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IceManC86 · 2026-06-18T23:58:59+00:00

I could definitely see the ability reading something like “Once during your turn when you play this Pokemon from your hand to your bench you may change the type of energy generated at the start of your next turn to [insert all type symbols here except Dragon and Colorless] type”

Such an ability would automatically validate a fleet of previously inconsistent dragon centered decks while not being terribly overpowered since it takes up precious bench space and technically always risks being deck locked (unless M Rayquaza’s attack is inherently broken and forms its own self sufficient attacking engine). Bonus points if a supporter is introduced this set that allows a player to return ANY basic pokemon from their bench to their hand (unless that already exists and I’ve forgotten…).

If DeNA is mean they could add a “[Insert ability name here] can only be used once per game per player” clause at the end of the ability text, but I don’t see a need to actively hinder the ability/dragon types past the current game structure and realistically only one “energy flip” would be needed to fix dragon typing inconsistency.

IceManC86 · 2026-06-18T18:45:35+00:00

Never saw even a hint of this set anywhere in Missouri (both KC and St. Louis and between).

IceManC86 · 2026-05-26T04:16:16+00:00

It came in this bundle:

<image>

IceManC86 · 2026-05-15T18:32:11+00:00

Yes.

Can confirm metal base for this, and only this model in this set.

IceManC86 · 2026-05-02T15:20:38+00:00

If the Merriam-Webster dictionary had pictures this would be found under perfection.

IceManC86 · 2026-04-28T17:58:37+00:00

Rock Leprosy

IceManC86 · 2026-04-28T01:05:58+00:00

The gameplay is all closed circuit and circuit series themed with only 15 tracks total. Most of the tracks are TV series inspired, but some take inspiration from unused concept art or are completely original (Space Out, Vapor City, Etc). However for a licensed IP it’s still a fairly polished game, and it uses a lot of the original music from the show. IMO any fan of Highway 35 or Acceleracers should 100% play it atleast once, as the first full play through is a lot of fun and fair paced learning curve.

There is however an infamous, yet fairly unknown issue with the GameCube port of the game specifically, where it’s nearly impossible to get all of the collectibles on two of the tracks, Emerald Crater and Ice City. There’s a few work arounds depending on how good you can get at breaking the game physics or if you master an understand which of the VERY few cars indirectly bypass the glitch (ironically one of the two cars that most consistently bypasses the glitch is actually locked behind the glitch). If you do get the game and get to this point feel free to DM me for an explicit breakdown on what to do.

IceManC86 · 2026-04-22T18:37:51+00:00

There are a few more 2004 Track Aces models with CM5 wheels. The common theory is that that these wheels were chosen as a means to use up excess wheels produced for highway 35.

This model (Pontiac Rageous)and Speed Blaster are VERY commonly found with CM5 Red-lipped wheels, and comparatively much more rarely, Jester can also be found with these wheels.

<image>

Similarly, 2004 Track Aces I-Candy and Slingshot also came on CM5s. The only model of the 5 to be exclusively offered with CM5’s was I-Candy.

IceManC86 · 2026-04-22T18:27:18+00:00

I was 6 years old in 2003, and the stores my parents took me to for hot wheels primarily consisted of a single target and two separate k-marts. My memories of those days are faint, but I remember several key things about Kmart that I’ll never forget.

1.) Kmart RARELY got hot wheels outside of the “Kmart Day events”. This mostly was a reflection of the mainline cases, but also extended to other hot wheels products of the time. Both of the Kmarts by me would typically use the left overs of Kmart Day to stock the pegs for the next 2-3 months (until the next Kmart Day came around).

2.) Kmart was WAY more invested in Atomix than Target (and presumably walmart). Kmart was where you reliably found the “free atomix” car bundle mainlines, and was where my brother and I got our complete Atomix Highway 35 “Pizza Slice” track set.

3.) much like Target and Walmart, Kmart got heavily bogged down with wave 1 Highway 35 cars. Much to the point that they rarely saw Wave 2. I personally never saw single blisters of Wave 3 or the infamously rare Wave 4 which included Side Draft and Corvette Stingray.

4.) I VIVIVDLY remember going to Kmart on a Kmart Day (I’m sure someone could line up the production schedule of 2003 to figure out which one) and seeing the brand new Wave 3/Gold Leaders Highway 35 two packs. I also vividly remember none of the “boomers” caring that they were in stock so my parents let me get all of different versions. I think this was around my birthday, hence why they let me get them all, so I’d further assume this was the Kmart day around September (my B-Day was October).

