YES FREE! As stated in the May Issue (#2) of the Diecast Alley newsletter:

Order $75 or more of IN-STOCK GreenLight product and receive a FREE GREEN MACHINE!. Your FREE GREEN MACHINE is randomly selected from various GreenLight releases. Your order screen will not show the FREE GREEN MACHINE when checking out, but you WILL receive a FREE GREEN MACHINE if you order $75 or more of IN-STOCK GreenLight product! This offer is only good until May 16th, 2008.

[via diecastalley.com]

About 3 weeks ago Mattel Canada launched a new interactive contest called “License 2 Play.” Players will be challenged to solve mysteries around “The Hot Wheels 6″, a ring of fictional car thieves for the chance to win fabulous weekly and monthly prizes featuring Hot Wheels cars and licensed products and most importantly, earning their License 2 Play.

Dads are also encouraged to play online with their kids for the chance to win a brand new car of their choice (to a maximum value of $45,000) and a trunk full of Hot Wheels toys valued at $2,000.

Hot Wheels fans can keep up-to-date on the latest Licence 2 Play contest challenges, news and events by downloading the Hot Wheels widget.

This event is part of Hot Wheels 40th Anniversary and began on April 15th. Collectors can take advantage of this fun contest for the next 6 months.

As stated previously, there will be quite a few sneak peeks of all the great diecast to be had at the Summer Smash later this year - but, who knew they would be coming out at such a rapid pace! Check out these shots of some cool customs that will be available to collectors who attend.

In addition to these hot customs, Rhode Island Hot Wheels Club President has announced that Dave Chang of Kustom City will be in attendance at the Smash! Dave will be one of the judges at the custom contest and will bring a few surprises as well. Don’t miss your chance to meet Dave in person - register today!

[via hotwheelscollectors.com]

If you weren’t able to attend the Hot Wheels Nationals in Chicago last weekend, you can still get your hands on some of the great diecast made for the event by Liberty Promotions. Liberty created two Chicago-themed buses called “Chicago Fire” and Chicago Ganster.”

Collectors attending the Nationals as well as Liberty Legion members at the Titanus and Prominus levels have been able to get both of the special Drag Buses since the April 23rd. Collectors at the Commendus level have been able to purchase the buses since Wednesday April 30th, and those at the Discoverus level can begin purchasing on Friday, May 2nd.

Here are the details on each from the official Liberty Promotions site:

Chicago Fire:

The city is burning! Introducing the Chicago Fire VW Drag Bus commemorating 40 years of Hot Wheels® and the Hot Wheels® Collectors Nationals in Chicago! This bus features graphics of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The city is silhouetted with different buildings and Lake Michigan on each side with the inferno blazing in the background. With glossy black paint and vivid orange flames, this bus is sure to be hot!

The Rebel Run features Mrs. O’Leary’s cow hiding on the rear of the bus. Rumor has it that this cow started the fire when she kicked over an oil lantern. (Rebel Runs are by random chance only.)

- Regular Run: Only 1,300 produced!
- Rebel Run: “Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow” Edition - only 400 produced!

Chicago Gangster:

Gangsters are out in force! Introducing the Chicago Ganster VW Drag Bus commemorating 40 years of Hot Wheels® and the Hot Wheels® Collectors Nationals in Chicago! With a “hit” about to go down in the darkened city, this “Asphalt Black” bus will be an intimidating addition to your collection!

The Rebel Run features Al Capone taking aim at you!

- Regular Run: Only 1,300 produced!
- Rebel Run: “Al Capone” Edtion - only 400 produced! (Rebel Runs are by random chance only.)

If you’re not already a member of The Liberty Legion, then you’ll need to join prior to ordering. Be sure to take advantage of purchasing these buses as soon as your Legion level permits as these small quantities won’t last forever!

[via libertypromotions.com]

With Summer Smash just 4 months away, collectors can look forward to upcoming sneek peeks of the many event car to be acquired in August. This first peek is certainly an amazing addition to the ticket holder goodie bag!

One of these ultra-limited edition Make-A-Wish Foundation Corvettes will go to the first 500 ticket holders. Until Summer Smash, these pieces have only been given away by Make-A-Wish for special occasions, and its forbidden to put them up for resale. This means that attending Summer Smash might just be the only way a collector can ever get their hands on one. Have you purchased your ticket yet..?!

Rhode Island Hot Wheels Club President, Jim Lombari has also revealed that about 100 Liberty Promotion Rebel Runs will be mixed into the Summer Smash Drag Bus to be given out at registration to the ticket holders - Awesome! Stay tuned for additional information and more Summer Smash sneak peeks as the event gets closer!

[via hotwheelscollectors.com]

Now that the Hot Wheels Nationals are over, collectors with enough coin to cover the flight to Japan will be able to snag some great souvenir cars at the 2008 Hot Wheels Custom Car Show in Osaka on May 24th & 25th. This year’s castings are the 1955 Chevy Panel and the 1967 Chevy Camaro. Over on HOTWHEELSCOLLECTORS.COM, Airland is reporting that the cars will be priced at about $36 (U.S. dollars) each, but unless you can be there to buy them in person, expect to pay MUCH more than than in the secondary market. A small sample of the castings are shown below, and you can also check out the e-sheets on the official car show site.

[via hotwheelscollectors.com]

This week David Chang managed to get a quick sneak peek of the new Drag Team Series GT and SS EVOs in the Kustomcity Newsletter just prior to jetting off to Chicago for the Hot Wheels Nationals! Once again, David is coming through with some amazing pieces that are sure to sell out as quickly as ones in the past. Expect information about the sale of these pieces coming in the near future. Click the image to to see the full version.

[via kustomcitydesigns.com]