THIS POST HAS BEEN UPDATED AT THE SITE WE ARE MOVING TO – TAKE FIVE A DAY.COM. Just click on the above logo to be taken to the latest update on the two new Piston Cup Racers coming as launchers. Enjoy. Thanks!
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Of course, if you bought the Motor Speedway of the South set, you now have 36 Piston Cup Racers … not counting duplicates.
If you’re collecting them only as they are released, you should have 13 of the Piston Cup Racers:
Lightning McQueen
Chick Hicks
Dale Jr.
Gasprin
The King
Leak Less
Nitrorade
No Stall
RPM
Octane Gain
Tow Cap
Trunk Fresh
Vinyl Toupee
With of course, Trunk Fresh hitting the shelves (aka: the cube, aka: Action Alley Display pallet drop) bringing us to 13 available outside the set.
With the already quasi-announced Gift 3-packs of Shiny Wax & Spare Mint (with a Pit Crew & a Crew Chief) …, that would be 14 & 15.
Add one, Re-Volting included in the forthcoming Race & Chase Gift Pack – we’re at 16.
Now, we have three more scheduled for Fall: Sputter Stop, Transberry Juice, & View Zeen.
It doesn’t appear they will be a Movie Moments pack and it seems unlikely they will appear as singles – my feeling is they will be part of a box set, Dinoco 400 Part II? Like last year’s 7 Piston Cup Racers, we’ll get 4 repeats and these 3 as the new? Now sure but I’m throwing it out there … and/or will they be designed like the Race & Chase Gift Pack above so if we buy all 20 Gift Packs along with the Motor Speedway track, we can build a giant track?
So, at the end of Fall, 2008 – we should be at @19 Piston Cup Racers available outside the Motor Speedway set which brings up an interesting point, if you’re collecting down the line, do you care if a Launcher release is substituted in for what came with the Motor Speedway set. Well, if you do, you might want to keep track of the production numbers assigned to the Motor Speedway CARS – they are different from the regular releases … of course, it’s impossible to keep track of each version – for instance, my opened, original April 2006 McQ has no production code under the CAR but the latest launcher does and presumably that number is different than the WOC version and the SC version … suffice to say, I think it’s easier to keep track of the MSOS set & any deviation from this (yes, numbering for Tow Cap & Gaspirin from the Movie Moments IS DIFFERENT than than the numbering for the MSOS set – even though you would’ve thought they’d be the same based on the presumption they’d be in production at about the same time).
Here’s a chart of the MSOS racers that are available outside the set with all the possible versions it may have come from. The 4 digit number is the production code under each Piston Cup racer from the MSOS set.
The racers with a black border means it’s coming soon in that format.
For Sputter Stop, Transberry Juice, & View Zeen, it’s still a guess as to what format they might be available in.
* Of course, at this point, Dale Jr’s ‘aggro’ face is only available as a MSOS Piston Cup Racer … when Mattel switches from the WOC motif, will Dale Jr. be changing to v2.0?
** Vinyl Toupee was available in the UK as a bagged version as part of a promo.
ALL PHOTOS courtesy of Robert & www.SpeedwayoftheSouth.com and used with his permission. Be sure to check out Robert’s site for full-sized photos of all the racers. Thanks!
And happy collecting!
(Oh yeah, we should hear about the holiday season releases at SD Comic Con so we may not be done and no, no word on the Apple CAR …).
TWO A DAY 
I am a little bummed about this, but just a little. Can’t wait to come across some of the new cases of singles.
Fellow San Diegans, you have to promise to post here when you hit the jackpot. So far, I have gone to Grossmont WM and College Grove TGT, nothin’.
I think they’ve gone abit overboard. It’s gunna take years for me to collect these
It is a little irritating to be forced to purchase these gift packs that include cars we already have just to get one racer we don’t have. The packs are great for people who are just starting to collect for their kids though.
I do like the packaging of the Race and Chase so I’ll probably pick one up for our mint, unopened collection.
I plan on purchasing the 3-pks when they come out. I don’t mind getting duplicates of the pittys (you need more than one to recreate the pit stop scenes anyway) and racers for breakage replacements.