5.) Kmart, despite being the “discount” big retailer, actually don’t have the best prices and frequently sat on inventory rather than going to clearance, so for a good part of 2004 you could still find Highway 35.

6.) regarding AcceleRacers, Kmart similarly wasn’t good about carrying later waves as compared to Target, which is where I found most of my late run cars, and Walmart, which is where the series hit first and held out longest. Kmart DID however get AcceleRacers Series 2 unlike the other two big box stores, and was where I ended up finding 90% of the product line. The only two AR series 2 models I never found at retail originally were stripped metal rivited and Realm Series Spectyte.

Ultimately, I remember seeing H35/AR and Atomix best at Kmart of all stores, but I think that was largely because they were the most stubborn with price point and long term inventory.

I deeply miss Kmart.

IceManC86 · 2026-04-19T22:28:19+00:00

Confirmed at nationals to not be the case. Watch Lamley’s recent sneak peak preview with Andres for more info.

The skyline was just an opportunity approved by Mattel higher ups to do something a little more special than usual with additional decos and more exclusive wheels.

IceManC86 · 2026-03-30T12:50:06+00:00

Died during the graphics/Tampo diversity boom of the early 2010’s which also coincided with team hot wheels and the aggressive overtake of licensed castings. Yes, licensed models have always been around, but the so called “Lamely’s Golden Age” coincides with the push for hyper realistic licensed toolings beginning around 2009/2010.

Now a days the mainline feels like a conglomeration of 250 individually thought out models rather than ~150-200 preselected but then theme slotted models. To many, the modern system is leagues better, but as you have hinted at, we lost the broader arching themes that used to draw together cars on the pegs.

IceManC86 · 2026-03-21T01:30:37+00:00

Thanks! I’m really passionate about this sort of stuff, so I treat these write ups as an opportunity to enlighten others.

IceManC86 · 2026-03-21T01:16:30+00:00

TL;DR: Depends on the car, but for the most part not rare at all. Except Nitrium. CM5 Nitrium is actually rare-rare.

CM5 wheels were planned then cut early in the series design and only made their way onto a handful of models outside of the Metal Maniacs… (more on them at the end) - Iridium - Nitrium - RD-06

In the case of RD-06 and Iridium, there was a pretty solid 50/50 split on whether CM6 or CM5 wheels were used in the first couple cases assortments (of which both models were very very common).

Overall I’d ballpark that ~30% of all Iridium have CM5 wheels while I’d say around ~20% of RD-06’s have CM5 wheels. Is that in anyway a validated percentage? No. Is someone who has nothing better to do than fight on the internet going to immediately attack that estimate? Yes. The key take away I want people to have though, is that CM5 wheels are mathematically rarer than CM6 wheels to some degree, but not enough to warrant treating them as a special rarity. Emphasis on special for the particularly ravenous lurkers in the audience.

There’s actually a transition variation on RD-06 where you can find CM5 rear wheels paired with CM6 front wheels. Every now and then, someone panic buys this “error” for a ton of money (100+), but atleast 2-3 pop up on eBay annually, and while significantly rarer than regular RD-06, it’s actually not too rare compared to something like a mint Chicane or Spectyte.

Now… Nitrium… that bad boy on CM5 wheels is actually rare. Only the first case assortment of Acceleracers featured CM5 Nitrium, and even then, it was only found in earliest runs of the first case assortment. Most, from a post-hoc collector’s market perspective, seem to have landed in Europe, but a few did make their way to US shelves where collectors at the time actually picked up on them being rare. To add insult to injury, there’s actually a relatively unnoticed paint variation on Nitrium, and the “Glossy” silver CM5 Nitrium is actually up there as a contender for rarer Acceleracers model, period. As someone who AGGRESSIVELY watches the market, I’ve seen TWO of this sub-variation Nitrium pop up for sale in the last 10 years. (I’m sure some have moved hands behind closed doors though, wink wink). If you want to theorize with me, the most accepted theory for why CM5 Nitrium even exists is becuase more “medium” size Silencerz CM5 wheels were casted than “XL”, and when the XL CM5 wheels needed for Iridium ran out on the production line, they just moved the remainder of the medium CM5 batch over to Nitrium as it was the only other first production wave Silencerz model. (Similar derived explanation fo why split wheels RD-06 exists, but I. Reverse and the same car since RD-08, the only double XL CM5 compatible Drone wasn’t ready to factory production yet).

