“Its finally here!” That is what Red Line Club (RLC) members have been saying this last week as their 2014/2015 #RLC Rewards car finally showed up after 470+ days. Originally ordered the week of November 24, 2015, this release was made-to-order after RLC members cashed in their priority rewards points for the 2014/2015 combined year over at HotWheelsCollectors.com (HWC). The reason for the combined year in the first place was due to lack of sales and the extreme backorders that have plagued the site for the last couple of years. Fortunately (and hopefully), that era seems to be coming to a close, as even though 2016/2017 is a combined year, several measures have been put in place to get the [hot] wheels moving once again.

One of those measures was to move the production of #HWC / #RLC vehicles from Malaysia, back to China. One of the main reasons why production initially moved to Malaysia, was the #Spectraflame Paint. Traditionally, HWC/RLC cars were produced with a “Hand-Polished Chrome Spectraflame”; then, at some point, it was decided that a new process called “Mirrorized Spectraflame” could be manufactured quicker and for less. Ultimately, it did lessen the cost of HWC/RLC releases for a short time, however, delays persisted and some of them ended up being the longest yet.

The change was eventually made to move production back to China and produce cars with the high-quality, Hand-Polished Chrome Spectraflame once again. Since this change was initiated somewhere in early-2016, a couple backordered HWC/RLC releases from 2014 and 2015 were still relegated to being produced in Malaysia with the mirrorized spectraflame. Well, since those cars have finally shipped, its with great joy that this #RLC Rewards #’66 Chevy Super Nova marks the end of that period as this was the last release to be produced with that mirrorized spectraflame.

Hot Wheels ’66 Chevy Super Nova from the 2014/2015 Red Line Club (RLC) Rewards … rear view

For as many problems collectors had with the mirrorized (or “orange peel”) finish, most are happy with the way this release has come out. The spectraflame light blue paint seems to really shine and that big-block, #Blown Engine just seems pop right out of that matte black engine bay. While this release doesn’t have any noisy graphics on it, it didn’t stop the graphic designer tasked with creating this beauty from making his mark. Beyond the really cool, simple “Red Line Club” and “Super Sport” badges on the sides, its the little details that Steve Vandervate added to this one that really sets it apart. Just looking at the engine, you can see the caps on the engine and radiator are painted red and the belt is painted black. Its those little details that sometimes make all the difference!

I’d be remiss to not mention the recently popularity of Hot Wheels #Gassers in the last few years. I’m sure most collectors are aware of the prices the #’55 Chevy Bel Air Gasser releases are bringing in, however, the RLC just did a #sELECTIONs vote for a future RLC release and these two gassers went head-to-head in the semi-finals. In what many deemed an upset, this very #’66 Chevy Super Nova beat out the perceived “king of the gassers”, the ’55 Chevy Bel Air Gasser, by less than 1% of the vote!

So while the original 2012 HWC Series 11 Real Riders release of the ’66 Chevy Super Nova currently sells for north of $100, and this second release of the casting just hit the collections of collectors worldwide, there will be a third one coming out (most likely) by next year — after presales are done, it will be made-to-order as well. For now, lets just savor the beauty — and end that vicious 470+ day countdown — that is/was the 2014/2015 #RLC Rewards #’66 Chevy Super Nova!

RELEASE DETAILS: Spectraflame Light Blue w/ White Roof (metal). Lightly Tinted Windows. White Interior. Chrome Roll Cage. Dragstrip Demons Real Riders w/ “Hoosier” tampo on rear tires. Toy# DJX33. Ordered on November 24, 2015 and made-to-order exclusively for Red Line Club members as part of the RLC Rewards program on HotWheelsCollectors.com (limited to 10,200).