OVERWATCH Adds a Character!

Seemingly out of nowhere we get a new addition to the Overwatch swath of Character Cars: Winston! Yeah ok, my Overwatch knowledge is pretty much nonexistent but they have made for some pretty cool Character Cars. Winston is some kinda super-smart gorilla a la Gorilla Grodd and he sports some tech-y looking armor. There are also a couple of appendages on the back that look like they’ve got something to do with propulsion, like you know, a jetpack. The 6 wheels and general design give it a kind of rugged yet sophisticated moon rover look.

I’m sure fans of Overwatch can offer further insight into one feature or the next – feel free to share if so. Otherwise I think I’m about all tapped out on the subject; overall it fits in well with its ilk owing to its hi-tech and somewhat futuristic appearance.

OVERWATCH Character Cars

Has anyone else out there had any trouble finding these? I broke down and ordered them off eBay for a very fair price mostly because I haven’t spotted any of these anywhere. This changed like, 3 days ago when I saw a single D.Va over at Best Buy. I’ve even made it a point stop in various GameStops to see if they had ’em…no dice.

But oh well, they’re here now and that’s what matters. I will admit that I was marginally dismissive of this set when I first learned about it. That’s not to say I ever planned on not getting them, I just put it on the back burner. I still don’t know any more about Overwatch than I did back when I covered the art / tribute cars…FPS, wildly popular take on the Battle Royale format…you shoot shit.

As it turns out, these cars are really freakin’ awesome looking. Everything from the color schemes to the little details tacked on hither and thither make for some really unique interpretations. I’m not familiar with the characters in Overwatch but from just glancing at promo art I can get a feel for the overall fun, cartoonish style in use. There’s an obvious hi-tech, futuristic vibe, so lots of room for creative juices to flow…and I think that’s what makes these vehicles such standouts.

• 1 / 5 – D.Va
• 2 / 5 – Solider: 76
• 3 / 5 – Tracer
• 4 / 5 – Reaper
• 5 / 5 – Genji

D.Va is first out the gate with a very expressive and anime-inspired color scheme. The vehicle itself is like a sports coupe with a futuristic twist. Two little pink spikes protrude just in front of the rear wheels….I of course know nothing about the purpose of these but they’re obviously an aspect of D.Va that a designer felt pertinent to use.

Soldier: 76 leans a little more towards the conventional side with its matte finish and relatively tame color scheme. There’s not much here to suggest a fighter or a “person” of sorts, but based on the artwork on the card, it doesn’t look like the designers had a whole lot of distinguishing features to work with.

Tracer is up next, and the colors strike me as a little old school. I looked at her illustration on the card and she actually has an old timey bomber jacket on. That cozy combination of browns and tans with that cream color and hints of orange contrasts with the overall futuristic theme. I like how the collar turns into the spoiler and the “arms” leading into the headlights…gives it a bit of a TNG spaceship feel.

Reaper comes in fourth, and as the name would suggest, this guy’s appearance is based on the Grim Reaper, right down to the black cloak and skull-like mask or helmet. The car does a pretty good job of looking like Mr. Death – I’m pretty sure most people would make the connection even without the name. It’s fairly sleek with a skull-ish shape worked into the windshield. Running down the front sides are what look to be some kind of firearm, and then the blower is fashioned after the shells shown hanging from Reaper’s belt on the card art.

Genji is our final character and by far the coolest looking car. It’s shooting for a very tech-y look with the chrome and transparent lime green. Honestly I can’t get much from the card art except this well-armored individual with what seems to be a sword at his disposal. Ok so judging from a cursory Google Images look, that clear green stuff tends to glow from within his armor and on the edge of his sword. I guess the remaining gray and chrome are the armor….it’s a bit abstract but it does make for a great looking vehicle. I also dig how the clear green make up the undercarriage, wheels, and some bleed-over into the rocker panels and front bumper.

Yeah I know those were some clunky descriptions, but that’s about the best I got short of getting to know the game itself. I do think this is a fantastic looking set of vehicles though, and I think other Character Car enthusiasts will appreciate.

OVERWATCH Tribute Cars

Full disclosure: I know almost nothing about Overwatch except that by YouTube standards Hot Wheels is like, what, 4 years too late…? I’ve seen the abundance of battle royale-esque footage and I’m marginally aware of all that, “I’m already Tracer!” memeology, but my awareness doesn’t extend into actually playing the game itself. For this reason I almost didn’t bother picking up the set, but of all places I spotted them at a Dollar General and I actually thought they had a nice sort of “futurepop” look to them that I dug so I figured what the hell.

So yeah, enjoy the pics, take my commentary with a grain of salt, and feel free to clue me in in the comments.

• 1 / 5 – Tracer – Power Pro
• 2 / 5 – Soldier.76 – Solid Muscle
• 3 / 5 – D. Va – MS-T Suzuka
• 4 / 5 – Reinhardt – Power Panel
• 5 / 5 – Roadhog – Baja Hauler

Tracer gets an exceedingly sporty look with the Power Pro. The contrasting blue and orange color scheme give it a foreign, mildly futuristic feel. Tracer himself is drawn on the sides, guns a’blazin’, and he’s even got his name written on the back.

Next up is Soldier.76 in the suped up pick-up known as Solid Muscle. The little overhangs on the roof and the trunk give it the appearance of just whizzing by. You can even see (what I believe to be) NO₂ tanks in the flatbed. There are almost no smooth lines – everything is very straight and angular and yet it still has that super-sleek look to it. We get some artwork of Solder.76; a silhouette from the waist up with a large-ish firearm.

Then there’s D. Va in the MS-T Suzuka, which is a really nice looking performance car. There’s a slightly feminine look to it but its also got a healthy mix of both bulk and curves. The conspicuous body kit adds to drift car look and the blue-pink color scheme suggests “neon.” Just in case you forget what she looks like, we’ve got illustrations of D. Va on the sides.

Reinhardt is fourth in line in the Power Panel. We see this character on the sides, and man, he looks like this massive robot/mech thing with a hammer to match. The Power Panel is rough and rugged to match.

Finally we get to Roadhog in the Baja Hauler. The sides of the cargo hold offer up plenty of space for Roadhog himself, though I’m not quite sure what I’m looking at…2 heads? I dunno…he is very big though and there’s little question about his massive belly. The rest of the Baja Hauler is fairly tame, though I do like “Roadhog” stamp on the top.

And that’ll be a wrap for Overwatch…at least until I find the actual Character Cars for the franchise! (They should pop up literally any day now in stores.) It’s hard to harp on about stuff you know nothing about…but I tried, and at least wanted to show off the vehicles visually. That’s all for now, but remember, I got lots and lots of stuff I’m trying to push out so keep coming back!