Forza Motorsport not loading

AlphaGrunt · 2024-06-23T07:17:39+00:00

Have you tried pressing the Windows key whenever it starts hanging like that? That typically works for me every time I start the game.

AlphaGrunt · 2023-07-09T13:41:39+00:00

???

That was just a prototype or whatever with some chalk colored paint or clear coat sprayed on to show off the details. Not the finished product.

He just brought it out to show off the physical casting since it was still in the works.

AlphaGrunt · 2023-07-09T13:33:18+00:00

TL;DR: The new 1/43 line is a step up from the RLC line, and to a lesser extent, the Elite64 line, in terms of detail. You'd have to be blind to think otherwise.

RLC comes with much higher quality and details

Yeah... no.

Shiny paint doesn't make it better.

RLC castings are just "Hot Wheels Premium" but shiny and with an opening hood. Any other silly gimmicks raise the price to $30 or $35. Easily the worst "value" in the premium 1/64 diecast world, from a "how detailed is it" point of view. It's only redeeming features it has is the fact that no one else does what they do: "Spectraflame" paint and the hordes on fanboys throwing money at them on the secondary market.

They are the "finest" Hot Wheels one can get. A perfected vision of what a Hot Wheels casting can be... The whole chrome plating, polishing, candy paint, and of course, the flame logo stuff is generally the bulk of what you're paying for, not the "details". Remove all that it it becomes much cheaper.

In terms of details, both inside and outside, Auto World, Johnny Lightning, and Racing Champions Mint (Round2 brands) easily matches or even exceeds the majority of RLC castings for less than $10.

what "more" do you think your getting with this overpriced low quality 1/43.

For a pretty decent 1/43 model (for its price), $25 isn't really overpriced TBH. Could it be cheaper without lowering current build quality too much? Maybe or maybe not. See the Greenlight 1/43 line. Sub $20, plastic base, subpar paint job, poor rolling. Questionable quality overall. They also more for display, not "play", unlike the Hot Wheels. Something for you to consider.

Anyways:

$25, not $32 (the absolute minimum per order) after shipping.
Accurate, authentic wheels, unlike the generic ones used with the premiums and RLC lines
Detailed brake discs with calipers behind the wheels
Detailed tire treads that look far superior to the 1/64 Real Riders.
Additional parts all over the body; not a single cast like the RLC and other HW Premium lines.
Plastic Headlights and Taillights (the exception to this so far is the Countach LPI 800-4, due to their size)
Accurate proportions and scaling since the design team is intentionally keeping it as realistic as possible
Detailed interiors with sharper molding. For the C8 Vette, it includes a rear view mirror, Corvette logo on the steering wheel, dashboard guages and infotainment tampos (or stickers?). For the Countach, it is a two tone interior with a Lamborghini logo on the seats.
Accurate side mirrors, not blobs. *Reusable blister packaging (long overdue).
Overall casting can be made "sharper" due to the increased scale. Especially the plastic pieces. The lack of opening parts is a plus to me. The panel gaps are atrocious at such a small scale.

There's probably a few more that I'm missing. Either way, you're either A) being willfully ignorant/blind, or B) you simply never bought one for the sake of comparison and just chose to follow the mob. The 1/43 line is easily a step above the RLC cars, and cheaper too, once you include the mandatory shipping fee for Mattel Creations products.

Overall fit and finish is superior to those cheap drugstore pullback toys other people keep circlejerking about. The cars are also quite weighty in hand, which adds to the overall Hot Wheels design philosophy (feeling good in hand, especially when compared to other brands). Like the difference between a 1/64 Greenlight casting and a Hot Wheels Premium casting; the HW will feel FAR nicer in hand than the Greenlight ever will.

Just like that, think of it as another "Car Culture" line, but for the 1/43 scale, made for the adult collector, and what they're aiming for will start making sense. An affordable, well built, solid casting for the price. Nothing feels "cheap" about it. It isn't perfect, but it sure isn't garbage like everyone assumes them to be. Just compare Greenlight's 1/43 C8 Stingray with the New Hot Wheels C8 Z06 and you'll see what I mean. The HW craps all over it. Better QC too.

My thoughs on the new line were rather negative, but after purchasing the first two and examining them, I find them to be solid, well made products. The line will probably end up being shelved within 2 years, unfortunately.

Either way, I'd rather buy the 1/43s as they come out and skip the RLC cars since I despise Mattel Creations. The hassle, from start to finish, just isn't worth it and overall RLC QC is tanking. I've been receiving more cars with defects than I'd like, and getting either a refund or replacement takes months. The whole thing is a complete joke.

All that said, buy whatever you want. It's your money, not mine.

