File this one under one of the more “unique” Hot Wheels out there as the #Grumobile isn’t your typical car. As seen in the animated movie, Despicable Me (2010), the Grumobile was the vehicle of choice by super-villain-protagonist, Gru. In the movie, Gru drove this spaceship-looking vehicle down the roads of his fictional town, taking out other vehicles with minions by his side. Later in the movie, we also see that the Grumobile also has flying capabilities as this black-smoke excreting machine chases down Gru’s nemesis, Vector.

Hot Wheels “Despicable Me” Grumobile from the 2018 HW Screen Time Series (also part of the 2018 New Models) … top-right view

The Hot Wheels #Grumobile comes to us as a #2018 New Model in the #HW Screen Time series. The tool for this casting calls for it to be predominantly plastic, with the only diecast piece being the top part of the body. Thats kind of a disappointment. However, given the small scale and the amount of plastic, the Grumobile’s detail is there. Thats amazing considering that the vehicle is probably more like 1:87 scale given it is a lot larger than your typical car.

Like a lot of the other #TV & Movie Cars, we can expect future releases to appear in a similar fashion to this one due to the limits most licensing deals impose. While its always cool to have replicas of TV & movie cars, its safe to say most collectors will be good with just this one release. In terms of kid value, kids do love the minions that Despicable Me (2010) introduced us to, however; diecast-wise, I don’t think many were clamoring for this type of vehicle. Even the kids that race Hot Wheels will find this vehicle a disappoint on the orange track as it clearly wasn’t built for track performance with only two #Micro 5-Spoke Wheels.

Hot Wheels “Despicable Me” Grumobile from the 2018 HW Screen Time Series (also part of the 2018 New Models) … in package

Hot Wheels “Despicable Me” Grumobile from the 2018 HW Screen Time Series (also part of the 2018 New Models) … side view

Hot Wheels “Despicable Me” Grumobile from the 2018 HW Screen Time Series (also part of the 2018 New Models) … rear view

So where do we go from here?

I mean, I love #TV & Movie Car replicas as much as the next collector and I even picked up a couple extras for my kids — shelf cars of course. 😉 But, other than hitting on the pop culture licensing trend — which is not to be understated — the Grumobile falls short when it comes to diecast and in terms of play value. If there was ever a candidate for a “one & done” I would vote the #Grumobile. I’m glad Hot Wheels made it, but I wouldn’t be upset if we never saw it again. Don’t get me wrong, its a great casting, but I think one release will suffice.

Please feel free to comment your thoughts below.

RELEASE DETAILS: Metalflake Gray Body (metal top, plastic remainder). Clear Window with painted Silver Top. Metalflake Gray Rocket Engine (plastic). Chrome Micro 5-Spoke Wheels. Metalflake Gray Base (plastic). Made in Malaysia. Toy# FJV96. Released in 2018 as #10 of 10 in the HW Screen Time series (#296/365 in the 2018 mainline).