Cargo Carriers: Nissan Skyline Wagon

The Nissan Skyline Wagon, in my opinion, is the tour de force of this set. It is a new casting based on the C10 Skyline. So it is no GT-R. It isn’t even a GT-X. It is a plain jane Skyline in wagon body.

Skylines in wagon guise wasn’t really new. The C10 is already the third generation Skyline and the previous generation also had a wagon body. While limited to Japan and some very rare exports, the wagon body is actually quite normal. Even the R34 came out with a wagon body. There was no performance version of the C10 wagon, so it most likely came out with either the 1.5L or 1.8L inline four engine bestowed upon the regular cars. As such, there isn’t really much to the original car as far as motorsports is involved. It looked the part of the Skylines of 68 but with a longer wagon body.

The Hot Wheels casting follows the same train of thought. The body line is clean and devoid of any aero kit. The only thing adorning the car are fender mounted side view mirrors and chrome bumpers. Simple as it is, the lines of the Skyline wagon look good. It has small details for the taillights and headlights, and that’s because the actual size of the taillights are small. There are small markings on the sides of the front fender that represents the Skyline logo. Small C4SPRR Real Rider wheels complete the package here. The small size of the wheels actually add to the image of the car being from 1968.

This has been a very nice debut car. It is simplistic but it gets the point across. It’s nice to see Hot Wheels that are not too over the top or extravagant or whose proportions are exaggerated. JDM lovers would instantly fall in love with this car. Some may still prefer the Datsun 510 wagon over the Skyline wagon, but that is personal preference already. As for me, I like the proportions of the Skyline wagon more that the 510 wagon. And while they are both winners, I unfortunately only have the Skyline on hand to keep.

Fast Rewind: Nissan Silvia (CSP311)

The Mona Lisa from the Fast and Furious movie Tokyo Drift was played by the Nissan S15 Silvia. As such (and with good decision), Hot Wheels decided to pay homage to this beautiful car using the brethren Silvia of old. The CSP311 was the first Silvia off the line making it’s debut at the Tokyo Auto Show back in 1964. Its original name at the time of introduction? The Datsun Coupe 1500. On paper, the CSP311 didn’t make as much of an impact on the automotive scene at the time. However, as with all things from the past, the modern version of this model wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for them.

Fast Rewind: Nissan Silvia (CSP311)

The S15 Spec-S that was used in the movie was a car that you know belonged in the scene. It sported a C-West body kit and a GT-style rear wing and had rolled on Volk Racing GT-7s. The paint job was simple enough with a bold dark blue metallic base paint and an even bolder streak of orange and silver cutting through the solid blue. Some manufacturer stickers that are common in tuner cars were also sparingly used across the car. It was simpler than some of the other liveries shown in the parking lot but it was enough for a hero car. The fact that it was built as a drift car was of little consequence however, since we only ever saw it being driven by Sean in the movie, who we all know didn’t know how to drift in that particular scene. Still, the Silvia was given a fitting ending in this movie, so we can probably leave it at that. Besides, this is not a movie rant … err … review.

Fast Rewind: Nissan Silvia (CSP311)

This paint job was brilliantly emulated on the Hot Wheels casting of the CSP311 Silvia. The paint job alone deserves praise and despite the Fast Rewind not having any other part of the livery copied from the original S15 version, it still makes the car look fantastic. The shape of the CSP311 isn’t as aggressive as the S15 but it is sporty for the era. And I think Mark Jones hit this one perfectly on the head. It combines a blend of sportiness and sophistication and it deserves all of it. The C4SPRR wheels in chrome adds to the authentic old school look of the car as well the generous amounts of chrome on the bumpers. And those bumpers, specially the split rear bumpers are just brilliantly executed. Being of the Premium line, the detailing of this car is top-notch with headlights, taillights, side markers and even door handles.

Fast Rewind: Nissan Silvia (CSP311)

You can tell where I am going with this. The whole of the Fast Rewind set is beautiful and I would love to see it from other people’s collection as well.

Fast Rewind: Nissan Silvia (CSP311)

Fast Rewind: Nissan Fairlady Z

The Fairlady Z is the third Nissan in this set and the best one at that in my opinion. The stellar 240Z in markets outside of Japan, it also pranced around under the Datsun brand. The original 240Z was sold from 1969 with the Japanese version strutting a 2.0L SOHC L20A straight-six making about 130 HP. The US 240Z on the other hand got a 2.4L L24 Inline-six making 151 HP. I have no idea why this is, but that was just how they started. The Fairlady Z was a beautiful car. And in my opinion, this S30 was the best looking of the bunch even beside the current generation 370Z. It was a Jaguar E-type wearing a Japanese Kimono. The long bonnet and fastback profile made it look fast and elegant. And while the Skylines became Nissan’s halo cars, the Fairlady was sitting alongside the Sylvias. Great cars, but a gear behind the GT-Rs.