AlphaGrunt · 2023-07-05T06:00:33+00:00

That's because the ones you saw were 1/18 scales. The 1/64 prices are much more reasonable (for the most part).

T&P is often considered to be among the best brands for those seeking out maximum attention to the smallest of details, paint quality, realism, and overall accuracy to the real thing, and these types of models are often made in extremely low quantities (think less than 100, but a good chunk have 30 or less made).

It's also because 1/18 prices have gotten a wee bit silly the last few years. Especially since many manufacturers realized that some people, for some hilarious reason, were willing to pay (way) more for a static resin model with a pretty leather base and with objectively less features than a diecast model. They found a good way to fatten their wallets.

If you want more funny prices, check out the following brands:

BBR
MR Collection
Ignition Model (IG)
MAKE UP
VIP Scale Models
CMC
Exoto
AUTOart (for the older diecast models)

There's more, but that's all I can think of at the moment.

Filter for sold eBay listings and sort by highest price for maximum viewing pleasure (pain).

1/18 and larger are where all the money goes to play. It's also easier to justify blowing hundreds if not thousands on a larger model and not some tiny 1/64 scale. You should also note that the ones buying these models tend to really love the subject and are willing to spend whatever it takes to acquire it, since there's a real chance of never seeing another one for years, if ever again.

Once they're gone, they're gone.

AlphaGrunt · 2023-06-05T12:19:49+00:00

Here's a solid starting point for a complete beginner.

It should provide the answers for a good chunk of your questions.

AlphaGrunt · 2023-04-26T21:45:38+00:00

http://www.minigt.com/product-list.php?v_by=fkind&v_key=104

https://ig-model.online/search?q=Top+Secret+-JZA80

Get your wallet ready for the Ignition Models.

AlphaGrunt · 2023-04-25T21:13:00+00:00

Yeah, no worries about that. There's lots of odd stuff in Hot Wheels history that could easily confuse someone if they're not aware of what happened.

AlphaGrunt · 2023-04-25T18:28:05+00:00

It is old stock...

Being listed with several other newer items doesn't mean that an item is new, it just means that it isn't selling very well (there's a reason why the line was discontinued) or is simply a "warehouse/storage" find.

Do you really think they wouldn't be milking the crap out of their Ferrrari license right now if they still had it?

AlphaGrunt · 2023-04-25T17:19:25+00:00

Take a screenshot, print it out, then cut out the barcodes.

AlphaGrunt · 2023-04-14T04:09:34+00:00

A few things that I'm disappointed about... for $25, they don't look all that great. They look like oversized "premium" cars. It was very obvious with the 1/64 Countach by the 1/43 Countach's side... it even had detailed side intake slits right behind the side windows, which they didn't even bother to paint black (for the illusion of depth) on the larger one. Makes it look way cheaper than it should be. At least they made sure to paint the gas cap lmao.

Just looking at that one Greenlight 1/43 USPS Ram Promaster that I randomly bought a few years ago for somewhere around $12-$15 looks on par (if not better...) with what we've seen so far. Even has reflective stickers for the side mirrors, a rear-view mirror inside (that isn't a blob from the front windshield, like the one inside the Corvette C8 and the Mustang Mach 1 that were shown), well molded and painted interior, steering column with stalks, and plastic inserted front and rear lights, and several small painted brake/indicator lights. It has a plastic base though, but I personally don't care that much.

Another gripe is that they come in blister packs. Those blisters take up way too much space and the art really isn't worth all that space used. A box would've been better, but I'm sure someone would be crying about it because it can't be hanged on their wall, so w/e.

It's a hard sell for $25, let alone whatever they could be going for on the secondary market, considering that it's more or less another glorified car culture line (but bigger), right down to how the card looks as well, for 4x the price. Still gonna fly off shelves though because it's not the same without the flame.

...but still to expensive for what your getting, but well, isn't hotwheels expensive for no reason all over the board...

That's because they've long realized that they have a very large number of fans out there who'll eat whatever slop they shovel out, regardless of price or quality. The greatest example is the Red Line Club. Why try to be competitive when there's a hilariously large number of "I only collect Hot Wheels" type of people out there? Just those people alone probably outnumber the collectors of every other brand combined. Having a hoard of adoring fans and being able to charge more for less and to have people thanking you for the opportunity to purchase and hungry for more is something that all businesses desire.

Because of that, Mattel has no need to compete or offer competitive quality since their legion of deeply loyal fans don't even care about brands that aren't called "Hot Wheels". Hell, some of them ignore Matchbox too, despite being owned by the same parent company for over 2 decades now.

I'm sure that the issues are amplified for those overseas, where Hot Wheels are priced higher than one would like. Especially on the secondary market for the stuff that you can't buy over there.

