On March 15 in the post called “The Great Zamac Flood,” I asked: “What am I going to do with all these cars???” Well, here is part of the answer: I’m going to put as many of them as I can on the diorama! We’re long past the point of being able to add cars, so the only answer now is to remove stuff that’s already there and replace it, but I don’t mind a few changes here and there to keep things interesting. Granted, there are a few things I’m so happy with-that are so perfect-that I can’t see changing them, but if I look hard enough and consider long enough, I can find something here or there that I’m willing to alter.
ALTERED STATE!
Here, then, is a look at a couple of recent changes to the layout where I’ve brought some of the most irresistible recent die-cast purchases into the fold. This isn’t to say I won’t miss what was there before, and in some cases I’ll admit that these are changes rather than improvements, but I think its a good idea to change things out every now and then for the sake of variety…
BEFOREAFTERThe metallic sand colored TR6 was replaced with this green one. In a vacuum I liked the first color better, but surrounded by red and yellow cars I thought the green provided better contrast: it pops!A “Spectrafrost” deep purple race-prepped ’67 Firebird from the Hot Wheels “Cool Classics” series actively undergoing inspection, replacing the dark red Johnny Lightning ’70 AMC Rebel formerly at this bay, which is now moving across the infield to the staging areaBEFOREAFTERThe original “Cal Custom” AC Cobra (a release from the mid-’80s) has been superseded by this awesome “Classics” release in Spectraflame “Antifreeze” greenNo “Before” photo here, but also in the inspection area this recently acquired HW “premium” release of the Aston Martin DB5-metal over metal with Real Riders-in metallic green race livery (it came with the numbers, I didn’t add them!) took the place of a metallic black and gold Ford EscortI really didn’t need any more cars in the paddock, but the only way I could add any more was to pick a couple with short wheelbases I could scrunch into the remaining space, and these two new Hot Wheels fit the bill: a ’37 Ford gasser in matte black (a mainline, but an awesome one!) and the “Altered States” from the über cool “Street Show” premium series with special paint, custom wheels, rubber tires, etc; I could not resist!Another extremely cool mainline release that I had never seen until I bought it! I’ve always loved this blown Austin Healey 100 and I already owned the 1st issue in black over silver and a later one in red over white, but this gunmetal gray version with silver stripes and red interior and a racing number was made to order for Drag City! There are too few 1:64 models of Austin Healeys, and while this model is a little on the big side, I loved it enough to let it take the place of an equally cool red ’57 Corvette racer…for now, at least!The only recently added maroon “Max Steel” hot rod has already been pulled in favor of “Old #3,” another casting I’ve never had until now. This is probably not a permanent add, but I did think it would be cool to have a really old car in the paddock for a while!Now you knew this was coming! No way I could resist this awesome silver release of the beautiful 904 Carrera GTS in the Porsche bay in pit row! The 356C coupe got pushed to the back of the same bay, but its still there!I’ve made the case that one of the hallmarks of a cool diorama is the detail set up in places that are difficult to see without some effort on the part of the viewer. Some may argue that such a cool (and very expensive, I might add) premium Hot Wheels model of the Ford GT 40 should be more prominent, but though it’s buried behind the action in pit row, this awesome copy of this awesome car is there in the Ford bay if you look for it! A bright yellow Mk IV version is right behind it, with a dark blue version by Auto World in the other slot
So yeah, there you have it! Would those have been your picks, or would you have chosen something else? Its’ never easy choosing between thousands of cars to display, which is why it’s only a matter of time before some other cool stuff rotates out so more cool stuff can rotate in! So, stay tuned: the excitement never stops at DRAG CITY! 😛
2 thoughts on “Keepin’ It Poppin’ – Drag City Raceway Gets Cooler Every Day”
These changes keep the place alive and a feast for the eyes! Some of these new additions are just so cool, it is totally ok to replace some of the less exciting ones, and it’s not like your going to throw those away! These are some really awesome tableau’s and even the use of putting certain colors and styles together is really artistic as well as visually appealing!
These changes keep the place alive and a feast for the eyes! Some of these new additions are just so cool, it is totally ok to replace some of the less exciting ones, and it’s not like your going to throw those away! These are some really awesome tableau’s and even the use of putting certain colors and styles together is really artistic as well as visually appealing!
Still needing a Unicorn petting zoo.