Review – Hot Wheels Nerve Hammer

Today we’re looking at one of the newest colorways of the Hot Wheels Nerve Hammer (Amazon.com search*, at southtexasdiecast.com), a 2006 model that has been released over a dozen times in the last eight years. The car’s translucent magenta body is a great example of why it’s sometimes cool for Mattel to use plastic body parts on their die cast toy cars.

Clear Wheels and Body!

The Hot Wheels Nerve Hammer* shown here has translucent yellow wheels and the coloring matches perfectly to the yellow-tinted windshield/hood component that is snapped into the clear magenta body. Through the clear plastic we can see a shiny interior — engine and seats — but I can’t tell if the interior parts are part of the metal chassis or chromed plastic parts.

Long and Powerful

The seats set in the back third of the Hot Wheels Nerve Hammer* body makes the car mostly hood, overall giving the toy a sleeker appearance than several of the other Hot Wheels cars in my collection.

In Stores Now

I’ve seen this version of the Hot Wheels Nerve Hammer* in several stores over the last month or so, meaning that (as near as I can tell) it’s an easy find and not one of the cars that will be tough to track down. And with a design that’s only slightly unusual, the Nerve Hammer should appeal to those Hot Wheels fans who choose the realistic over the fantastic; though why anyone would select real world car designs over some of the wilder Hot Wheels toys is a question I’ll never be able to answer.

Closing Thoughts

It may not be a real car in the real world, but the Nerve Hammer* is definitely a cool Hot Wheels car that fits perfectly in the line. There have been better uses of clear plastic bodies in the past (see my El Superfasto reviews — first review, second review — for far cooler uses of clear plastic), but the Nerve Hammer stands up strong and fun. Not at the top of my list of recommended Hot Wheels toy cars, the Nerve Hammer is one design I like but do not love.