HW Tooned | Volkswagen Beetle

03.06.2018 – The Volkswagen Beetle has been one of the iconic and most familiar-looking cars of the 20th century. It has been interpreted in various forms of media, and someone out there keeps making good art or customizing an actual car into something that has never been done before. The car never runs out of style, and it continues to be relevant despite it has been replaced by a modern version that is entirely different. This also translates to how Hot Wheels manage to continue churning out a die-cast version of the car, and with every release, there’s a new colour or deco that might catch your attention. Of course, that doesn’t stop Mattel from coming out version that the Volkswagen brand is on-board like the Käfer Racer to a Tooned version!

Of course, the Tooned version was released eight years ago and was designed by Phil Riehlman in 2009. It had an exaggerated V8-mounted rear engine that won’t even be possible for the back of the car to carry its weight. But it is a ‘Tooned’ version that appears to be cartoonish a similar take to the Japanese take on the term “Super Deformed,” where the character has a huge head with a tiny body.

How Wheels’ Tooned cars are similar to this concept, where everything is exaggerated just like how the rear engine is ginormous to even be possible to suspend your belief is quite hilarious. This is also similar to the discontinued series that Hot Wheels produced from 2003-2005, which was called Blings.

There was also an artwork of a Volkswagen Beetle similar to this, but this is in its physical form with the more rounded shape squished that had big wheels that certainly looks the part.

The usual Hot Wheels packaging for 2017 is the same design from the 2010s with minor changes to the carded design. But sometimes the US releases have more description of the featured car in the back compared to the international release with nothing more than a blurb or a tiny image description if there’s a gimmick or feature. In some ways, the colours of the background are clean, and now describe the designated mini-collection segment on the side of the product with the image logo, where it is part of the series. Underneath is of course the name of the car. There’s no image on the back of this card as there’s nothing to see other than the logo of the Tooned Series and multi-language details. It’s the colourful art of the Volkswagen Beetle is the centerpiece of this card, and the yellow pops the way the actual product is shown on the front. It’s something very few collectors, casual buyers, parents, or even kids would look to appreciate. Because most would rip the cards straight to the bin. There’s a very rare appreciation to take notice of the packaging other than describing it and not taking a pause to just see how the art went to making the image resonate with the product’s main selling point.

A close-up of the details for this card art with the car and the product is mostly ignored. I did keep the card, but the shelf that housed the card went straight to the green bin if that can still be recycled.

Tooned to Race

This Tooned version of the Volkswagen Beetle released for the 2018 mainline series is the second colour following the earlier version in “Sea Foam Green” that’s more like a Turquoise or Teal that also have wood panel deco on both sides with a tiny Hot Wheels logo that also includes detail headlights that enhances the look of this car.

The blown-up rear-mounted engine certainly gets your attention for something absurd in the way that it shows being race ready for some serious drag racing. It is quite hilarious at the same time looking like a beefed-up hot rod that’s aching to burn rubber at the race track that’s about to own its opponent.

The Bugger to see

The contours and shape don’t look ‘normal’ if you’re used to the way a Volkswagen Beetle looks for real. But it is quite the exaggeration that made this casting stand out from most of the Tooned cars that Hot Wheels ever produced being a licensed product and the way it was interpreted in this appearance made it look good.

There have been previous versions released, and sometimes it is the deco that makes it even more attractive. The wood panels on the sides are the ones that caught my attention. I’ve seen the previous release and they were great too. But this one got me interested when the “Sea Foam Green” version came out.

Of course, the yellow version was even more attractive with the wood panel deco unchanged from the previous release that matches the tone, and why this one became a personal favourite as compared to the earlier release.

Overall, the Tooned take on the Volkswagen Beetle is something to add to anyone’s collection. But if you are into collecting the Beetle, this is one of those variations that you might like as you don’t see this in other brands that have that cartoonish look. It is one of the best-looking take by Hot Wheels in making it into a Tooned car.

The yellow version is a stand out having this deco shows it must be driving by the coastline near the beach. In some ways, the perspective was just right when the adventure for this little bug takes you to Glenelg Beach, which is quite appropriate for the way this car drives while the engine roars into the week!