Raise your hand if you’re loving these personally licensed Hot Wheels cars that have been appearing as of late. So far we have seen cars owned and driven by #Magnus Walker, #Sung Kang, Hot Wheels designers #Jun Imai and #Brendon Vetuskey, and even, Hot Wheels collector Roy de Guzman. They are like going to a virtual car show and being able to take a souvenir home with you — that’s what makes them so cool! … well, and the fact that these are some pretty unique cars that are totally badass.
Just last year, Hot Wheels released the FuguZ — known as the Hot Wheels Custom Datsun 240Z — which is a show car that is owned and driven by actor #Sung Kang. Hot Wheels collectors will most likely recall Sung’s work as the character Han from the #Fast & Furious movie franchise. The FuguZ was received well by collectors despite the very similar #Nissan Fairlady Z casting being released one year prior. The casting has even received the premium upgrade of a tooled metal base, and wore #Real Riders for its inclusion in the #Car Culture / Cars & Donuts series.
Now, its Sung Kang’s 1972 Ford Maverick project car, dubbed “Project Underdog” that has been scaled down to Hot Wheels size.
Listed as the #Custom Ford Maverick on the package, Sung’s Maverick project car was actually sold at auction to benefit the three teens from Alhambra High School (California) who helped build the car, in addition to the SEMA Memorial Scholarship Fund per this 2016 AutoBlog.com article. Its conversion to Hot Wheels status has been in the works since at least October of 2016 — since we first saw this image as a teaser by the Hot Wheels Instagram account, when the real car was shown at SEMA. NOTE: Which now totally makes sense as the Hot Wheels timeline from concept to store shelf is roughly 18 months. This Hot Wheels Custom Ford Maverick just started appearing in the United States within the last week at Toys R Us, who have gotten a jump on the other retailers when it comes to the #2018 Hot Wheels “E” case assortment, and figures to show up at a retail store near you very soon.
This new #First Edition of the Hot Wheels #Custom Ford Maverick has already received positive remarks from collectors, and while it is seemingly #Muscle Car meets #JDM, you can bet it will be popular on the pegs. Done in all-white, just like the #Sung Kang FuguZ, its tampo’d blue “U3” side stripe and detailed taillights (seen above) give this release a semi-premium look despite being a basic “mainline” car. Its inclusion in the #2018 Hot Wheels #Factory Fresh series is a little bit of a head-scratcher as it is a custom car in a series that you would think would be reserved for cars that look “fresh out of the factory”, but I digress.
The #Sung Kang #Custom Ford Maverick is hitting stores now, so get out there and hunt. If you’re in the U.S. check out your local Toys R Us store, and if you don’t have a TRU store near you or are impatient, there are always the secondary sales sites. Happy Hunting!
RELEASE DETAILS: White Body (metal). Tinted Windows. Black Interior. Gold-Chrome 10-Spoke (10SP) Wheels. White Base (plastic). Made in Malaysia. Toy# FJV52. Released in 2018 as #4 of 10 in the Factory Fresh series (also a 2018 New Model, #97/365 in the 2018 mainline).
Categories: Showcase
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Nice article and that new custom Ford maverick coming out is awesome. I will be on the hunt for this one thumbs up.
Just got it here in Hamley’s store in Kuala Lumpur International Airport Malaysia. Glad to have those personel collections.