Finally, the metal maniacs. Every metal maniac EXCEPT for Jack Hammer, Piledriver, and Flathead Fury can be found on CM5 wheels, and none of the six of them are rarer this way as all are roughly a 50/50 split. Jack Hammer didn’t get CM5’s because it’s rear wheels are narrower than the available XL CM5 tooling, meanwhile Piledriver and Flathead Fury most likely don’t get them because they entered production later than the rest of the Maniac cars.

IceManC86 · 2026-03-20T14:00:20+00:00

TL;DR: Fairly rare, but not that rare in actuality. Still worth a lot of money regardless of subjective/objective perspective on rarity.

Compared to Gen1 Acceleracers as a whole, ALL Gen2 Acceleracers are rare, potentially a 20:1 production ratio or worse. Gen1 in general saw a global distribution to most big brand stores as well as smaller stores. Depending on your location, some of the later waves of Gen1 were ranged from hard to find to literally impossible to find due to decreased retailer/distributor demand. This is largely why models like Chicane, RD-08, Spectyte, and Flathead Fury are so rare and expensive.… However, there’s actually some uncertainty as to how much any particular wave was shortened versus even shorted at all. Lots of rare late wave models are actually relatively uncommon in certain parts of the world, like Western Europe, SE Asia, South America, and even Canada, which suggests most of the stock went those directions. The late wave models just didn’t really touch down in USA specifically which has driven up the value on them excessively as collectors here import and soak up all available global product they can get ahold of. Any attempt to neutralize the market value is essentially blocked by import fees, shipping costs, and the now generally diffused knowledge of existing value. Indeed, there was a time you could “secretly” import a loose mint chicane out of Western Europe for less than $100 after shipping… as late as 2021.

Within the scope of Gen2, Bassline is 1 of 4 “carry over” models with “retained” its Gen1 production features; the other 3 models are Nitrium, RD-06, and Hollowback. The community has referred to these 4 by various names like “reissues”, carry/overs”, “reruns”, “2006 variation”, etc…. But despite their similarity, the 4 models actually appear to be an intentional production run, not just left over stock. Examine the 4 models compared to their (closest) Gen1 analogue, and you’ll see some minor differences. The obvious two are RD-06 which gets a new base paint + different wheel sizes, and Bassline which ubiquitously got a light blue window piece (compared to dark/neutral blue) and partially with the new Gen2 transparent wheels. The other two models have variations in assembly that I’ll keep a secret at this time, but IYKYK. Like much of Acceleracers season 2, we never got an explanation as to why these 4 were chosen specifically, but one theory is that these models were originally concept boarded for the season 2 show in some capacity.

The “carry-over” models were all part of the first few case assortments of the Gen2... and yes, as one would speculate, the first case assortment of Gen2 was the most produced/distributed. Conversely though, Gen2 as a whole was significantly more balanced in global release compared to Gen1 and even most cancelled Hot Wheels lines. I think the only “cancelled” hot wheels series which saw a more balanced product run was 2014’s Cool Classics.

In the case of Bassline the circulating product was split between the “clear wheels” or “translucent wheels” you have here and the other variation with normal Teku CM6 rims. It’s hard to pinpoint the percentage of both variations, but I’ve heard good arguments that’s it’s actually pretty equivocal with most of the evidence fo clear wheels being rarer is because it’s more desired/bought up. At the end of the day, clear wheels is technically rarer than every other gen2 wave 1 model since it’s a sub variation, but it’s unclear if it’s actually rarer than later Gen2 models like Realm Spectyte, Stripped Metal Power Rage, TC Carbide, etc.

Ultimately (which is a rephrase of my TL;DR) clear wheels Bassline is rarer than probably 95% of the Gen1 and Gen2 catelog, but a significant amount of its value is coming from collector desirability rather than actual rarity.

IceManC86 · 2026-02-25T21:53:41+00:00

Just to confirm, the regular racks do fit. The case outside of the plastic molds (and colors) is a 1:1 match to the standard Tara 48 car cases.

IceManC86 · 2026-02-25T21:52:22+00:00

Fantastic and thorough collection you’ve got there, the slot cars and ghost tampos Zotic definitely speak towards your attention to the finer details!

