02/28/2018 — I came across this cool little (what I am calling) variation the other day… It appears in the second run of #The Beatles Yellow Submarine Series, some (if not all) of the Blue Meanie #Kool Kombis were painted over the 2017 Surf’s Up release. NOTE: The first run of this series was in 2016. This variation is part of the second run which was manufactured in late 2017 as mine has a “K38” production code on it.

Hot Wheels Kool Kombi from the 2017 Beatles Yelow Submarine Series, painted over 2017 Surf’s Up Series featuring Mooneyes logo

How is this you ask? Well, Hot Wheels has been known to paint over surplus castings in the past — its just that normally the paint masks any details from showing through. You can sometimes tell by the different-colored painted rivets but typically these are hard to spot. I can’t recall one that was this easy to spot.

If you look at the photo below, you can see the areas showing through the blue paint, circled in red. Most noticeable is the Mooneyes logo that peeps through, however “Surf Shop” can also be seen up top.

Hot Wheels Kool Kombi from the 2017 Beatles Yelow Submarine Series, painted over 2017 Surf’s Up Series featuring Mooneyes logo

Below is what the 2017 Surf’s up release looked like (if you don’t recall).

Like I said before, painting over surplus Hot Wheels happens all the time but rarely do you ever see one this obvious. Usually, its the Hot Wheels customizers that spot these when stripping Hot Wheels cars and only the first layer comes off. The Blue Meanie #Kool Kombi from #The Beatles Yellow Submarine Series has already been hoarded so you can bet this variation will only add to its crazy (growing) legacy.