is a pretty dark red color and comes with opening doors.  It looks pretty nice - but quite simply doesn't have the heft or presence of the original Lesney versions.  Conclusion - go ahead and buy the new one - but not until you have first bought the original Lesney version.

 Next up - a new version of the VW type 3.  This new version has a REALLY cool matte white paint job - one of the coolest paint jobs of any modern Matchbox car.  Plus the gold wheels add a super-sporty touch.  The combination of the paint job and wheels manage to make one of the LEAST POWERFUL AND LEAST SPORTY CARS EVER actually look powerful and sporty....  This is a COOL model!  You should buy it!

But is it better than the original Lesney version (shown in beat up red regular wheels, or a better condition plum superfast version)?  As regular readers know - I'm a big fan of the Lesney Transitional Superfast cars with thier silky soft suspensions combined with original Lesney detail quality - so its really hard to rank a new modern example  as better than the Lesney version.  But maybe its a high enough compliment to simply declare that while the new version can't quite unseat the original version - at least it made it a close and interesting fight...

 ...which brings us to our final comparison - of a late '70s Porsche 911 Turbo.  This Lesney casting for me (shown in silver and royal blue - though many other colors were available) is one of the most iconic Lesney Matchbox castings ever made.  It's a beauty of a casting both in look and feel, with opening doors and a tow hook (since EVERYONE tows their boat with their 911....).  (Just kidding....  I own a real 911 and a real boat - and I've NEVER considered using the 911 as my boat's tow vehicle...).

But the new dark blue casting is a worthy contender - sized exactly right and spot-on size with the original Lesney casting.  The doors open and the paint detail is incredible.  Even more than with the VW Type 3, the competition is tight and tough.

The original Lesney versions still have a more solid heft and feel - and their doors close with a more satisfying click...   ...but the paint detail on the new one is so good that it makes up for the difference in heft.  In addition, I've noticed that some of the later original 911 turbos (made actually by Matchbox International rather than Lesney - in fact the royal blue one in the photos is a Matchbox International version) somehow seem to have less precise metal/metal detail.

So where does this leave me?  Can the new version legimately claim to be a more desirable model than the original Lesney (and later) version?

Well...

...Ummm...

...(gasp)...

Maybe!

Maybe, just maybe, this new late '70s Porsche 911 Turbo is as good as an original Lesney toy.  Do youself a favor and buy both and compare for yourself!