Black & Gold, Satin & Chrome, Pearl & Chrome … whatever you call it, the Hot Wheels #Anniversary Series is back for the seventh consecutive year. 2024 is the 56th Anniversary of the Hot Wheels brand. It may not be as momentous as the 50th, but then again, we aren’t really looking at anything new here outside of new vehicles wearing a new color scheme.

The Hot Wheels #Anniversary Series has appeared at a variety of retailers. It’s basically a series that appears everywhere outside of Walmart and Target. Walgreens has carried it consistently since 2018, and CVS will put out one car at a time. Grocery is hit-and-miss. Honestly, your best bet is to get a case from a hobby dealer like 1 Stop Diecast. You can order mix 1 now, and pre-order mix 2 at this time. Sure, you have to buy a case, but it basically comes out to $2 a car and you’re guaranteed a full set with the #Chase piece. Thank you to 1 Stop Diecast for supplying my case!

Watch my case unboxing below, check out the contents and how these are packed, and order your case. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason as to how these vehicles are selected for this series, so let’s take a look at each model in this first mix and it’s significance.

Case contents: 24 pieces — Raijin Express (1) CHASE!, Custom ’70 Honda N600 (5), ’65 Mercury Comet Cyclone (4), Tooned ’83 Chevy Silverado (5), ’21 Ford Bronco (5), Toyota Land Cruiser (4).

1/6 • Tooned ’83 Chevy Silverado

One of the last cars Hot Wheels Designer, Ryu Asada designed before he passed away three years ago was the #Tooned ’83 Chevy Silverado. He is credited with bringing “Noppo-style” tooned vehicles to the brand when he first dropped the Manga Tuner as a 2020 New Model. This design takes the increasingly-popular, squarebody #’83 Chevy Silverado and delivers it with a #Blown Engine, roll bar, and side exhaust in this cartoonish style derived from the Noppo brand model kits they had while Ryu was growing up in Japan in the 1980s. Suffice to say, these are really the only cartoon (tooned) cars Hot Wheels has done that have built traction with the masses in the collecting community.

2/6 • Toyota Land Cruiser

The Hot Wheels #Toyota Land Cruiser is actually the pickup version of the FJ45 which was produced for roughly 20 years between the mid ’60s and mid ’80s. This casting, also designed by Ryu Asada, is a custom version of the 1:1 vehicle with a little bit of a rake. The front winch is actually part of the interior which is made evident on this release where the body is metalflake teal, the base in copper-chrome, and the black winch matches the black of the interior. This speaks to the design of the casting which utilizes creative design for a nice color break while adhering to the casting/tooling limitations of 4 pieces (base, body, windows, and interior).

If you watched the unboxing video I made, you’ll hear me state that I think I may begin collecting the #Toyota Land Cruiser. It’s a unique-looking truck that is marvelously designed, and there have already been some great releases of it thus far in a few basic lines. Will it go premium? I am hoping so.

3/6 • ’21 Ford Bronco

This new generation of the Ford Bronco is so cool and I honestly considered buying one a couple years back when I was purchasing a new vehicle. I much prefer the 4-door version however so this Hot Wheels casting seems a little stout to me. That is me projecting my own preferences because, if I take the bias out of it, the casting is great — especially with the fender flares, grille, and spare wheel being part of the interior. It may not be as obvious on other releases of the #’21 Ford Bronco, but on this #Anniversary Series release, the copper-chrome seems to pop in all the right places giving it some nice color breaks. It may not be “realistic” but it sure fun to look at as this color combo stands out in the myriad of colors in my Hot Wheels #Ford bin.

4/6 • ’65 Mercury Comet Cyclone

The basic version of the Hot Wheels #’65 Mercury Comet Cyclone is back for the second consecutive year. It appeared with a plastic base for the first time in 2023 in the HW Gassers segment of the mainline, and we even got a Super Treasure Hunt version of that. In 2024, we now get it in a Hot Wheels deco as part of this #Anniversary Series. I’m not sure if it’s the lack of #Real Riders, or if it’s these colors; but this release seems to sit high and the reverse rake seems less pronounced. Still, it was a must-have for me but if I was raking the releases of this casting, this one would be near the bottom despite me really liking this color combo.

5/6 • Custom ’70 Honda N600

The quaint little Hot Wheels #Custom ’70 Honda N600 appeals to me. I think it might fall in line with what I love about the Hot Wheels #Mini Cooper design — a little pocket-sized racer with large fender flares and endless ideas for future racing-inspired decos. Until now, we just haven’t seen one. This 56th #Anniversary Series gives us a glimpse however as all the previous release have been ultra-clean in their presentation. The copper-chrome base on this one gives a color pop in the front as the bumper & chin spoiler are part of it. And, the deco designed for this series, actually sits fairly well in the trapezoidal plane that exists between both fender flares on the sides.

6/6 • Raijin Express CHASE!

The last car in the 56th #Anniversary Series is the #Chase — and while other chase pieces may not be as obvious, this one screams at you! The #Raijin Express is a Dekotora, which is short for “decoration truck” — a subset of car culture in Japan. With the body and sides of this casting being plastic, it allows for the designs to have VUM Chrome applied so every release can feel as ornate as these trucks do in real life. I’m still waiting for a Hot Wheels customizer to do one of these with working LED lights.

The nice thing about this #Chase, is that it does come one to a case. It may not be as rare as others, but for a collector like me, I prefer that as I am guaranteed to get one if I invest in a case. Given the amount of copper-chrome on this one, I have to imagine it will be pretty exhilarating to find at retail as it certainly stands out in this mix.

What is your favorite from this first mix of the 56th #Anniversary Series? Have you found at retail or will you be ordering from 1 Stop Diecast? Let us know in the comments below!