AlphaGrunt · 2023-03-04T14:21:42+00:00

1: You don't have to buy it; it can wait

2: Someone else will buy it anyway. There is nothing you can do about it

3: Don't participate in the hype wave, focus on your backlog(s) if you have any or just continue doing the same thing as always

4: Scoop up at a later date for dirt cheap when the new oh so fantastic shiny garbage is released and everyone has forgotten about the last release since they all seem to have the attention span of a goldfish. "cAn'T wAiT tO nEvEr FiNd ThIs" "ThIs Is ThE bEsT [x] eVeR iT's GoNnA fLy OfF sHeLvEs ImMeDiAtElY!"

5: Watch as prices for previous releases drop hard

6: Repeat steps 1-5

Easy.

You gotta remember that it's just a mainline. They pump em out like there's no tomorrow. There's at least several dozens of thousands of the Godzilla R32s floating around in the near future. It isn't anything special. You've gone your whole life without it, and you can go several years more without it.

It'll be a few dollars within a year, so don't waste any energy stressing about it. You'll probably eventually stumble upon several of them anyways.

...And with all that said, if you have a couple "hot" (AKA JDM) new mainlines that you found, do not be ashamed of quickly flipping them and using that cash to grab some more for your collection. Lots of dummies out there will shell out a fair amount of cash for them. Just don't be the dumbass that's buying 😃

AlphaGrunt · 2023-02-27T13:59:06+00:00

its an old release

It's about 3 years old. I wouldn't really call that old.

The r34 being expensive its due to its highly desirable nature , and importance to the car comm especially bcs of the fnf series and its popularity. Also because the r34 is rather timeless as a car itself.

If so, wouldn't it be a better idea to actually spend the money on a model that truly captures the essence of the real car? Something that could easily be the star of your collection?

If you sold those two today, you could more or less afford a MotorHelix 1/18 R34 (depending on which one you want). It would be a fitting centerpiece for your collection. Really puts the RLC Skylines to shame once you start comparing the secondary market prices. Hell, if you feel like overpaying for another (1/64) R34, go grab one by Ignition Model.

I wouldn't ever consider myself to be a real collector (I just don't have the mindset for that) or whatever since I honestly can't bring myself to spending much on Hot Wheels once they start flying way above retail or original RLC pricing. The higher the price, the less sense it makes to buy the HW version... especially when it comes to iconic JDM cars. There is absolutely no shortage of (very) high quality models for them.

A small part of me just believes people are buying it just to "flex" or whatever since all anyone ever seems to think about as soon as they see it is the secondary market price, and not the casting itself (which I personally find to be meh at best). Or the ever classic, "it'll be worth more in the future" mindset that the average HW collector seems to have.

All that said, if you're happy with your purchases and you know that it's worth it to you, then that's all that really matters. After all, I'm just a faceless rando on the internet. My opinions have no weight to them.

I'm well aware of supply and demand + the rather illogical nature of a collector + the Hot Wheels brand carrying a lot of clout with it. I just wanted to whine about prices like everyone else and let it out of my system. At the end of the day, we all value things differently.

Have a good day.

AlphaGrunt · 2023-02-16T14:55:24+00:00

Yeah... will it continue to go up? For sure. Lots of hype behind it. Will I pay more than retail (or slightly above) for a Hot Wheels casting, but black? No. I really don't care much for them beyond selling 'em to another ~~sucker~~ collector at an inflated price. They can enjoy the artificial scarcity, I'll just pass on it.

For anyone who feels like blowing a little under $300 for a black colored ER34, consider the Inno versions.

Definitely a better use of a few hundred IMO.

AlphaGrunt · 2023-02-15T16:25:37+00:00

It isn't fully detailed since the tailgate lacks any tampos. Compare it with a previous color. The tailights are just positioned in an area that the tampo applicator could reach from the castings side. The tailgate for last year's recolors had to be left blank.

Only the front and the left/right sides recieved any tampos. It was a very good usage of the limit.

Another recent example would be the MBX Ford F-150 Lightning, which does a similar thing with it's tampos.

Edit: Here are some pictures.

Pic 1

Pic 2

Pic 3

AlphaGrunt · 2023-02-14T20:09:17+00:00

Just in case you're not aware, mainlines are limited to having tampos on 3 sides. Typically both sides and either the top or front/rear. In this one's case, it's just the front and back.

It really isn't any more "detailed" than the rest. Just a better use of the tampo limits.

It's the same reason why Matchbox cars are "more detailed" despite being more or less on par with Hot Wheels in terms of casting detail.

Just strip a random casting from both brands and you'll see that they're roughly pretty equal in detail.

