The #Red Line Club Exclusive: #’17 Ford F-150 Raptor is here! It seems like forever since the Red Line Club team at Hot Wheels unveiled the 3D-Printed model at the RLC Party in October of 2017. If you’re counting, that was over 15 months ago. Suffice to say: designing, manufacturing and transporting a solo Hot Wheels release half-way around the world takes a lot of time. In most cases, we are usually only privy to seeing cars appear just before they hit at retail, but thanks to the involvement the RLC has with its members, we are seeing these cars over a year before they even go on sale.
In a way, its been nice to see this #RLC Exclusive: #’17 Ford F-150 Raptor take shape. The design team has updated RLC members with pics along the way, and its been fun to see this come into fruition. Though this truck is essentially a #2018 Hot Wheels release, it actually ushers in a new era for the Red Line Club in 2019 which is full of incredibly-detailed castings, with various #Opening Features.
Hot Wheels ’17 Ford F-150 Raptor, a 2018 HotWheelsCollectors.com Special Edition (top-right view, hood & tailgate open)
This Raptor is off-the-charts awesome! Can you tell I’m excited to have this one?
If you thought the mainline version of the #’17 Ford F-150 Raptor was cool, you are going to be in love with this #HWC release. It was designed from that original casting, which was introduced in 2016, so overall, they have the same silhouette.
Hot Wheels ’17 Ford F-150 Raptor, a 2018 HotWheelsCollectors.com Special Edition with 2016 New Model, HW Hot Trucks release (head-to-head)
Thats what really makes releases like this so cool… it may look like that standard retail release from a far, but Hot Wheels Designer Brendan Vetuskey “enhanced” the #Ryu Asada Design, reconfiguring the #’17 Ford F-150 Raptor to allow for an #Opening Hood AND an opening tailgate. The bed is now, all-metal and the engine detail is soooooo nice!
Hot Wheels ’17 Ford F-150 Raptor, a 2018 HotWheelsCollectors.com Special Edition with 2016 New Model, HW Hot Trucks release
There are so many things that sets the #RLC Exclusive: #’17 Ford F-150 Raptor apart from its mainline counterpart. The #Opening Features may be the best, but its hardly the only thing. The Race Team Blue #Spectraflame Paint is a color thats adored by collectors as its one thats won the sELECTIONs brackets several times. Popping off the blue spectraflame are the headlights/taillights. These lights almost seem to glow, as the color used on them pops. Its probably something that took time to figure out and most collectors will take it for granted, but it certainly did not go unnoticed here — especially having opened and photographed this model.
What else did I notice? A two-tone painted interior… Check!
Beyond that, the Raptor is one of the first Hot Wheels vehicles to wear the licensed #Real Riders by #fifteen52 — and the first to wear the #Real Riders fifteen52 Turbomac HD Off-Road Wheels. We have seen the wheel design before in the Team Transport line on the #Volkswagen Transporter T1 Pickup, but paired with this new off-road tire, its a match-made for just about every Hot Wheels #Off Road Vehicle out there. How about those red foil rims on the gray wheels? You think that has something to do with it being available to RLC members? 😉
Collectors have expressed their approval for this release vocally, and with their wallets. It took the #RLC Exclusive: #’17 Ford F-150 Raptor less than 24 hours to sell out 10,000 pieces. Those of us that have been RLC members for a while remember a time when releases limited to only 3,000 pieces took weeks, or even months to sell out. My have the times change, and of course, its all for the better. This #2018 Hot Wheels release was the perfect vehicle to bridge the gap between 2018 and 2019 as its the first of many that collectors will have to have multiples of. I totally expect this ultra-premium version of the casting to be around for a while as I believe collectors will really take a liking to it — once they have it in hand — and seek to buy more. If you’re not an opener, this may be the release that gets you to crack your first HWC/RLC blister.
RELEASE DETAILS: Spectraflame Race Team Blue body (metal). Tinted Windows. Light/Dark Gray Two-Tone Interior. Red-Chrome Rim, Gray Real Riders fifteen52 Turbomac HD Off-Road Wheels. Chrome-Plated Base (metal). Made in China. Toy# FPN11. Sold exclusively on HotWheelsCollectors.com on December 18, 2018. Limited to 10,000 pieces.
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ORANGE TRACK DIECAST 
Nice pictures BRAD. I am still waiting on mines to come. Now that they are shipping I should be getting it soon.Again thanks for sharing.
received my 2 this past saturday 1/12 and boy of boy i luvv this casting !! Most likely my fave release this past year from RLC hands down !! My 3 yro son loves it as well i let him play with the one i opened only on carpet or the bed, lol and absolutely NO CRASHING CARS… he likes to crash his HW’s into one another but not with a roughtly $25 premium model