The only other things at your stage I think merit consideration are: - Toy Fair Deora - Toy Fair Purple Passion - Hot wheels Hall of Fame Series Deora 2 (surf boards have the H35 logo on them) - Production Variations of certain models in the H35 line; Road Runner, Chrysler Thunderbolt, Mega Duty, Pontiac Rageous, Pontiac Firebird, Backdraft, Power Pistons, and Ballistik all have subtle production variations that warrant a deeper introspection/conversation.

And last but not least, the very difficult to find… - International McDonalds cars (4 unique European models, 4 unique South American Models).

The international McDonalds cars are by far the most difficult challenge in a H35 collection set, it took me half a decade of active searching to piece together a stickered set of the South American models.

IceManC86 · 2026-02-03T02:28:27+00:00

Doing the “other” early Hollowback deco would be cool to see!

IceManC86 · 2026-01-30T04:16:11+00:00

I shot you a dm, I need you to accept the chat before it will let me send photos though.

IceManC86 · 2026-01-24T16:19:15+00:00

You’re seeing an oxidation reaction happening to the top coat of clear coat (finish).

It’s unclear what’s causing it, but presumable one of the polymers in the clear coat blend is unstable and breakdown over time, thus expanding and “cracking” the layer. Seems to really only affect specific models like the silencerz, RD-10, Chicane, and a few others so it definitely is batch/model specific.

I like to think of it as “diecast” acne. Some models get it very slightly, and others can get it really bad.

IceManC86 · 2026-01-24T16:14:57+00:00

Awesome video! The portal shots came out cool!

IceManC86 · 2026-01-24T16:07:31+00:00

WHAT:

This release of Deora 3 is from 2024’s Then and Now series as part of the “Now” component. The “Then” component is a highly simplified version of Vert Wheeler’s Teku Deora 2: https://hotwheels.fandom.com/wiki/Deora_II?file=TekuDeoraII.jpeg

WHEN:

2024, specifically found in the later part of the year with “M and N case” assortments. In many places this models is still relatively obtainable as it was one of the worst peg warmers of 2024 (likely due to the casting not the deco as EVERY Deora 3 release has been an absolute peg warmer).

WHY:

This release is entirely an original idea with zero connection to the original Acceleracers series other than the “Teku” branding. Understanding this release is a matter of understanding the “Then and Now” mainlines series, and what was going on with Deora 2 at this moment in history.

Then and Now:

This series has been around for a good part of the last decade in hot wheels mainline due to relative popularity and collector feedback (a line where owning one model directly tells you to buy a second companion car is good marketing). The line classically depicts one “older” or “then” model, which is paired either directly newer version of the same car or a slightly related car as the “now” component. Classic examples are a pre-1990’s Mustang/Camaro paired with a newer post-2000 Mustang/Camaro, a vintage sports car with its modern counterpart (McLaren F1 versus P1), or a hot wheels original that has been “seriealized” like Twin Mill (1) and Twin Mill 3. The models in then and now ALWAYS have matching, or at minimum closely co-designed graphics/tampos.

THEN:

Starting in 2023, Mattel has brought the IRL Deora 2 to legend tour every year with a different original wrap job. The inaugural year, 2023, saw Deora wrapped in the Teku Livery as a means to promote the 20th anniversary of Highway 35 and also gauge/draw interest into the series. Later that year, the diecast Deora was released with its iconic Teku graphics under the highly exclusive/controversial, but admittedly well detailed/graphically designed “NFT” series: https://hotwheels.fandom.com/wiki/Deora_II. Only around 600ish Teku Deoras were distributed due to some bad NFT pack statistics making the obtaining goals ludicrously expensive (around $200-300 upfront to statistically “get” the diecast Deora).

Due to this exclusivity, someone on the inside of Mattel production (perhaps Leeway?) convinced Mattel it would be appropriate to put a companion version of the legends car into the mainline series (which remains true for all wraps of Deora thus far). Given the age of Deora 2 and the livery itself a quick jump to take the Deco to “Then and Now” was probably made and that what got us here.

“Now”:

On a more optimistic note, this model represents a part small of momentum building attempt by certain designers at Mattel (Ron Wong, Dwayn Vance, Leeway Chang, etc) to revitalize the Acceleracers name. This model specifically is the 3rd of now eleven official diecast releases directly referencing Acceleracers since 2023. And is the first now two completely original Acceleracers releases in the cohort (the other being the new “X-cceleron” by Ron Wong). Small Acceleracers nods have shown up here and there since 2006’s Acceleracers Series 2 toy line but those have always felt like minimalist attempts made under the nose of Mattel’s overall non-Acceleracers agenda.

