The Hot Wheels 50th Anniversary celebration is coming to a close as the #2019 Hot Wheels have just started showing up at retail. Among those 2019 releases is the brand-new, #Super Chromes #Custom ’77 Dodge Van. As of the last few years, any time a vehicle is “chromed” at the basic level, it has to have a plastic body for the VUM process to work.
You may be thinking, “I thought the Hot Wheels #Custom ’77 Dodge Van had a metal body and a panoramic sunroof though?” The answer to that is yes & no. See, there are three tools of this casting: plastic body / metal base, metal body / plastic base, AND metal body / metal base. The lesser-used (outside of Color Shifters & 5-Packs) is the plastic body / metal base tool. That one is used here so this #Van can indeed be a part of the #Super Chromes. Here it is with that original plastic-bodied #Color Shifters release.
Hot Wheels Custom ’77 Dodge Van from the 2019 Super Chromes series (with original plastic-bodied, Color Shifter release)
In fact, how about a picture of the #Super Chromes #Custom ’77 Dodge Van with the majority of the other plastic-bodied releases? As you can see here, they were all part of the #Color Shifters or various 5-packs, UNTIL now. This is the first release of the plastic-bodied Custom ’77 Dodge Van in the mainline.
Hot Wheels Custom ’77 Dodge Van from the 2019 Super Chromes series (with most of the other plastic-bodied releases)
Having the #Custom ’77 Dodge Van as part of the #2019 Hot Wheels #Super Chromes is pretty cool because its the first time (since the series was reborn in 2013) that there has been a licensed Hot Wheels casting in it. The van’s large surface area for graphics acts — as to what the Hot Wheels graphics team will often refer to — as a billboard, and that VUM chrome is so shiny that you can see your reflection — see the wheel of the Mini in the photo below. Speaking of the #Mini Cooper, I brought it in to show that the classic Super Chromes graphics are no stranger to Hot wheels cars in the past. The 50th Anniversary may be over (as far as 2019 Hot Wheels releases are concerned) but its great to see the Hot Wheels graphics team carrying over some nostalgia.
Hot Wheels Custom ’77 Dodge Van from the 2019 Super Chromes series (with the Super Chromes Morris Mini Cooper)
The blister card for the #2019 Hot Wheels mainline remains relatively unchanged. To the casual collector, it may be hard to distinguish that this is a 2019 release. For 2019, it appears the Hot Wheels mainline has gone back to the “250-car” numbering system where Treasure Hunts and store exclusives will once again be numbered, and each colorway won’t have its own individual number in the mainline. In addition to that, the #Super Chromes series goes from 10 vehicles, to 5.
As a collector of the Hot Wheels #Custom ’77 Dodge Van, I was thrilled to see it return for 2019 — and in this fashion! Honestly, the red wheels/tires are a little much because if this car had some standard #5-Spoke Wheels, it would have evoked all kinds of Hot Wheels nostalgia. However, even with that said, the #Super Chromes have always been all about flash so the red tires with chrome sidewalls definitely further that notion. Either way, this is a great release to bring in the #2019 Hot Wheels year, and I hope you like it as much as I do.
RELEASE DETAILS: Chrome Body (plastic). Blue-Tinted Windows. Black Interior. Chrome-Rim, Red 5-Spoke Wheels with Red Tires & Chrome Sidewalls. Unpainted Metal Base. Made in Malaysia. Toy# FYD54. Released in 2019 as #4 of 5 in the Super Chromes series (#23/250 in the 2019 mainline).
Categories: Showcase
ORANGE TRACK DIECAST 
You’re spot-on about the wheels. I like the graphics. It looks like some of the old Super Chromes packaging.
Agree about the wheels…this will be an awesome Real Rider swap I think!…thanks for the sneak!
For sure! If you do one, send me the pic at brad@orangetrackdiecast.com and I will post it at the bottom of the article.