Although I do wish they would continue on with the 2pks. They were a great buy.
I want Sputter Stop, Trasberry Juice, View Zeen, and Re Volting to be as a single or gift pack w/ crew chief, pitty and racer. I already have all 13 racers avalible out of the speedway set excert Dale Jr. and Trunk Fresh.
To me this is no different than the people that bought the Speedway of the South Set because that had lots of duplicates also….
I think Dale Jr. is done as a car in it’s red #8 form (like in the movie). Since he’s moved on to the #88 car in real life, I doubt Dale Jr. Enterprises will be too happy about pumping out an image (such as it is) on a consistent basis. It’s one thing to put out an edition so fans can get it (the constant cycling of the cars in releases), but a new mold/sculpt is extremely unlikely.
Great chart Metro. All of this Re-Marketing is a real bummer! I guess that’s why I can’t really call myself a true completest. (Everything out in every different package). There is just not enough space to be found. All of Mattel’s re-marketing also gets a bit expensive for the consumer and could very well hurt the Cars 2 line. Except for those who happen to own a warehouse!
MSULLY
I live in Eastlake. That Walmart did have some of the new ones. I was to late though. The Walmart off of the 54 did not have anything new.
Bonita Bill
MET,
Cool chart – as always, thanks. I have one question though. Although on the chart it isn’t indicated, doesn’t King also come in a three pack with LM and Pace Car Checkers?
(MET: Damn, I knew I should have walked into the other room to look at that CARS Book 🙂 … will update chart. Thanks).
It’s a good news – bad news day at our area WMs. At 2 of them the Mattel Rep came in yesterday and picked up the singles peg warmers and replaced them with “newer” Cars. The newest release in the swap was Chuki. The bad news, the price increase is finally here at WM. The singles went to $3.47. The Mini’s and Gift Packs went up $1.00. The dept. mgr. said that they had to scan in all of the ones left after the swap. They are still coming up $2.97 at the register. The “newer” ones the Rep left are coming up $3.47. Another area store needs the Rep to pick up about 25 Blimps. She hasn’t hit that store yet.
Just to be a bit of a pedant, the image you have up of #84 Re-Volting is an ‘error variant’ without the correct red paint highlights. 😉
I’m just saying!……..
(MET: Yea, I know but I figured it was close enough. I figured if they clicked on your page, they would see the notation … Thanks again!)
If anyone is coming to Edinburgh this Summer, give me shout, I would be interested in discussing some purchases for you to bring on the plane, and would also give you a free tour of the city.
hey jackdaddy2008- what cars are you needing in the uk? you can email me direct sjvheathcliff@verizon.net we (i) have various outlets surronding me from older cars to newer ones may i assist ?
Thanks kind sir.
I have a seller who has kindly stepped forward to assist me with new releases, and I would like to give them the ebay business in that respect, however, there are a few older thing I need that the seller cannot get.
I also need another SOS if anyone is interested?
Expect an email megaheat.
Kerchingachow!
JD2008- I KNOW MAYBE ONE PERSON THAT CAN HELP AS SOS SET IS CONCERNED BUT I DONT KNOW THE ASKING PRICE HE IS AN EBAY SELLER I HAVE TRANSACTED WITH,http://errorcars.com/page/1ip5e/Starting_Line_New_Collector.html <—-GO HERE EMAIL HIM WITH QUERY AS TO SOS (DAN)-SEND ME THROUGH EMAIL WHAT YOU NEED I HAVE A VARIETY OF EXTRA X-TRAS I HAVE GOTTEN/JOEAKA…MEGAHEAT2008
I wonder if those who are holding on to their SoS sets are kicking themselves right now.
It appears that the racers will be available outside of the SoS set.
That’s what I’m getting from this type of news…..
I am keeping my set and not kicking myself Stanley. So far none of the racers have been offered as singles. It’s always a launcher, or a multi with yet another LM, King, Chick, etc. which effectively makes them about the same price. Even so, man I really love the set. The case is beautiful and it’s such fun to have all the cars and race ’em and crash ’em. It all comes down to why you bought the thing to begin with. I did not buy it to keep it in its box collecting dust on a shelf to see if it might be worth more somewhere down the line.
