2018 Hot Wheels Flames Kmart Exclusive ’68 Chevy Nova

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.

2020 Hot Wheels Rod Squad Zamac ’68 Chevy Nova

The other day I was doing a little inventory on my collection of Hot Wheels ’68 Chevy Novas when I realized that I hadn’t been doing a very good job of keeping up. So I decided to go online and fill in a few of the missing pieces.

I always like the look of the zamac cars, but I think I’m not the only one, as I generally have a hard time finding them in the stores. While I did manage to find both of the other color variations of the 2020 Rod Squad ’68 Nova, this one eluded me. Fortunately, there’s eBay.

I landed the first version of the Flying Tigers-inspired Road Squad ’68 Nova at the GameStop collectors event back in November of 2019. I found the red variation somewhat recently while on a grocery run to the Kroger-owned Dillon’s.

Zamac, is an acronym for the zinc, aluminum, magnesium and copper alloy used in diecast toys. Hot Wheels in the Zamac series usually have tampo graphics placed over the unpainted metal, allowing the zamac sparkle to create a striking contrast. This is not the first time the ’68 Nova has been given this treatment – in fact the 2004 First Editions model had a zamac variation. I also have an example of the Zamac 2014 Chevrolet SS.

Hot Wheels | GHG35 | 2020 Rod Squad 6/10 | 1968 Chevy Nova | zamac camouflage with white, red and black shark teeth trim | MY | chrome red rim DD8 | Alternate tool (no hood scoop)

Click here to see photos and links to my entire collection of Hot Wheels 1968 Chevy Novas.

2020 Hot Wheels Rod Squad ’68 Chevy Nova – Gamestop Collector Day Event

This morning, when I realized the only Hot Wheels Gamestop Collector Day event in town was at a store a short distance from my house, I decided to go check it out. Arriving just a few minutes before the doors opened, I was the 10th person in line and was given that number. My wife, who was nice enough to go along, was number 11.

I have to admit, I wasn’t very prepared. I really only wanted the first-to-market ’68 Chevy Nova, but as we stood in line, the guy in front of me filled me in as to what the Treasure Hunt cars were. The store had 10 cases of 2020 Case B, and each person with a number was allowed, in order, to open a case and pick out 5 cars. After everybody went through the line, we were allowed to go back around for a second look at another case.

The first two people in line look through their cases.

I’m pretty sure the first guy in line found one of the Treasure Hunt Unimogs. I wasn’t too worried. With my number 10, I was guaranteed to get the last of the 10 unopened cases and was sure to find at least one of my Novas, which I did. I didn’t find any Treasure Hunts, but my wife and I picked out an assortment of other cars as well.

My lucky number 10.

On our second trip back through the line, the guy right in front of me scored the Super Treasure Hunt Porsche out of a case that had already been looked through!

The closest I’ll ever come to finding a Super Treasure Hunt.

When my wife and I went to the counter to pay for our cars, I was planning on leaving most of them behind. But as I was looking back through them, the manager was talking about how disappointed he was that people weren’t buying more cars, and how he was going to be stuck with a bunch of Hot Wheels he didn’t have room for in his tiny store. He had run a well-organized event, so in an effort to encourage him to do it again, I decided to go ahead and buy all of the cars we picked out. As it turns out, the Hot Trucks ’19 Ford Raptor is an exclusive color variation, and the Factory Fresh BMW K 1300R and the Porsche series ’96 Porsche Carrera are first-to-market.

The assortment of cars I was guilted into buying.

The Rod Squad Nova is pretty darn cool. I’ve long been a fan of warbirds, so seeing the Flying Tigers inspired camouflage and shark teeth on this ’68 makes me pretty happy. It makes a really nice addition to my collection of ’68 Chevy Novas.

Hot Wheels | Gamestop Hot Wheels Event | GHD28 | 2020 Rod Squad 6/10 | 1968 Chevy Nova | olive and tan camoflage with red and black shark teeth trim | gold rim black wheels | Alternate tool (no hood scoop)

After everyone paid for their cars, the manager handed out these Collector Cards to each of the participants who were still in the store. The 8×10 sheet details the ’70 Chevelle Delivery that you can get if you buy 20 cars and mail in the cards along with your receipt.

Happy 2018!

I predict that 2018 – the 50th Anniversary of Hot Wheels – is going to be a great year. It’s off to a spectacular start. After all, the first 2018 Hot Wheel I brought home is this HW Flames ’68 Chevy Nova, a really sweet version of one of my favorite castings.

FJW62 | 2018 HW Flames 3/10 | 1968 Chevy Nova | Metalflake purple with yellow and red trim | Yellow DD8 | Alternate tool (no hood scoop)

There is also a Super Treasure Hunt version that is Spectraflame dark blue and has Double 6-Dot wheels. Am I being too optimistic about the year if I expect to find one of those?

Here’s a link to a page that shows all of my Hot Wheels ’68 Novas.

2017 Hot Wheels Target Red ’68 Chevy Nova

When I saw a preview of the Target exclusive Red Edition series awhile back, I thought it was a genius idea. The series includes castings like the much-loved ’55 Chevy Bel Air Gasser, the ’64 Lincoln Continental, and the ’77 Pontiac Firebird, all decked-out in mostly red paint jobs. The series must be very popular with hunters, because I have rarely found them in the stores.

