Diecast Update: Week of 12/8/25

The new paint schemes for 2026 continued to come in steadily this week. A big contingent of Hendrick and JRM cars have been announced and they make up the majority of this week's highlights. There are two liveries for Chase Elliott in this round, and one of them is a brand new Napa scheme for 2026. JRM has also elected to honor the late Dale Earnhardt with a special livery that will adorn three of the JRM Camaros in cooperation with Carolina Carports. There's an interesting bunch of details to discuss this week, so for more, read on.

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​Standard Versions (Cup)

Chevy:
As I heard someone I know say, 'being a fan of a driver who never changes their paint is an underrated experience.' That's probably a true sentiment for many as Kyle Larson is one of the last guys who race the same paint scheme in virtually every race, year in and year out. The biggest difference this year comes in the form of a new nose. This will be Larson's 14th season in Cup and his 6th year with HMS. 

The second Kyle Busch livery we've had released in as many weeks is the Lucas Oil Chevy that Busch will drive in select races during the 2025 season. Lucas Oil has supported Kyle Busch since he joined RCR, and that relationship continues. The Lucas Oil paint scheme is virtually unchanged this year. I'd be holding off on this preorder as it seems quite plain without any other contingency sponsors. 

Unifirst is back with HMS in 2026. They are the first featured primary livery for Chase Elliott in 2026. The Unifirst livery remains largely unchanged. In fact, I can't see any  differences from last year's version. I actually really like this scheme and prefer it to most of Chase's other cars. UniFirst has steadily been increasing their sponsorship, going from four races in 2024, to 5 in 2025. Look for a similar commitment for the 2026 season.

The Napa scheme has comparatively gotten a complete refresh for 2026. A mixed base of both white and blue are featured on different parts of the car and the biggest detail has to be the blue foil number. Typically, Hendrick cars don't run foil numbers, so this is interesting to most of the Chase Elliott fans I've heard from. The livery looks good, but feels just a tad incomplete around the nose. Maybe it will grow on me, but it's so far, just second best this year to the former UniFirst scheme.  

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Standard Versions (O.A.P.S.)

We get three new O.A.P.S. cars each from JRM, each wearing a special livery designed By Sam Bass to pay homage to the late Dale Earnhardt. Dale never drove the car, but the design was saved, and will not be used. Carolina Carports will support Connor Zilisch, Justin Allgaier, and Ross Chastain in 2026. This could be a really cool lineup of 1/64s should anyone be interested in ordering all three. I'd say your chances of getting a raced version are good as well. 

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Conclusion:
That's a wrap for this week. This is the first time in quite a while that the Diecast Update has only featured Chevys from top to bottom. I expect more Chevrolets in the near future as HMS appears ready to announce more paint schemes for this season soon. I think the best of the bunch is probably the Unifirst Chevy which is probably only going to be interesting to collectors who don't have a Unifirst example in their collection, or similarly the Kyle Larson 2026 Hendrickcars.com Chevy who will only want that car for the same reason. It will be interesting to see how Lionel updates their Cup series casting in order to account for the new grill. That's it for this week, see you back here next Monday for the Diecast Update!

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