Fast Rewind: Nissan Fairlady Z

The 350Z in the franchise of the movie was from Tokyo Drift. The grey 350Z with a half tattoo livery looked pretty menacing. And while the bulging lines of the 350Z lent a graceful demeanor to the otherwise villainous role of the car, it’s iteration on a 240Z looks even more evil. The Fairlady Z casting used by Hot Wheels is the design by Jun Imai from 2016. It features an aero kit with the G-nose, a rear spoiler, wide body fenders, and comes in right-hand drive. The livery on this casting makes it look like a Yakuza. It rides on dark grey C4SPRR Real Rider wheels which complements the base grey color of the car nicely. When you see this iteration of the car, you immediately know that this is the anti-hero car. And it does a great job being bad.

Fast Rewind: Nissan Fairlady Z

The Fairlady Z has a soft spot in my heart in the same way as the Corolla AE86. While the AE86 had imprinted itself on me because of its role as a drift machine in the anime/manga of Initial D, the Fairlady Z has its role as a top speed machine from Wangan Midnight. Wangan Midnight is of course, another manga/anime with its story revolving around cars. This time around, the premise is building the fastest street car to drive in the Wangan. Japan’s notorious public expressway loop.

To answer the question then, yes, this car is worth keeping and be on display as part of a collection. Whether you buy it because you like The Fast and The Furious, or you buy it because of your love for JDM cars, it is a car that will look great on your wall.

Fast Rewind: Nissan Fairlady Z

Fast Rewind: Nissan Skyline H/T 2000 GT-X

The Nissan Skyline 2000GT-X is a model from the C10 body made from 1968. This was made famous by the GT-R badge. Yes, the C10 was the first Skyline to don the GT-R moniker and introduced a high performance variant of the model. While the GT-R produced a very healthy (for the time) 160 hp from it’s straight six, the GT-X made 130 hp. Still a potent power plant, but overshadowed by its brother. That’s not to say that the GT-X wasn’t as successful as the GT-R. It still made noise in the motorsport world and has achieved cult status alongside its stablemates.

Fast Rewind: Nissan Skyline H/T 2000 GT-X

Unlike the Mazda RX-3 and Nissan Skyline C210 in this series, the Nissan Skyline H/T 2000GT-X casting has been around since 2011 and has been designed by none other than Jun Imai. This has been a hot model ever since it came out back then. And while the hype on this car may have dies down a bit (if only because hot Wheels has been hard at releasing new JDM cars as of late), the demand for the car still pops up every now and then, especially when a new variant is introduced.

Fast Rewind: Nissan Skyline H/T 2000 GT-X

This, in particular pays homage to Brian’s Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R from the beginning of the movie 2 Fast 2 Furious. The now iconic GT-R has been ingrained on people’s mind and the livery on the car can’t be missed. In true Fast Rewind fashion, this GT-X has inherited those iconic stripes from the R34, both those on the side and the pair running on the hood. It also has the sponsor decals which is a nice touch. Thankfully they decided not to include the big rear wing from the R34, keeping instead the ducktail spoiler on the GT-X. The black RR8SP wheels also fit this car nicely and is better off than if they decided to use chromes. It retains its classic car look and yet having the livery of the R34 elevates it to cult status.

Fast Rewind: Nissan Skyline H/T 2000 GT-X

I have not really been a fan of the Hako. At least not as much as I am a fan of the RX-7s. But it does hold a place in my heart and in my collection. This variant in particular is a very good addition to the family.

Fast Rewind: Nissan Skyline H/T 2000 GT-X

Fast Rewind: Nissan Skyline C210

The C210 is the fifth generation Skyline. While this generation of the Skyline did not have a GT-R variant, it did still get a performance model in the form of the GT-EX. The GT-EX is the first turbo-charged production passenger car in Japan. There were export models of the car which bore the Datsun name and the 240K-GT designation sold in Europe was fitted with a 2.4L L24 Inline 6 motor.

Fast Rewind: Nissan Skyline C210

The Hot Wheels casting debuted in the Japan Historics series 2. And while it didn’t specify the trim level of the car, it seems to be based on the older car sporting quad-headlights and 2 doors. It does come with flared wheel arches, but not as much as those on the RX-3. The simpler lines and lower stance makes this more of a Shakotan than a track racer. And it works quite nicely. The metal base lends itself to the front and rear bumpers giving them a truly premium feel.

Fast Rewind: Nissan Skyline C210

Similar to the RX-3 in this series, this C210 Skyline also resembles a car from the original The Fast and The Furious movie. This variant is based on Leon’s yellow Nissan R33 Skyline. I liked that R33 casting and variant from the Original Fast set because it was mostly spot on. There were more than enough details on that car to justify its existence in the Premium Fast line. This C210 does the same thing in that it sparks something in the car guy in you. You just get drawn to it. There are some differences, of course, such as this coming in a slightly lighter shade of yellow. To be honest, it makes it slightly more period correct as well in this shade. The side decal is identical and is what makes this recognizable as ‘that’ Fast and Furious car. It has detailed headlamps and taillamps and they even managed to recreate the rear decal arrangement of the R33 that makes this a true JDM. They even have the same number plate. The Greddy decal couldn’t be inserted on the C210 largely being due to the difference in the rear bumper but it doesn’t rally take anything away from the car. The chrome C4SPRR looks great as well and the stance of this car just screams classic JDM.

