Overview of Mattel's 2017 Fast and Furious 1/55 Line-Up

For 2017 Mattel has released a line of Fast & Furious vehicles which are 1/55 scale and close in size to Jada's Fast and Furious Build N Collect series. This includes a single series of 32 different vehicles to collect along with special vehicle packs, playsets, track sets and other vehicles such as 1/32 action vehicles and such. This is a brief overview of what is out there. Look over the main reviews section for more write-ups and comparisons. All of my reviews unless otherwise stated are products that are purchased directly by me from a retail establishment either in-person or online thus they are unbiased for the most part.

Brief Overview of Mattel's New Fast & Furious Line for 2017

Mattel has these new Fast & Furious cars out but they do not have the Hot Wheels name. I think to separate them from their Hot Wheels line which of course have their series and special Fast and Furious cars but albeit in the Hot Wheels 1/64 scale instead. This new line-up has been sized to about 1/55 scale which makes for them to be a match in size to Jada's Build N Collect line which is releasing Wave 3 and Wave 4. We'll take a quick look here at some of the initial vehicles that have been released and go over what this means for us collectors out there.

Jada Toys has been using the Fast & Furious license for a couple years now with 1/55, 1/32 and 1/24 diecasts along with 1/24, 1/16, 1/12 and 1/10 radio controlled vehicles from a variety of the movies with the infamous Dom's 1970 Dodge Charger taking the spotlight along with Brian's Nissan Skyline GT-Rs and Toyota Supras. Now Mattel has been reported to be holding the main license from Universal for 2017 and pushing out a whole new line-up of vehicles mostly 1/55 sized with 1/32 Stunt Stars and other items forming an entire line of toys by Mattel relating to the Fast and Furious movies.

As reported, they are not using the Hot Wheels moniker on the packages to avoid confusion which I think is good for all of us. This allows Mattel some flexibility as they can offer the cars in a similar 1/55 scale as Jada's so collectors can have both side by side and doesn't restrict the line-up either. They are still offering Fast and Furious vehicles separately in their Hot Wheels line. One other thing that I noticed by chance is that Jada is updating their Fast & Furious packaging to use a logo similar to what Mattel is using here.

The diecast series so far consists of single vehicles, three packs with an exclusive and five packs with one exclusive vehicle. They are also releasing two sized playsets with track and other accessories to recreate movie scenes from the various movies. Right now the first wave of diecast 1/55 single cars have been put out along with the three and five packs. There will be more in the future as they roll out the line so be patient. I'm not sure what will be collectible if any. Some cars from Furious 8 are already out like the Ice Charger.

Mattel's Fast and Furious Series Maserati Ghibli

Mattel is making the 1/55 diecasts to be ages 3+ friendly which means they'll be durable such as the wing on the 1/55 Dodge Charger Daytona Custom is all metal compared to plastic on the Jada version.

On the left is Mattel's Single Car Series #19 out of 32 Maserati Ghibli Sedan from Furious 7. The Mattel 1/55 Reference Guide coves what Fast and Furious vehicles Mattel released so far.

Each single car package names the vehicle and from what movie it is from which helps as a guide for newcomers to the series and ones that might have not known which movie from the series the vehicle is from. On another note, the track playsets will include one or two cars depending on price and range from $12 to $25 but I won't be covering them at this time. From what I can tell, the track sets will have single pack vehicles without much changes to them but don't hold me to it. They might pack a special vehicle in there in the future.

Street Price for Vehicles: $4.00 for Single 1/55 Vehicles, $12.00 for Three Packs, $20.00 for Five Packs

Pros: Great Looking, Bigger Size (1/55 vs. 1/64), All-New Molds
Cons: Exclusive Vehicles (Need to buy Three or Five Packs to get that specific one), Some Lack of Fine Detailing

While they might not be extensively detailed cars, they are good for anyone wishing to start a new collection of Fast & Furious cars, trucks, etc. One of the cons mentioned is that they are spot on for mostly being accurate but fall short in some very minor departments and I think part of that is to keep the price low, the age bracket of 3+ plus having them work on those track playsets coming out so you don't want low hanging spoilers up front. The detailing is similar to what Jada has done with their F&F entire line-up as some are more spot on than others but looks like Mattel is going in a fairly good direction so far. There's a new smartphone movie maker app featured on the packages but I'm not going to cover that at this time maybe later if my cheap model mobile cell phone is able to run it.

I'd say go for it and pick up a few cars or a three pack at first. Remember they are $4 cars at most and not $6 or $10 detailed vehicles so expect some compromises. Overall, I think they did good with their packaging design that caught my eye. As for collectible for investment purposes, I don't think they'll be limiting them too much so I wouldn't be counting on them increasing in value that much compared to some older Fast and Furious merchandise. Collect for enjoyment and not thinking you'll have a goldmine in ten years and don't go overboard either trying to collect everything they put out. I'm sure they'll have enough production made of each piece but grab it if you like it. Unfortunately, a side-note as of August 2018 the distribution of these cars made a glut of the first two or three groups or sets which have them overloaded in stores thus it is difficult for collectors to complete their collect as stores do not want to order more as they already still stock.

I hope you enjoyed this brief overview and will cover more in the future. Feel free to email me your comments / questions.

Ultimate Performance Pack Three Pack

The Special Three Pack with One Exclusive

Hot Wheels Custom Dodge Daytona next to Mattel's 2017 F&F 1969 Dodge Daytona for Size Comparison.