Hot on the heels of Tuesday evening’s ranty post about missing out on the latest Hot Wheels RLC release b/c it sold out in a matter of hours, I’ve been thinking lately about all this turmoil roiling world markets: isn’t it true that most of the really high-end Hot Wheels-the super limited, super detailed RLC releases-are made in “Ginah?” (There, I said it the way Trump says it! 😝) If I’m right about that, one has to wonder how many more “RLC Exclusives” are even going to be available this year! Or next…
Fortunately, for today’s HW and MBX collectors, most of the diecast toys we buy are made in other countries these days: Thailand, Malaysia, a handful of other Pacific Rim nations.
But more concerning for my fellow slot-heads and any readers of this blog about Thunderjet racing and collecting is the supply of electric motors that motivate our fun. It’s interesting to consider, for instance, that the Ultra G traction chassis hug the curves of our tracks via neodymium magnets, one of those “rare earths” that have been the talk of the news so much lately.
As for the track itself… Do I even need to say it?
In my specific case, I’ve already stated here on this little blog o’ mine that I’ve bought about all the slot cars I’m going to buy: the few that I’m still after are vintage pieces from 50 or more years ago, which obviously won’t be affected by tariffs. Still, I think it might be a good idea for me to stock up on some chassis in the very near future: with a fleet of nearly 500 T jets, it’s always a good idea to have plenty of spare parts around!
I’m not going to debate the merits of the trade war here, nor is this the place for a 40+ year history lesson about how we got into this awful predicament in the first place. I remember being horrified to learn in 2020 that a clearly belligerent and hostile foreign power provided almost 90% of our medications and pharmaceuticals, and just last week I heard that that number is now…90%! So we were given a warning, but did anything change? Hell no, too much money to be made, right, Pfizer?! Probably not surprising considering who was in charge for the last 5 years, including that we don’t even really know…
I think anyone who is paying attention can see that the seemingly chaotic way that this is being handled is exposing us all to a lot of risks: it does seem sometimes like “the best and the brightest” haven’t thought this through very well. But I’m also in that camp of people who know that something-something!–had to be done! Truth is, if the worst case scenario is coming to pass, we’re all going to have a lot more to worry about than Hot Wheels and Thunderjets. So stock up, yes; but I would encourage everyone not to start hoarding and panic buying: I don’t know about you, but I’m not anxious to relive the bare-shelf misery of 2020!
What you shouldn’t believe is anybody who tells you they know exactly how this is going to end. Because it’s Trump, the corporate media will do all they can to ramp up the panic and make things seem as scary as possible, but in reality, there are too many parties involved and too many wild cards to predict a landing. The ride is going to get bumpy: little doubt of that. For now, at least, I’m going to trust that cooler heads will prevail and that some short-term pain will indeed lead to some long-term gain.
So it’s true that the supply of new toys may be disrupted in the near future, but there’s plenty of cool vintage toys out there to buy! And, if you want some encouragement, pick up one of your really old Redlines, one those priceless classics from 1968-’72, and take a look at the text on the base plate underneath…
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