Hot Wheels: Star Wars – Character Portraits Series

Finding this set was…frustrating. Seriously, like my 5 closest Walmarts didn’t have any of these. I ended up out in Durham on a whim and was luckily able to find ’em. It’s an interesting series, something like what a precursor to Character Cars might’ve looked like. Each car basically pays tribute to a main (or main-ish) character from the franchise with some great accompanying artwork on the cards. We’re pretty much relegated to the Original Trilogy for this lot but I don’t think anyone’s complaining about that!

• 1 / 8 – Han Solo – Twinduction
• 2 / 8 – Chewbacca – Fandango
• 3 / 8 – Luke Skywalker – Bully Goat
• 4 / 8 – Yoda – Barbaric
• 5 / 8 – Princess Leia – Quick N’ Sik
• 6 / 8 – Darth Vader – Nitro Doorslammer
• 7 / 8 – Jabba the Hutt – Deora II
• 8 / 8 – Boba Fett – Mad Manga

Han Solo

Chewbacca

Han’s ruggedness is partially captured by the Twinduction, however it’s the vehicle’s navy blue color that gives it away, a color we’ve seen increasingly associated with our lovable smuggler. Chewy’s raw power and sheer size are embodied in the Fandangoo. The metallic brown was a good choice and it looks better than I would’ve imagined. Luke’s Bully Goat is a pretty standard muscle car, but that brilliant blue speaks to his first lightsaber and his humble beginnings. This really is an awesome blue. Awesomest blue I’ve ever seen on a toy car. For god knows what reason, Yoda is represented by the bright orange Barbaric, which is a strange looking car to begin with. Yes, that is a giant serrated “fin” that vertically spans the car from hood to roof. Why is his Yoda’s car? Why why why why? Leia is paired with the sleek and slightly futuristic Quick N’ Sik, striking a fair balance between her more traditional, demure side and her strong-willed, take-charge attitude.

Luke Skywalker

Yoda

Princess Leia

Darth Vader

Vader is up next, in the appropriately suped up Nitro Doorslammer. You can just tell from the hood that this thing is full of aftermarket upgrades, and if that don’t describe Vader in a nutshell, what does? The color has absolutely nothing to do with the infamous Sith Lord but it is very cool nonetheless; some kinda shiny, metallic, orange/copper hue. Combined with the somewhat menacing curves of the Doorslammer I’d say this is a pretty cool car for series’ arguably baddest villain. And then there’s Jabba with the Deora II, a sort of weird interpretation of a flatbed truck…which kinda works I guess, ‘cuz I can imagine Jabba being hauled around on it. The windows also have a novel, convex, bubble-shape to them, not to mention they’re transparent yellow, which really reminds me of the Hutt’s giant, reflective eyes. Finally there’s Boba Fett and the Mad Manga, and I think the Mad Manga is a decent match for someone as eclectic and mysterious as Boba. It kinda pegs him as the edgy outsider. I love the Fett family crest on the hood as well. I do wish it was colored a little more appropriately though; not sure where the get the rusty brown from and why they didn’t go with something in the teal/turquoise range.

Jabba the Hutt

Boba Fett

And that will do it! It’s a little more difficult to convey an entire character in this manner, and if they took it any further we’d either have something horribly gimmicky or an actual Character Car. And hey, the cards are pretty cool too – it would’ve been great if they could’ve given the cars a similarly uniform look.

Stay tuned! I got lots of stuff I want to crank out in the next couple of days here so hopefully I can maintain steady output. Check back soon!

• "Fake" Character Cars
• Misc. Hot Wheels