HW Screen Time | Party Wagon

Every superhero team has a story, and some of their origins can be as interesting as how they present themselves. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is one oddball team that’s culled cult following coming from an independent comicbook series that became popular due to the animated series and with the toys and action figures. With that there was a lot of backstory and character build that weren’t in the original comicbooks. The animated series from 1987 redefined the turtles not just a rag tag of mutants living the sewers, but having ingenuity in dealing Shredder and The Foot clans, which brings you to the their gadgets and their iconic Party Wagon!

There have been many depiction of the Party Wagon or generally known as ‘The Turtle Van’ with each story and origin has a unique story behind it based on the series that featured it. But the 1987 series definitely defined the Turtle Van as what would the Thundercats without the Thundertank or Batman without his Batmobile.

It’s an iconic vehicle that also includes the Ghosbusters with their Ecto-1 or even the A-Team with their black GMC van. The Party Wagon has its own identity besides being part of the Turtles’ vehicle in bringing them front and center against Shredder. The latest Hot Wheels diecast cars mainline had introduced the Party Wagon under the 2020 HW Screen Time subseries.

Due to its popularity it was released again in 2021 with slight difference in color and has more appropriate choice of wheels that closely mimics the animation model (with more stories to that below). The origins of the Party Wagon reveals that it was originally owned by a pre-mutated Baxter Stockman that was destroyed and rebuilt by Donatello to well equip the Turtles in their fight against The Foot Clan. Throughout the series it was their go to ride and have appeared in other series in various shape and form, but the 1987 series introduced the Party Wagon.

Turtles on Wheels

The Party Wagon is as popular as the Turtles themselves having been produced as a toy along with the action figures it has gimmicks and gadgets armed to the teeth in taking down Shedders and his Foot Ninjas. But of course the Hot Wheels version is a scaled down 1/64 scale diecast car.

Hot Wheels first released the Party Wagon in 2020 with dark grey disc wheels and a slight lighter yellow tinge that’s made of plastic on a olive green metal base. It was one of the sought after cars as part of the HW Screen Time sub-series. But it won’t be the last you’ll ever see it. The same casting was released again under the same sub-series in 2021 with a more toned down yellow body.

Just like the first release it had white tinted windows and the same olive green metal base over a plastic body. The upgrade on the latest version is the star-type wheels that looks better compared to the disc version that doesn’t match the animation model. There’s not much change on the casting other than the new type wheels and the toned down yellow colours.

Partying Wagon

It isn’t a Party Wagon without the little details that comes with this miniature version of the turtle van, which you can find on the roof featuring the tiny red dish and two long shaft-like antennas that molded on top of the vehicle. Even the spoiler is molded to the exterior body that is hardly noticeable.

Hot Wheels certainly painted the headlights and the spare tire on the front with the signature turtle logo is rarely seen in other diecast cars. Despite the body which is entirely made of plastic there’s still some heft on the casting. You find the side-by-side comparison with another pop culture vehicle icon on how this Party Wagon fairs up with quality and aesthetics.

Overall the Party Wagon is one of the sought after casting for 2020/2021 releases, but the most recent one is the favourite due to the correct use of wheel type and how the entire casting is enhanced to be close to the animation model. There’s not much to nitpick on this model other than the understanding of use with the plastic body instead of a metal version to cut cost and it still is a must have for any diecast collector.

“Party Wagon” is numbered 4 of 10 under the HW Screen Time sub-series and overall 39 or 250 Hot Wheels cars released in 2021, which was acquired at Toys R'Us in Glorietta Mall for ₱ 119.75 Pesos (** $ 3.24 AUD | $ 2.50 USD). Hot Wheels is locally distributed by Richwell Global Inc in the Philippines.

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