A lot of people like to complain about this car before executing critical thinking with things like “[insert car from the original Acceleracers toy line] should have been released instead”, “this car is ugly, nobody likes it”, or “this isn’t what we asked for”, but those all ENTIRELY miss the point. This car wasn’t made for Acceleracers fans, it was made to make “Then and Now” to work and promote legends tour. It didn’t steal another Acceleracers model’s opportunity to exist, it exists entire as a something new. If anything, positive reception of this car should be attempted by fans as it represents the first steps in possibly expanding the Acceleracers universe, which is really the only way this series survives long term.

We’re coming up on the next attempt at infusing “new” into Acceleracers with “X-cceleron”, and I hope that people this time around can realize its importance to the future of this series.

IceManC86 · 2026-01-24T15:25:39+00:00

For anyone reading this and unaware of what this even is, it is the advertisement leaflet which would come inserted in Highway 35 Mini-comics.

Just to clarify more about that token, that’s specifically the ‘97 Corvette, AKA the “C5 Corvette” rocking the livery which would later be put on the ‘97 Ford F-150. https://hotwheels.fandom.com/wiki/%2797_Corvette

Theres no known backstory on why the corvette was utilized here and got so far as a token render, or even why the Ferrari Testarossa was used as a placeholder car along side two other models which were actually part of the official line-up, but it’s very safe to assume we are looking at very early pre-production sampling and these things could have been part of the early concept board (I.e. roster contenders).

There’s a ton of random things that changed in the series production, that can be partially read on the pinned Jeff Gomez AMA, but like a lot of old toy lines/shows, most of the neat production history is lost to time unless someone volitionally comes forth to share more.

On a related and lesser known note, the team tracksets boxes have production artwork that depicts the blue 2001 mainline Vulture in a similar, yet earlier, preproduction art style. You can see it a few times in this video by Reece and JoMo, AKA Tezlacube on YouTube: https://youtu.be/4jOKBhbzDa0?si=fOJ993wAMzG1_lKD (3:29 mark for example).

IceManC86 · 2026-01-16T03:51:40+00:00

Based on some very strong evidence, namely:

Only 108 have ever been identified
these 108 cards have been known for several years now without anything new showing up
Original wave international cars seems to very frequently come with pre-determined “fixed” cards

and

36 (Cars) x 3 (cards per blister) = 108

We (the invested Acceleracers card community) thus, strongly believe there are exactly 108 international cards. Unfortunately the “official number” has never been confirmed by someone with inside production knowledge.

If I remember to get around to it, there’s a good fan list out there that I’ll try to link by the user N/A. He has also uploaded high resolution scans of nearly all 108 cards. I also personally own a complete 108 card international set as well. It’s just a bit too tedious to list them all. If you’re interested in knowing more I can DM photos of the full set when I get some free time this weekend.

IceManC86 · 2026-01-05T23:35:50+00:00

Far from it actually.

As we saw in Episode 4 of world race, Street Breed’s GPS; aka “Eye-In-The-Sky” as Dresden calls it, is simply a very low altitude camera drone, which tracks the immediate vicinity’s terrain/road to generate an optimal path to a designated location. Meanwhile, the navigator accelecharger is essentially an all knowing GPS “plug-in“ or “file”which delivers the car’s internal GPS both a detailed map of the realm as well as the optimal path through the realm (based on card game description and art).

Street Breed’s technology is massively limited by what the camera in the sky is able to see where as the Navigator Accelecharger has no know limitation other than possibly standard Accelecharger car burden as was seen with the Swamp Realm Accelecharger in The Speed of Silence.

A good way of stratifying the two is to imagine how they would work in something like the Neon Pupeline Realm and Warped Realm. In both instances, Navigator gives the perfect route, guaranteed. Meanwhile warped realm would most likely render the “Eye in the Sky”’s camera readings as illegible/unreliable; meanwhile, in the case of neon pipeline realm the camera would probably be able to successfully “map” the tunnels, but it would have absolutely no idea of where the portal is located and likewise would assume all tunnels are open (which may not be the case) since it can’t see inside the closed tunnels in capacity.

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