Collectors who are on the Pope Designs mailing list found this little “gem” in their in-box this afternoon. Its an intriguing teaser to say the least! Stay tuned for more details on what is sure to be a sale of one fine ultra-limited piece!

[via popedesigns.com]

Hmmmm…what’s that little play button doing down there..? Wonder what will happen if you click it..?!?!

If you collect die cast and don’t know about Hot Cases, then you are missing out on one of the best ways to insure your collection stays in the best condition it possibly can! Not only are these sturdy cases stackable, but they are water resistant and insect proof too!

As part of their 5th Anniversary celebration, Hot Cases have produced a small quantity of special blue cases. This limited run of 1000 cases are exactly the same as the original clear/white case, but have a custom blue tint to mark 5 great years in business! 4 cases are capable of holding over 340 blisters or 432 loose cars (with the addition of their foam inserts). Be sure to act fast, as this limited quantity will sell out fast.

[via hotcases.com]

In this fourth and final post in the our “Up Close” close series featuring VW’s from Jada, we have the second Drag Beetle from V-Dubs Wave 4. Jada took a more tradition approach with the design of this one and stuck with a classic flames motif. While the choice of blue flames on yellow certainly catches the eye, there isn’t anything else that makes this particular addition stand out when placed next to the others in the Wave. The choice of running the blue over the headlights rather than detailing them realistically like the taillights seems odd.

What do you think? Leave a comment in this post and share your thoughts.

Thanks to Greg at WWW.DIEHARD-DIECAST.COM for providing the photos for this Up Close series.

[via diehard-diecast.com]

Rhode Island Hot Wheels Club president Jim Lombardi shares the latest flyer for the 2008 Summer Smash. This event will be THE best diecast experience in the northeast for 2008 - don’t miss it! Click the image to see it up close.

[via rihwc.com]

In this third entry of this week’s Up Close segment, we switch from Buses to Beetles! Jada continues the Drag Theme with this great looking “Purple People Eater” VW Beetle from Wave 4. Excellent purple paint, a red interior and great monster-themed tampos really make this one look sharp. The most noteable detail has to be the bloodshot eyeball headlights! Click any thumbnail for the full size picture:

Thanks again to Greg at WWW.DIEHARD-DIECAST.COM for providing the photos! Any guesses as to what casting will round off this Up Close series..?!

[via diehard-diecast.com]

The amazing Dave Chang returns with the next addition to his ever-popular EVO series of Drag Buses! This time around we’re seeing the third addition to his EVO GT series and it’s definitely looking sharp! Dave included a great message along with his sneak peek photos. Here’s what he had to say direct from Southern China:

First and foremost, I hope you all are having a great 2008! It’s been pretty hectic during the last month, thus the delay in updates. And 2008 will most likely be even busier. If all goes accordingly, there will be some new licensed DCDesigns (graphics wise), I’ll be doing with a some newer diecast manufacturers. One of them have really got some cool innovative ideas & designs never seen before and their quality is truly top notch. The samples have been finished and the artwork looks very sharp! I’ll fill you guys in personally on the details when the time permits.

Now, of course, onto the debut “Sneaks” of the 2008 Series 3 of the EVO GT Drag Bus! The “Flamin’ Hot Series” will be on sale Saturday, January 26th at 9AM, Pacific time. We’ve implemented some safeguards and upgrades with our site tech again and hopefully we won’t have another site melt down (crash!.) as we had with our last sale. Remember guys, if the pages are loading slow, never hit that purchase button more than once. It’s like a huge bottleneck of orders trying to finalize/complete, so every time you click, it will most likely register and you will get charged again.

Series 3 will sport some killer new shoes, I named it the KC Torque. Our factory calls it, wheel #4 (lol). My engineer and I work very closely, side-by-side on all our stuff and this wheel I feel is exceptional! The paint selections are kandy colors that we formulated and tested to work with, or be compatible with the tampo inks that are involved with our line is really gorgeous! Brilliant hues of a bluish-teal and apple-green, both with a silky pearl-white combination really jumps out at you! I sometimes wonder if this series should’ve been called the “As If Series” because it truly looks “As If” I personally painted these myself, lol.

Here’s a ‘lil tidbit. Do you remember our first release at the end of 2006, the first issue DC02 kandy blue (EVO SS Version)? I mentioned the colors has to be tested with the tampos is because there’s this rare occurrence called paint migration and in this case, the entire run of over 1000 units had to be scrapped of the blue DC02. Now that’s our commitment to quality! Paint migration is when after doing an age test (which essentially is putting a product in a controlled heated device), the liquid colors (kandy) migrates into the tampo and causing the colors to look dull. This starts happening usually about 3-6 months down the line if it occurs.

Onto Series 3 Sneaks - The Flamin’ Hot Series of the KustomCity® EVO GT Drag Bus. We’ll have more pics soon on our sites soon and a following email from K-Tek. After 2 additional product cost increase for us in the last 4 months, our price will still be only $34.95 per unit. I really don’t need to say you really do get a lot here for that price. Real “Limited Edition” numbers and never leave out the quality on these babies and the meticulous quality artwork involved along with that awesome precision roll. Truly the complete package. I hope the pics speak for themselves:

As you can plainly see, Series 3 is sure to be a sell-out! Mark your calendars now and get ready for a great sale!

[via ktekdiecast.com]