My WM has nothing new except the $3.47 price. Instead of the “cube” they have big bouncy balls, bubbles and water balloons. Glad I have my SOS set to look at and make me smile.
(MET: And birdseed? Can never run out of birdseed … after all, birds sadly cannot find any more woolly mammoths to feed on anymore …)
Not that there is anything wrong with preserving it for collection purposes (I almost did that myself).
(MET: Plus you know, in real life NASCAR, most teams have like 3-7 backup CARS … so to be completely realistic, that’s my plan 🙂 … though it’s not working so great with my buying up every Apple CAR out there, I’ll just skip my mortgage this month, I’m sure the bank won’t mind 😛 ).
I QUOTE THE ONLY THING WORTH PRESERVING IS (HONKING,BEEPING,LIGHTS FLASHING-REGARDLESS ,”RACE CARS DON’T NEED HEAD LIGHTS” ,DRUM ROLL PLEASE – “PRESERVE THIS SITE”, LOL … I LOVE IT !!!
im very happy that they will be releasing some of the SOS set for the regular people. i just wish i had a little birdie to pop up and say they will be at walmart tommorow better be there.
on a completely seperate note ive been giving my son sets of the mini cars each week of good potty training and he really seems to like them as much as the diecasts. do you have a list for the mini cars like you do for the diecasts?
(MET: You mean you haven’t read through each of our posts? 🙂 Here’s our MINI’s checklist …).
I really liked those two color car charts. It would be nice to see a complete color car chart that did actual car variations (w/pics) for print out. I don’t have the ability to photoshop or whatever that requires BUT if anyone has already done it or wants to I would LOVE to be able to print out a copy for bookkeeping purposes on what I have and what I need.
wher do you get this information
We make it all up.
Would you like to join in?
yes.next they will make ghostlight mater watershootin red tatoo sally glow in the dark tuners= ] ramone with hydrolics.all cars re released with turn left/right movements.mixed cars ex:bi plane/tractor.niesson-nemo the incredmobile the remy-nator wall-rider.peterbuilt train and the first sight in flashback of stanly young lizzy!big al and 22,000,000,000 for the sequel! is that good:]
I think you should work for Mattel Chris!
With that logic, your cut out for their marketing team.
Seriously though, I would love glow in the dark tuners, they would be awesome!
Met, Tach o mint is not on your list. Does that mean he is not coming in a set or a single? I notice he is getting a good price on ebay. Anything on this car as coming separate from the SOTS?
(MET: As of right now and through September, no, not listed yet but when SD Comic Con rolls around (July 23), we’ll get a list of what’s coming to the end of 2008 so you might conisder waiting another month before deciding).
“Production numbers are different from the regular releases” Thanks for the listing of the unique production numbers.
Do you suppose that those numbers are completely unique to the Speedway sets?
I ask as I noticed the quality of paint and detail is quite nice on the cars in the SOTS set compared to the regular ones. My King is a deeper blue than the regular release single.
Maybe these MSOS racers were made with special care. The regular releases have been fraught with the lately poor paint jobs, unevenness, dirt or dings in the paint. Not all but quite a few. Others have noticed as well.
I haven’t compared all of the regular cars found on the pegs that I have with the repeats in the Speedway set yet, but plan on doing so.
Anyone else notice a difference?
(MET: I took a quick look – no room to set up yet … but other than the production numbers and Dale Jr, didn’t see much of a difference – and yea, King is a tad darker. My guess is that the production numbers will stay unique as Tow Cap & Gaspirin have different numbers and of all of them, they should be the same since it would be logical the MM’s run would be at the same time … so if you ever only want MSoS CARS from the MSoS, you’ll have to look at the numbers).
BMW
I have notice a difference in the quality.
The SOS set was priced pretty high so I would have been very surprised if there were flaws in the paint of the cars. I guess they charge more for better quality control!! LOL
As far as the reg. retail cars, I have noticed a lot more flaws in the paint compared to when they first came out.
