Raze

There are a lot of companies out there producing 1/64 scale models.
Recently many companies have been using more plastic than metal in their cars.
I like detail, plastic or metal detail is what sells a car to me.
all metal body and chassis ups the ante' and make it a chase piece and it's a slam dunk!
Limited editions can go either way, depending on the amount made and the popularity of the model will determine if It has any value to me.
All in all as I pointed out in the beginning its more about the detail than anything else.
My guess is that based on popularity and or sales

Hot Wheels is number 1
Match Box is number 2
Johnny Lightning is number 3
Maisto is number 4
M2 machines would be my guess for number5

Some people might add green light but I don't think it as popular as the others.

Out of those 5 I would rate them in this order 1 being the best and 5 the worst.

1 M2 machines winds hands down in detail, way out in front of the others. The only one that uses actual lenses for the headlights.

2 Maisto does a good job in the detail area.

3 Johnny lightning is no slouch either but still 3rd place

4 Match Box does a very nice job on the mold or sculpting of the vehicle but they don't pay a lot of attention to head or tail lights

5 Hot Wheels sits at the bottom of the barrel, a lot of make believe designs with minimal attention given to the front or back of the vehicle.
plastic tires, little variation in the wheels, no opening parts except for an occasional hood. Plastic bodies metal bases or metal body and plastic bases. Very few Metal to Metal models. What hot wheels has is a marketing department that is aggressive and smart.


While M2 machines, johnny lightning and Hot Wheels have chase cars, Maisto and Match box have missed the boat on that one.

Johnny Lightning stepped up their chase "white lightning" program with the addition of the Lightning strike! with matching paint and tires.

M2 machines added "Chase Limited" to their "Gold Chase" program.

Hot Wheels fanned their "Treasure Hunt" flames with the addition of the "Super Treasure Hunt" rubber tires and a special paint job.

What's your opinion?

CyberBullet

Your assessments are pretty much right on. I myself really like GreenLight. They often have tires and wheels that are too large for the car but over all they do a nice job.

JL unfortunately is now gone. I have lots of their Corvette diecast as well as lots of other castings from them. As far as detail goes they do a great job.

Another that is not on your list is Auto World. They are fairly new to the 1:64 line but do a good job. They have 3 different tiers of cars. Check out the Callaway C6 from them and the GT40 and I think you may have to redo your list. They have fantastic detail. They also have chase cars. Ultra reds, a candy red paint scheme with white high lights and the very rare raw versions. According to AW there are only 10 pieces of each raw produced. Very hard to find.

Raze

I am familiar with the 1/18 scale auto world.
The 1/64 are new to me.
I did not include jada but they are note worthy too.
Comparable to Johnny Lightning.
I did not know JL was gone.
Hard to find green light cars. Toys r us and menards is the only place I've seen them.

TCW

I think Johnny Lighting has excellent detail dimension wise.


Tom

CyberBullet

Unfortunately JL has been passed through several different companies. TOMY currently owns the name and has stated they have no interest in continuing the line.

GreenLight is a good product but as you said they are hard to find. Toys R Us, HEB grocery and Hobby Lobby carry them around here. Just real slow in getting new product. I think it is a distribution issue.

I have some JADA but they seem a bit out of proportion to me.

Raze

Jada does its best in their 1/24 and 1/18 Collector's Club series. On the down side Jada tends to use a lot of plastic.

JL , Praying Mantis, tomy and ertl all have a connection.
Hot Wheels and Match Box are connected
I think RC and Auto World have a connection too.
Hard to keep track.

CyberBullet

Yeah, Playing Mantis turned into JL which was bought by Ertl and now by Tomy. Now defunct is JL. No more to be made according to Tom Z. And Tomy. Could be revived at a later date but not hopeful.

HW and MB both owned by Mattel but no crossover. They have different castings from each other.

RC, if you are talking about Racing Champions has been gone for a long time. They are no longer in business.

Raze

Auto world has some of RC old castings, they recently brought back Christine, The Munster Koach and Speed Racers Mach V in 1/18 scale.
I figured RC was absorbed by Auto World.
Not a fan of Auto World because of that.
The re release destroyed the collectible value by flooding the market.
Hot Wheels recently did the same thing with their 1989 Anton Furst Batmobile.
The value of those cars fell from a average of $200 down to $60.

CyberBullet

Oh, gotcha.
You were talking about the 1/18 stuff. I had no idea. I try to stick to Corvettes in the large scale. Love them but just not enough room. Although I do have some other castings.
Thanks for the info.