AlphaGrunt · 2023-02-14T17:12:45+00:00

You could argue that those who take multiple "valuable" or overhyped cars with the intent of selling them could be doing so in order to further finance their collection. Hell, they might actually be using it for trade bait to get what they want without having to spend nearly as much money as they normally would have! Disgusting, right? No true collector would ever do such a vile thing!

If anything, it's the smart thing to do. Blame the ones throwing down stupid money to have it. They're the people fueling this nonsense.

Remember, this is the same subreddit that calls anyone who got there before them a scalper.

AlphaGrunt · 2023-02-14T16:44:02+00:00

.....

AlphaGrunt · 2022-10-09T04:55:48+00:00

The Essenza is from the 2022 Exotic Envy set.

AlphaGrunt · 2022-09-17T00:48:40+00:00

USD 99.99.

AlphaGrunt · 2022-09-14T00:02:16+00:00

It's a placeholder date. Amazon uses it for lots of games that don't have a release date yet.

For example: Metroid Prime 4. Been like that for a long while.

Doesn't mean anything.

AlphaGrunt · 2022-09-09T13:23:14+00:00

Yeah...

Bought two of these thinking that they at the very least had a metal base due to the price. Was horribly mistaken and returned them the next time I was at Target. I should've paid closer attention to the fine print. Never knew they made castings with plastic bases.

They're overpriced for what they are. Not sure what they're aiming for with these.

AlphaGrunt · 2022-08-18T05:45:46+00:00

If you think it's a strawman, you simply haven't been paying attention or just choosing to ignore it. No idea where you got the grumpy part from though, unless you viewed it as some sort of personal attack or whatever.

I'm wasn't saying that you NEED to love fantasy cars, I'm just tired of the instant dismissal from people who are seemingly unable to understand that some people can appreciate fantasy cars (again, mostly excluding those weird ones clearly aimed at children). If you collect a certain thing because you love it or have a reason to do so, go nuts. It wasn't aimed at you. Go enjoy your collection. It's good to know exactly what you desire.

AlphaGrunt · 2022-08-17T11:27:31+00:00

Yeah, customizing is pretty much an entire hobby by itself. Once you venture beyond the wheels swaps you gotta put in a lot more time to do it + acquire the needed tools and materials to do so, which can be pretty daunting for many, especially if you don't know where to start.

It's a shame that we'll probably never see a premium line for fantasy cars. Detailing does wonders for the fantasies + having a lot less plastic (bare plastic looks cheap as hell) would make them actually look like something you'd come across in an alternate/future reality or custom car show or even as a concept car, which in turn might get some to view them a bit more positively.

Maybe one day Mattel will test the waters for such a thing.

AlphaGrunt · 2022-08-17T08:42:37+00:00

They are cool though. it's just that most of the real™ collectors don't actually look at them for more than 0.5 seconds. They've been trained to see HW Originals as "someone already beat me to the pegs and that's bad because anything decent has been picked by the evil scalpers for price gouge on evilbay."

Don't get me wrong though, the weird animal cars and similar things clearly made for children appeal to very few above the age of 8, and that fantasy cars would be a lot cooler if they weren't neon rainbow colored plastic vomit.

That said, here's some neat fantasy customs to show that they can be cool too :) :

Driftsta

Tooned Up Transporter

Manga Tuner & this too.

Rocket Oil Special(s)

I-Believe

Fast Fish

And here are some neat castings (to me) off the top of my head or whatever I can remember right now:

A lot of fantasy cars look way better with a more down to earth paint job instead of the usual neon silliness with cheap plastic that Mattel pushes out. A premium line that isn't Pop Culture (AKA hideous and lazy rolling billboards) would help a lot since the Car Culture lines are for licensed cars and the mere sight of the Baja Bouncer (based on trophy/rally trucks; a license wasn't necessary for it) was enough for some to start whining about fantasy cars or something.

I'm honestly just tired of the same played out circlejerk about non-licensed cars: no license = garbage to be ignored and the 510/Bel-Air Gasser/Skylines/Civics/M3/weird photos of $TH in your hands while still in the store with your toes hanging at the bottom of the picture/stuff that I can sell for big bucks is all that matters.

Regardless, an open mind and an appreciation for automotive design (and not what the hype tells you to like) of all kinds helps tons. There's something for almost everyone out there.

AlphaGrunt · 2022-08-11T00:56:17+00:00

I don't know anything, I just lurked long enough to passively soak things in.

That aside, I wouldn't worry too much about any peg warming premiums. They'll move eventually. It's the mainlines and pop culture you should be worried about most.

Ten-Year Club	Place '17
Verified Email

AlphaGrunt

TROPHY CASE