Stock #B2200
 

CB's Die Cast Review:  July 3, 2003

HWC™ Series Two - Flying Customs™ #1
Customized VW Drag Bus

The perennial returnee VW Drag Bus makes its expected appearance in HWC “Series Two.”  This release of the casting has a lot going for it, with “painted on” graphics from a noted designer, a Spectraflame color never seen before and the new five-spoke Real Riders up front.  So, why does this offering not enthrall me?  I’ll cover that a little later.  First is the review.

With the VW Drag Bus designated for HWC-use-only late last year, it is inevitable that the casting will appear once every 12 months, if not more frequently.  Being the heaviest Hot Wheels casting in active service, along with large smooth surfaces for graphics, it was marked for inclusion in the Flying Customs segment.  The renowned Bus artist Dave Chang was tapped to provide one of his impressive graphic renderings, which he has done in spectacular style.  The die cast body of the behemoth was painted Spectraflame black, a first in any Hot Wheels era.  The color looks sharp, with the nickel-plating visible underneath while the highpoints such as rivets and sharp edges are slightly lighter in shade.  The body relief is accented appropriately, with headlights, taillights and marker lights painted in their respective colors and trimmed in silver.  The circular Volkswagen emblem on the nose is highlighted in silver.

The chassis as usual is nickel plated die cast metal, as is the motor and exhaust component.  The passenger compartment is chrome-plated plastic, which helps blend it in with the rest of the chassis.  The glass is smoke tinted plastic, which blends in with the body color.  The tires in front and back are tamped with “Kustom City,” the name of the graphic designer’s website, instead of redlines.  As with other similarly equipped vehicles, the VW Drag Bus rolls freely on the new Real Riders, perhaps even more so because of its weighty 4¾ ounces.  The designer’s signature is tamped on the rear spoiler in silver metallic ink.  All of the accents and details are crisply done, and somewhat understated so as to not detract from the primary source of attention, which is of course the fusion graphics.

The eyes are drawn immediately to the spectacular design of the fusion artwork.  As with most of Chang’s work on this “canvas,” the graphics give the impression of chunks of roof sheet metal ripped away to reveal a different design below the top design.  The artwork primarily consists of a red, yellow and green flame pattern on the nose, roof and sides, with a deep red, yellow and black Hot Wheels logo on the roof “underneath” the flame pattern.  The artwork was painted on a metal sheet at a larger size, then scanned and printed in four-color process for fusion decal application.  The Chinese-made model wears a protective glossy topcoat to protect the graphics.

This in all likelihood is the most intricate factory-produced VW Drag Bus ever released, with great care taken regarding the decal application.  Yet, I am left wanting for a number of reasons. While the artwork is extremely well done, I have been more impressed with some of the artist’s earlier works.  Perhaps it is that the four-color process does not due justice to the artwork.  Or that the artwork doesn’t cover the entire model, as it does on the HWC Dairy Delivery.  It might just be that I am Bus’d out, with the constant offerings of a casting I wasn’t fond of to begin with. The craftsmanship of this model is excellent, and VW Drag Bus collectors probably will love it.  But, if it were the last VW Drag Bus to be released, I wouldn’t miss the casting.