DLMer's View of Greenlight Muscle Series 10...

It is about time we bring back the term "DLM".

Sometimes you just lose your way, and it takes the flu to bring you back. The flu hit my house hard last weekend, and I was the first victim. My initial symptoms appeared at about the same time the Packers appeared to be a lock to make the trip to the Super Bowl, and today is the first day I am starting to feel better.

The flu means a lot of time in bed doing nothing, but on that transitional day when you start feeling better, it means trying to do projects you never have time to do otherwise. For me, that means a good purge.

I don't know how clear I make it, but I like things organized and neat, and that goes especially for my diecast collection. I prefer my collection remain small enough to be stored in my office closet and in my wall displays. If it gets to the point that I am running out of space, then I whittle down the collection. No need to create more space.

So today was that day to purge. There are obviously some models that are not going anywhere, but others, like say, the Hot Wheels Pagani Huayra, have served their purpose on the blog and will find their way to the "Donate or Sell" box. (Incidentally, I haven't sold off the extras that I don't donate in awhile. I think some of you might be interested in a few. If I have the time some day...)

Back to my point. As I was going through the collection, it was so great to have all these models sitting loose in storage cases. One of the reasons behind creating Lamley was to showcase those models in all their glory for those of you who can't get up the gumption to open your own. Lamley is built on that DLM foundation.

And in case you have forgotten, DLM stands for "Diecast Liberation Movement", started by David Tilley well before we started Lamley. With only rare exceptions, diecast cars should be opened. Real cars are only in packaging when they are delivered, and that should be the same with diecast. We are grateful for blisters because they keep the cars safe until the time we get them.

Of course, companies like Tomica know this, and still use a box to house their models, like Matchbox of old. The box serves as a garage of sorts, a place to protect your car until is it time to use it again. Mattel and Greenlight? You have to destroy the garage just to get to the car. And they are making it harder and harder to do. The artwork on Hot Wheels cars is stellar these days, but you won't miss it once you open it. You just need to construct another garage to store the model when you are done with it. That stinks.

Nonetheless, a quick sweep through the collection yesterday reminded me why I love being a DLMer, and I wanted to bring the term back to the blog.

So today, you get to see Greenlight Muscle Series 10 as a DLMer sees it. Out of its packaging, in all its glory.

And as a DLMer who is still very new to Greenlight, I do notice that they appear to be paying better attention to the wheels on the contemporary cars. We have noted here before that Greenlight executes the wheel size, fit, and detail on the vintage cars almost perfectly. On the current cars it is a completely different story. The 2011 Camaro casting that is used in this set is an atrocity. The wheels are way to big, and the stance of the Camaro is more fitting for a Hummer.

But, when you look at the Mustang GT, the wheels are thinner and a lower profile, and the car sits much lower than the Camaro. The ratio is right on. For those of you who have been collecting Greenlight for awhile, you have told me that this has been an issue with Greenlight, and they are making efforts to improve it. A big step would be retiring the Camaro and building another from scratch.

Other than that, this is an excellent assortment. The Charger in particular is a beauty, in that very sharp black and white deco.

But you don't have to take our word for it. We DLM'd them for you, so you could make up your own mind...

YOU'RE WELCOME!

(And if you do like what you see, the entire set or individual models are available at Wheel Collectors.)

Greenlight Muscle Series 10:

1971 Dodge Charger R/T: