Review – DC Hot Wheels The Flash

After spotting a DC Hot Wheels restock in Walmart (mentioned here) I thought it was time I get a few more reviews of these toy cars online. So we’ll start with The Flash, the first toy I bought from the line. Why did Batman (review here) get reviewed first when I bought The Flash first? Because Batman always comes first. It’s like a law or something.

Metal and Plastic

One nice thing about this particular series is how much metal is used in the cars, giving them all some great heft and making them feel well worth the $4 to $5 price tag. On The Flash car shown here that entire red body (and the yellow fins) is made of metal; the clear canopies and the base of the car are plastic. The wheels are fairly standard Hot Wheels wheels and tires; it would have been nice if these were rubber tires, but that certainly would have driven the cost up since the cars in this series use unique designs . . . and they are designs that don’t really lend themselves to a lot of reuse.

But It Could Be Reused

The sleek, stylized racer design used for The Flash could also be used to make an awesome Batmobile toy. Just release the car in black with red clear canopies and a giant bat symbol on the hood and I’m sure I wouldn’t be the only one out there tracking down the recolor. I’m not sure if Mattel has any plans to do such a thing — it would be perfect for a convention exclusive toy — but I figured I would toss the idea out there in the hopes that someone in power says “Hey, we should do that.” Call me, Mattel, we’ll talk.

Pretty Good Paint

Not perfect paint — the yellow paint on the metal body isn’t an exact match for the yellow plastic, and there are some rough edges — but generally the paint apps are quite nice and the color choices are definitely bright and attractive. The Flash logo on the hood is a nice touch, even if it is a tad smaller than I like. But I guess that’s a decision to go subtle with the design; not a bad thing, just not how I would have done it.

Closing Thoughts

This is a fun series and The Flash car fits the character nicely and shows that Mattel put some serious thought and design work into this line. And as I play with the car I start to ask myself: Did I really buy this one first? Now that I think things through it’s possible that the Green Lantern car was my first purchase in this line . . . not that it matters to you. Anyway, enjoy the pics! And go look in stores since it looks like this series was recently restocked at Walmart and our local grocery store (I noticed yesterday) also restocked the line.