Hot Wheels Collections: I've Amassed a Humble Display of 217 Cars But I'm Not Done Yet

If you've read any of my previous stories, you'll know that I am pretty much addicted to diecast cars. It's not a bad addiction per se, but it's best kept in check to avoid going down the rabbit hole.

Over the years I've had a few moments when I decided to sell most of my collectibles to fund other projects (i.e. RX-7/SV650S). If I hadn't done so, I would currently have over 700 Hot Wheels cars on display. Alas, I've just done a full count recently, and that number isn't as impressive anymore.

My entire collection contains a total of 217 items. I will be providing you with more details of its structure based on different criteria, and I'll start with the age-long debate of Carded vs Loose.

Going to a Hot Wheels convention and asking whether it's best to display your collectibles carded or loose is like going to a superhero convention and asking people who's the best superhero ever. It's bound to cause a bit of a ruckus, as opinions are divided on the topic. Most collectors will agree that the best way to enjoy diecast cars is to open them from their plastic prisons.

But the rare and more expensive items should generally be kept safe inside a blister card. With that in mind, 82 items in my collection are still protected like that. Not all of them are special, but I currently need to find a better solution to display all of them.

Keep in mind that having hundreds of diecast cars can be quite troublesome from that point of view, especially if you live in a smaller home and have other hobbies as well (i.e. car and motorcycle parts taking up the balcony).

The rarest and most valuable item in my collection is one that came out earlier this year: the RLC-exclusive Nissan Skyline GT-R BNR34. This is my first and only Red Line Club, and it seems that I was quite lucky to get one considering how many people failed to get their orders in.

With shipping fees included, I paid about $50 for it but I would do it all again without hesitating. In a matter of months, its market value has increased by over 200% and there are no signs of slowing down.

In all my years of collecting Hot Wheels, I've only found one Super Treasure Hunt item: the 2018 Honda Civic Type R that was released in 2021. You can end up paying over $150 for the Short Card version and yet it's still cheaper than the Gold EK9 that came out this year.

Over in the Treasure Hunt department, I've racked up a total of eight cars. While I keep bumping into the 2023 Surf Crate TH, I mostly avoid buying fantasy replicas. I'm also quite proud of my Team Transport setup, even though I've only bought two sets so far.

Both of them make use of the Sakura Sprinter hauler, and they're both meant to carry race cars: the Mazda 787B and the Porsche 962. Speaking of which, I've only recently started to focus more on Premium items. The most recent one is the yellow Nissan Skyline GT-R R33 that Leon drove in the first Fast & Furious movie.

As that movie influenced my life a lot, I just had to buy replicas of Dom's and Brian's cars too. Add a replica of the Mona Lisa that you saw in Tokyo Drift, a blue Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI, two special Porsches from the 2017 Car Culture: Race Day set, and a Bugatti Chiron and you get up to a total of just eight Premium collectibles. These are more expensive and harder to get in some parts of the world, but they're worth the hassle!

Speaking of brands, you'll find 29 different manufacturers on display in my home. I guess you can tell a lot about a man's taste in cars judging by his diecast collection. You'll mostly find Japanese vehicles in mine. Mazda takes the top spot with 30 items, Nissan comes second with 27 and Honda is in third with 23.

Looking at replicas of machines built in North America, Chevrolet leads the way with 16, Ford takes P2 with 14 and Dodge is third with 7. Porsche, Mclaren, and Lamborghini are quite big in my books, with 16, 11, and 8 cars representing those brands in that order.

Given the fact that I'm crazy about all things RX-7, there are 20 variations of this model on display at my place. I've bought every single FC3S item that was released by Hot Wheels so far, and I only need to get the new Ronin Run set to have a complete second-generation model collection. But I'll probably have to spend about $500 more to get all the first-gen and third-gen variations as well.

One of the things I enjoy most about this hobby is the photography side of things. Making these 1/64th-scale cars look sort of real feels amazing, but I might just come up with a guide for diecast photography soon. I should also mention that I also have cars from other brands including Majorette, Tomica, Welly, Bburago, Maisto, and Spark. The biggest ones are 1/32 scale replicas, but I'm eyeing a few 1/18 models next. Sure, my collection currently pales in comparison to what most serious Hot Wheels enthusiasts have amassed over time.

But this first story was meant as more of an appetizer for what's coming up next. To give you a taste of how things are about to escalate, I would say that my collection is probably worth around $2,000. But our next guest has spent over $100,000 buying diecast cars in a matter of just a few years. Wait until you get a hold of that!