I hope with the retail price hike, Mattel will do a better job with distribution, quality control, etc….
Heather,
Glad to see you have looked close too.
I have a new Chuki that has terrible black flecks in her pink paint. She is not the only car lately. When I look at the paint on the new ones with a magnifying glass it is very noticeable. But I don’t see any flaws on the racers from my MSOS set.
Mattel needs some quality control on the retail cars.
It stands to reason that extra care was taken with the Speedway Cars, since they were marketed to collectors.
All right MET….. I think we have given Mattel long enough to resolve the speedway of the south issue, and I have not noticed a resolution of sorts on the Hotwheels collector site. As you can imagine, the issue I am talking about is the individually numbered speedway of the south sets.
When the issue first came up, the message board on Hotwheels went nuts, and they closed the posting down pending a decision. That was weeks ago, and I think it is time to start pushing for an answer again.
Have you heard anything? I have not seen a blog here on that topic for some time…
(MET: See the below comment 🙂 took the er, words right out of my copy & paste? 🙂 I hadn’t bothered to update since I figured when I received the actual letter, it would make for a more interesting post … and now, we wait … so anyone who gets the letter, send us a scan (you can of course, erase your name & address) …).
Matt – There is a solution – it’s one of the top highlighted posts in the Hot Wheels Discussion area.
Here’s what HWC Administrator Mark said:
“As many of you know, the sales article for the Pixar Cars Speedway of the South set indicated that the sets would be individually numbered up to 1000. This was an error in the article, as the sets were never intended to be numbered.
However, to avoid any disappointment with our customers, we will be mailing numbered stickers to all who purchased the set, with instructions on where to apply the sticker.
Stickers will be mailed randomly – the same way they would have been had they already been applied to the sets. This is in accordance with the way all numbered RLC items are shipped. Time of order does not dictate what number a customer receives.
We apologize for the error in the article and thank you for your patience.”
I posted this under a different area about a week ago. Hope this helps.
Found anything good in the Big O lately?
Thanks Carsmama… the whole randomly numbered thing ought to be interesting. Those of us here who got the set should disclose the number we receive to see how random it truly is, or if it is mere coincidence that most of us receive high numbers….
I have not seen anything here in ages, and I just made a late night run to WM on 180th L. Got the Stacey a while back, but as I am sure you have noticed, the cubes lasted about 4-6 days…. Still looking for the new group.. I will keep you and everyone else updated, as well as pick up some spares when I find them…
LADIES AND GENTS – I HAVE UP FOR OFFERS – 2-PIT CREW MEMBER GUIDOS 2-RACE OFFICIAL TOM2-DUDLEY SPARE(OCTANE GAIN PITTY)1- WINGO 2- THREE PK OF GOLD MIA,TIA,BLING MCQUEEN 1-TONGUE MCQUEEN1-MARIO ANDRETTI 1-FRED 1- RPM#64 2-YETI 1- FILLMORE1- TJ THE HUMMER1 -AL-OFT THE BLIMP 1- GHOSTLIGHT RAMONE(BLUE)1-LEAKLESS1-CHICK HICKS(GREEN)1- DJ(TUNERZ)1-CACTUS MCQUEEN1-DARRELL CARTRIP1- DALE EARNHARDT JR. 1- PIT CREW MEMBER DOC HUDSON(RED WHEELS) 1- DOC HUDSON******LOOSE CARS ARE FOLLOWS******1-RED MIA1-RED TIA 1-PIT CREW MEMBER FILLMORE 1-CHUKI 1-DUDLEY SPARE 1-STACY (LEAKLESS PITTY) ALL CARS ARE NEW IN PACKAGES THESE ARE CARS I BOUGHT AS EXTRAS SO ARE THERE ANY TAKERS? IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THESE CARS LEAVE A POST HERE OR CONTACT ME DIRECT-SJVHEATHCLIFF@VERIZON.NET AND TO ALL A “KACHOWERIFFIC DAY”!!!
megaheat,
Please turn the caps off.
I have Trunk Fresh