Kmart was one of my favorite places growing up. Our Saturday family trips to Kmart were a highlight for me. I spent the majority of my time in the toy section, mostly just looking. But I usually came away with something to add to my toy box – generally something very inexpensive and made of plastic (the kinds of things the Kmart toy section had plenty of.)
For many years, Kmart was a big supporter of Hot Wheels collectors by sponsoring regular Collectors Day events at their stores. Beginning in 2004 and running up to April of 2019, the events offered a chance for collectors to queue up to open a sealed case and look for a first-to-market release, a store-exclusive color variation or even a Treasure Hunt.
I remember attending my first Kmart event back in 2010. I didn’t have any idea how it worked, but I was after the first-to-market HW Racing ’66 Chevy Nova. By the time I arrived, all of the cases had been opened and there were just a few guys left standing around looking over their piles of cars. I saw what I was after and reached for it, but someone nearby said, “Hey, that’s mine.” Then he realized he had more than one so he said, “I guess you can have that one.”
This nice yellow ’68 Chevy Nova from the 2018 HW Flames series was one of the Kmart exclusive offerings from the Collectors Day event in February of that year. I seem to remember hearing about this and dropping by a local store later that day to look for this Nova, without success. This example is a recent eBay score.
Hot Wheels | FKC02 | 2018 HW Flames 3/10 (KMart exclusive) | ’68 Chevy Nova | pearl yellow with black and dark gray trim | chrome red and black steelie 8-slot | Alternate tool (no hood scoop)
You can click here to see photos and links to my entire collection of Hot Wheels 1968 Chevy Novas.
The Race Case Chevy 