Mattel Brick Shop Hot Wheels Custom ’68 Camaro Review

Mattel first announced a new brand of brick sets are coming earlier this year, skip ahead a few months and we are very lucky to have two to review for you, the Corvette Grand Sport and today’s offering of the Custom ’68 Camaro!

A big thanks to Mattel for gifting us these review copies for free, we truly appreciate it.

Mattel Brick Shop and Hot Wheels have come together to bring us a stunning collection of vehicles, both fully licensed and brick-built. Being fans of most things block based, we jumped at the chance to give these a go, the unboxing and build videos are available via our Instagram channel, @thebrickpost, why not give us a follow whilst you are there?

First things first, I’m in no way a ‘car guy’, sure I like and appreciate a good looking car, but when it comes to the technical terms and inner workings I have no clue. What I do know though is bricks, I’ve been collecting for many years and recently opened my eyes to other brands – take a look through our many reviews to see just how many we’ve built, 100s. WE KNOW BRICKS! 

The box and it’s contents are first up and straight off the bat the product screams quality. From the design and printing to the plastic insert for the wheels, it’s very well presented and in all honesty a breath of fresh air to open and build something new and different.

The instructions are a massive part of the experience and should never be overlooked or underestimated. Their usability is paramount to finishing any build, so we look at these and review accordingly. I can safely say that these are some of the best instructions I’ve ever built with, the colours are great and I could tell which shade was which, the parts are laid out nicely and their quantities and sizes are clearly labelled. Can I say Mattel Brick Shop‘s instruction manuals are perfect, yes, I can and I will!

The parts are also exceptional and the prints are nothing short of stunning. Thankfully the main build of the set utilises gorgeous prints, there is a sticker sheet included but this is purely for cosmetic purposes and an added extra if you wanted to decorate your car further. Featured on the sticker sheet are a series of numbers and Chevrolet and other logos, perfect for turning your vehicle into a racing car with a personalised number and sponsor.

The build is very enjoyable and laid out in an easy and straightforward way. Starting with the base of the vehicle and layering parts up to eventually build the car in question. The parts that make up the main build at solid, well made and printed (where needed), see the photo below for just some of the prints and specialist parts used in this set, the silver tail fins are my favourite along with the Camaro logo.

As I mentioned earlier, the sticker sheet is to enhance the car and make it how you see fit, with numbers, logos and other designs. For thise review however we have left the car ‘clean’ to show it off as the artwork intended.

As you build the car you come across some snazzy techniques and different ways to make certain areas when comparing to the other brand of blocks, which we won’t mention here. For instance the doors, they actually open! Yes, on a build of this scale, smaller, it’s a feat of brick-engineering I’ve not seen until now.

The bonnet is a great shape and parts of the engine that poke through look so cool. I’m no car expert but the bulky, muscle style, really appeals to me – if I were to choose my favorite American car style I’d pick the Muscle Car. 

Mattel Brick Shop has introduced a handful of new elements too and for the better. The photos below, especially the front-on one, shows just some of the new parts, from 1×2 grilles and 1×1 printed clear domes, to plates with studs hanging over the edge. They are used to greasy effect and really add more to the car, bring it to life so to speak with the extra gubbins and details.

A nice little touch the these Mattel Brick Shop sets are the metal plates found underneath the cars themselves. They come packaged in the special plactic container inside the box and once needed simply clip into place. The details on the metal plaque are the vehicles name and the Hot Wheels logo.

Another awesome addition is the matching smaller scale diecast car. These new and exclusive models are a brilliant touch and can sit nicely alongside their larger brick-built counterpart. I was never a Hot Wheels collector but I must say having this one (and the Corvette Grand Sport) makes me want to start! I’ve seen that the diecast model, in the Premium range, has doors that open!

The clutch power is an important aspect of any brand, and I can confirm this isn’t an issue here. The bricks go together extremely well and feel just like the other leading brand in brick toys. The bricks themselves are of good quality too and feel great in the hand, each stud has ‘Mattel’ embossed on them which again is a nice touch and gives that premium look to them.

Overall the Mattel Brick Shop Hot Wheels Custom ’68 Camaro is a great entry level set to the new brands first outing into the world of more Adult style brick based sets. If you love cars, bricks and Hot Wheels, these are perfect for you, they give you more options and models of cars to build and that’s a good thing.

We would like to thank Mattel and Mattel Brick Shop for gifting us this set for free, we feel truly honored to review these for you and our readers.

You can grab these sets now from Mattel online and all decent toy stores.