The #Muscle Bound is a Hot Wheels casting I’ve been draw to since its debut in 2019. Sure, that amazing deco on the first release had something to do with it, but six variants in, I’m still digging it! This futuristic muscle car has the lines, the attitude, and the swag I come-to-expect from Hot Wheels design. Short answer: this original design delivers.
Just the other day, I received a case of the 2024 Hot Wheels #Halloween series from 1 Stop Diecast. I was excited to unbox on the OTD YouTube channel because I knew the #Muscle Bound was in it. I even made sure to do a little #Collection Update immediately after I unboxed it so you could hear my enthusiasm for this design. Take a minute, watch the video, subscribe — if you haven’t already — and proceed on here as I detail this 6-car collection.
2019 Hot Wheels Mainline / Speed Blur Series
This deco is among my favorites for a #Unlicensed Hot Wheels vehicle debut. I had high-praise for it back in late 2018 when I first showcased this release. I also noticed the similarities between this casting and a monster truck one — both #Tyler Charest Designs. The metalflake olive and the purple pearl paint chosen for both colorways give each a premium look and those Speed Blur shark-nose graphics design by Hot Wheels Graphic Designer, Leeway Chang, are the cherry on top! I said it back then: “I can tell you that this isn’t the last you’ve seen of the #Muscle Bound on OTD as I think I just started a new casting collection. Release one: check!” … 4.5 years later, this was indeed the start of a casting collection.
2020 Hot Wheels Mainline / Muscle Mania Series
The sophomore release of the #Muscle Bound allowed us to see it without that gorgeous metalflake paint as we got it in a matte black instead. The graphics are still a little Speed Blur -esque as this certainly isn’t your typical muscle car styling despite this one being released in the Muscle Mania series this time around.
2021 Gold Edition (promotional)
In 2021, the #Muscle Bound got the gold treatment. In the U.S., it was available through a Meijer promotion, and could also be found at HEB stores — which I believe are mostly found in Texas. I had to solicit the help of another collector for this release as neither of those chains are in my state. The metalflake returns for this release but this time in gold with a satin finish. The #21 is on the sides so you know what year it came out — a pretty standard practice for the other Gold Editions.
2023 Batman 5-Pack
This #Unlicensed Hot Wheels car got it’s first taste of a licensed property when it appeared in the Batman 5-Pack in 2023. Robin wishes he drove a car this cool!
2024 Halloween Series
The 2024 Halloween series will not carry any heavy-hitters to the likes of the Bone Shaker, Ecto-1, or ’66 Batmobile. Nor will it contain any repeats like the last few years. These are all new releases! Honestly, the fact there are no heavy-hitters in this is fine with me as the #Muscle Bound gets the nod here as one of the five cars in this series. The bright orange paint with purple windows actually works for this casting. Same with the #Skull Wheels — rad! Halloween and the #31 essentially have to be on there, but are tastefully done. For me, I loooooove how the graphic designer here used the jack-o-lantern face to mimic the snark-nose graphics from the first release. Those extra details go a long way with this collector and I’m sure I am not the only one.
Categories: Collection Update
ORANGE TRACK DIECAST 
wow time flies by! I was just looking at this casting in my collection and had no idea it’s been out that long. I obviously missed the Gold Edition and that’s a bummer since I have family in Texas that could’ve helped. But either way need to look for the Robin and will definitely keep an eye out for the Halloween. Thank you for the update.
Thanks for stopping by, Daniel! Make sure to check out the OTD WhatNot where I plan to give a few of these Halloween cars away — including the orange Muscle Bound!
check out walmart for the batman five pack it has the robin car in it.
It really is a bummer that cool castings like this never get a little Premium-ish line love and get metal bases done.
They’re too many collectors that can’t see the potential and consider it “fantasy”. This would be a great addition to like 5 or 6 castings of “newer” designs that would make great releases with some more standard street livery releases.
Agreed, Darren. It would be cool to see a “Hot Wheels Design Studio” series of castings like this in premium … but even if such a series were to happen, I fear we would be stuck with more renditions of existing HW Original Designs like the Bone Shaker, Twin Mill, etc. Maybe with the Silver-Label premium we have a better shot? At least the castings would get the full detail they deserve. I did like how the first couple NFT Garage series had HW Original Designs (Unlicensed/Fantasy), but that appears to be gone as there hasn’t been one since Series 3 — aside from the AcceleRacers Deora II.
In regards to this year’s Halloween Muscle Bound car, I think they should of added a bit of Green to that little Square Part of the Roof, to further give it the Jack-O-Lantern look to it, as if to suggest that it’s the Steam of the Pumpkin. Just an idea, not taking away from your enjoyment of this version.
If this year’s Halloween Series ever shows up in Canada, I’ll consider it this Muscle Bound car to go as my Orange Halloween Car. For the record, I’ve never noticed any of the Halloween Series ever in Canada. Do see Christmas, Easter/Spring, and Stars And Stripes(Which I guess you can say is the Unofficial Independence Day theme cars) from time to time(It varies every year), but never Halloween.
Nice Muscle Bound mini-collection by the way, as I hope you continue to enjoy getting whatever future decos there are for it.
Speaking of Halloween, I think 1 neat theme deco Hot Wheels could do is the Dessert Drifter(That Jell-O looking car) in Jack-O-Lantern theme deco, in see-through Orange Plastic, the top “Cream” part and Spoiler painted Green, a Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkin face painted on the front, with the exhaust part in that kind of black/darker Chrome colour, and either the Skulls Wheels in black and purple(Not sure which would be better: Black Wheels with Purple Skull Hubcaps, or Purple Wheels with Black Skull Hubcaps), or as Glow In The Dark Wheels. If Hot Wheels ever did that, I would strongly consider it, as I would hope they put it in the regular Mainline as that year’s Mainline Halloween Celebration.