Fast Rewind: Nissan Skyline C210

There are more famous Skyline bodies that could have been used for this version but I think that the C210 fits the bill just right. Because while the R33 Skyline is a respectable car, it still lingers in the shadow of its R34 sibling. And that reflects the decision of using the C210 as well instead of, say, the Kenmeri (KPGC110) Skyline GT-R. This will sit proudly in my collection.

Hot Wheels Fast Rewind

Hot Wheels has been on a roll dishing us out Fast and Furious cars over their Premium line. Collectors like me have gone crazy over this hot mess to the point that I needed to pre-order my stuff because I can’t hope to collect them from the pegs.

Are these worth the effort?
The short answer is hell yeah!

Hot Wheels Fast Rewind

So technically, these cars are not in any of the movies. These are older generation models of the cars that were used in the movies. Grand daddies of the iconic cars such as the Skyline, Fairlady Z and RX-7. Cars that, if they did not exist, would not have brought us these modern classic gems. So what do we have here exactly?

We have the following cars in this set: Mazda RX-3, Nissan Skyline C210, Nissan Skyline HT 2000, Nissan Fairlady Z (240Z) and the Nissan Sylvia (CSP311). Some non-diehard JDM fans probably won’t recognize the model numbers C210 and the CSP311 but would still recognize the model name given to these classic cars. These are all really old-school classic JDMs and I am quite happy that Hot Wheels managed to bring these into scaled down miniatures.

Hot Wheels Fast Rewind

What Hot Wheels has done here is to re-imagine five of the iconic movie cars from the franchise as their older selves. The Mazda RX-3 for example has been presented in the livery of Dom’s Mazda RX-7 from the original The Fast and The Furious movie. The C210 Skyline is living its life as Leon’s yellow R33 Skyline also from the original F&F movie. The HT 2000 Skyline has the honor of donning Brian’s iconic R34 Skyline livery from 2 Fast 2 Furious. The Fairlady Z (240Z) has been re-imagined as DK’s tattooed gray 350Z from Tokyo Drift. And finally, the CSP311 Nissan Sylvia also gets its screen image from Tokyo Drift as the Mona Lisa, Han’s S15 Sylvia. I did my best to capture these spirits in photos and hopefully I did them proud. And if I didn’t, well, you’ll just have to get them for yourselves.

Hot Wheels Fast Rewind

Nissan 180SX Type X

The Nissan 180SX. Another JDM darling. Albeit one of the lesser-known ladies. This casting was initially released back in 2015 and was designed by Dmitriy Shakhmatov. I did pick up a couple of these as part of my JDM collection, so I’m not really that surprised that this made it to the Street Tuners. Yes, there are other choices, but the 180SX isn’t half bad.

Nissan 180SX Type X

The Type X is the tuned version of the car straight from the factory. At least the real one is. Although the half-open pop-up headlights are a nice touch and really brings that old-school vibes. Similar to the Sylvia, this 180SX comes in a plain colorway. Although to be honest, it seems like a missed opportunity since this car isn’t nearly as sexy as the S15 Sylvia. Paint job aside, the wheels are nice. Gold RREx wheels play with this car nicely and add to that old-school vibe. The only other details on this car are the emblems and the painted taillights. Overall, the car looks the part and it is a JDM tuner by heart.

Nissan 180SX Type X

It’s part of my collection no doubt. Not the best choice for the Street Tuners in my opinion, but there could have been worse choices.

Nissan 180SX Type X

 

Barn Finds

I liked watching shows like The Pickers. Barn Finds are totally cool and when you do chance by something special, it just feels great. To me, it isn’t so much the monetary value of the barn find. Sometimes it’s just about the hunt, or sometimes it’s just because you really wanted that particular item. One day, there was someone selling on Gumtree. The ad said a bucket of Tomicas for twenty Singapore dollars.

I initially bought them for Matthew because he wasn’t really a collector. He just likes them like any toy car, although he had been growing fond of Tomicas more than Hot Wheels lately. While Hot Wheels cars are definitely lookers, the appeal of a Tomica goes skin deep. Most (if not all) of them have working suspension and a good number of them have opening doors or bonnets or hatches. They are also more true-to-life and includes a good number of mundane everyday cars like a Suzuki Carry or a Subaru Samba.

There were a good 30 or so cars in that bucket which equates to them costing no less than a dollar each. There were all in played with condition and Matthew really digs them because a lot of them are pretty old cars. I took a handful and was contemplating on restoring them. After a while though, I thought that I would just keep them as they are. They have been dusted and cleaned but I kept the scratches and paint chips. In a way, they have an old school charm that way. After all, these cars were meant to be driven, or in this case, played with.