Fortunately, though, I did find my ’68 Chevy Nova. The tampo on this Red Edition is a variation of the HW Flames ’68 Nova from earlier this year. As much as I like that one, this red-flames-on-white model is even sharper – especially with the black chrome, red-ringed MC5s.

FBJ14 | 2017 Target Red Edition 8/12 | ’68 Chevy Nova | white with red trim | black chrome red ring MC5 | Alternate tool (no hood scoop)

HW Flames, Flames, Flames and More Flames

I have a new favorite Hot Wheels 5-pack. In fact, I’m pretty sure they had me in mind when they put an Impala and a Nova in the same pack. It sure doesn’t hurt that they included a Camaro, a Shelby Mustang and a 70’s Dodge van – all decked out flames. Yes, this 2017 HW Flames collection has even surpassed the cool factor of my previous favorite, the 2016 Muscle Mania 5-pack.

The ’65 Chevy Impala goes all the way back to 1998 and its many variations include a previous flame-wearing Sunburnerz version from 2013.

DVF91 | 2017 HW Flames 5-Pack | ’65 Chevy Impala | metalflake gold with yellow flames  | gold 10SP

The ’69 Chevy Camaro Convertible was first released in 2006 and has since been produced in over 30 variations.

DVF91 | 2017 HW Flames 5-Pack | ’69 Chevy Camaro Convertible | metallic maroon with orange, yellow and white flames | OH5SP

This year, the ’66 Chevy Nova celebrates its tenth year as a Hot Wheels casting. One of my favorites is the HW Road Trippin’ release from 2014.

DVF91 | 2017 HW Flames 5-Pack | ’66 Chevy Nova | dark green with lime green flames  | PR5

This black ’67 Shelby GT500 is only the tenth appearance of this casting since its debut in 2010.

DVF91 | 2017 HW Flames 5-Pack | ’67 Shelby GT500 | black with red and yellow flames | red chrome 5SP

The Custom ’77 Dodge Van has a nice, large sunroof to illuminate the 6 large bucket seats in its interior.

DVF91 | 2017 HW Flames 5-Pack | Custom ’77 Dodge Van | metallic dark blue with red and yellow flames | yellow PR5

As if it this flaming 5-pack wasn’t a good enough find that day at Target, I also scored the HW Flames ’68 Chevy Nova – which happens to be my preferred alternate tool version.

DTX79 | 2017 HW Flames 1/10 | 1968 Chevy Nova | orange with black and silver trim | OH5 | Alternate tool (no hood scoop)

2007 Hot Wheels Classics Spectraflame Magenta ’68 Chevy Nova

While running errands today, my wife suggested we check out the Village Flea Market, a place I haven’t been in quite awhile. There were three booths that had a decent selection of diecast cars, and at one of these I found this magenta Hot Wheels Classics that I was missing from my collection of ’68 Chevy Novas.

L0749 | 2007 Hot Wheels Classics #21 | ’68 Chevy Nova | spectraflame magenta with pink & white trim | RL5SP

2004 Hot Wheels Zamac 1968 Nova

My family and I have had a long history with this generation of Novas, so the 1968 Nova Hot Wheels casting was a pretty big deal for me when it made its debut in 2004. But, even though I have a couple of packaging variations of the metalflake steel blue first release, it was only recently that I became aware there was a less-common zamac variation.

Zamac, of course, refers to the metallic luster of the unpainted zinc, aluminum, magnesium and copper alloy that the car is cast from.

The zamac car is worth 15 times what the blue version is worth (according to the South Texas Diecast Collectors Guide). However, it’s important to note that the blue version is only worth a dollar.

B3532 | 2004 First Editions #5 Zamac Limited Ed. | Nova 1968 | unpainted with white trim | 5SP

I’ve bought a lot of cars on eBay over the years and have rarely had any issues. But I had an interesting incident with this car. I found a zamac Nova that was priced pretty low. I should have known something was up, as the seller advertised more than 10 available at this “buy it now” price. Almost immediately after I bought one – and well before it had shipped – I sent the seller a message to confirm the color. But I got no reply, and when the car arrived in the mail it was the metalflake blue version rather than the zamac model that was pictured on the eBay listing. Fortunately, the seller did agree to a return, paying for the return shipping and reimbursing the initial purchase. But, as of this writing, I’ve noticed the seller still has the same listing up with the same misleading photo.

2008 Hot Wheels Top 40 Set ’68 Chevy Nova

I remember seeing the Hot Wheels Top 40 Set at Toys “R” Us way back when, but I wasn’t willing to pay the full retail price for 40 cars when all I really wanted was the ’68 Nova. Now it looks like the sets are going for around $100 online. I found this loose version on eBay for quite a bit less. I think the redlines look especially sharp against the silver, gray and black paint and trim.

N4608 | 2008 Hot Wheels Top 40 Set | ’68 Chevy Nova | metalflake silver with gray & black trim | RLBW

Here’s a link to my Hot Wheels ’68 Nova page.

2009 Hot Wheels Faster Than Ever Chevy Nova

This is one of three color variations of the 2009 Hot Wheels Faster Than Ever Chevy Nova. This metalflake blue version with white trim was a Kmart exclusive. I found this one on eBay.
P2456 | 2009 Faster Than Ever #10 (KMart Exclusive) | Chevy Nova | metalflake blue with white trim | FTE