NEWS- Lionel Authentics 2022 Wave 4

Never before, at least not in my memory has a Lionel Authentics line had so much controversy attached to it. Forgivably, Lionel has been slow to bring 1/24 and 1/64 scale model race cars to the market in 2022. The usual Covid and shipping issues apply here, but there's much more to the story when it comes to Wave 4. For all the details, read on.

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Wave 4 has finally been announced. To share some perspective on how Lionel is doing this year, in 2021, Wave 4 was announced on June 11th. So, it's fair to say that this year, even with the transition to new castings, the Authentics line is months behind schedule. The biggest talking point of the Wave up until this point has been how long of a gap in time there's been between 2022 Wave 4 and 2022 Wave 3. Last year, Lionel released a Wave almost every month, mid-month. This year, Wave 1 was released May 20th, Wave 2, July 14th, and Wave 3, August 11th. Wave 4 reached announcement status on  October 20th. 

There are really two main discussion points to be had. The first is, why such a major gap between Wave 3 and Wave 4. The other is, what is going on with the moulds being used, and the decals being applied. (Keep in mind, as I designate Fast Ratings the use of the PTC Mould immediately caps a car at 5 points). There's a lot to dig into, so for that, I'll be competing a separate article on this debacle at a later date. Moving those topics aside, it's time to dig into the release details regardless of and ignoring, the elephant(s) in the room.

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Fast Ratings are provided as brief, off-the-cuff reflections of each release. Cars often give a different impression once in-hand, but make first impressions. These reflections are represented in 'Fast Ratings.' The format used considers four categories, 'Paint and Printing,' 'Mould and Assembly,' Historical impact & coolness,' and 'Conclusion & Recommendation.'

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Wood Brothers Racing 2022 Motorcraft Quicklane Mustang: Harrison Burton

When Harrison Burton set out on his rookie campaign, most seasoned Nascar fans certainly expected what turned into a rather mundane season. Burton finished 27th in points, just one position in front of fellow R.O.T.Y. contender, Todd Gilliland. It's certainly understandable the Burton only beat out 5 other full time drivers being that he was thrust into the Gen 7 as a rookie. Still, in top tier equipment, the pressure is on in year two. The Motorcraft Ford Mustang had the usual 12 starts this season. Best Finish- 11th at both Martinsville and Charlotte.

Fast Rating-3/10

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Stewart-Haas Racing 2022 HaasTooling.com Mustang: Cole Custer

For now, as it turns out, Cole Custer will be demoted to the Stewart-Haas Xfinity program in favor of Ryan Preece in the upcoming 2023 season. 2022 itself was a measuring stick for Custer. Up until 2022, over three previous seasons, two of which were full time, he could only manage one win and two top fives. Compare that to Chase Elliot who netted 22 top 5s in his first two full time seasons. 

For whatever the reason, Custer could not seem to get a strong handle on the Gen 7 car and three Top-10s was all the season had for the 24-year-old driver from Ladera Ranch, California. 

I have grown to really like the standard Haas Tooling livery that is regularly on the number 41 Mustang. The best race of the year for this car was an 8th place finish at Bristol in September. There really isn't much noteworthy or exciting about this release. It was on track 16 times.

Fast Rating-4/10

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Stewart-Haas Racing 2022 Mobile One Mustang: Kevin Harvick

2021 was a winless season for Kevin Harvick. As many followers of the sport debated his ability to win and wondered if Harvick's best days were behind him, he answered with a pair of good ones at Michigan and Richmond at the far end of the summer. One of these two wins (the second at Richmond) was in these very same colors. Well, almost the same. Like the first two chasis I've explain, this too has some very questionable decal word.

According to my research, this livery was utilized five times last year.  It's a nice 'kid friendly' option for Lionel in that the majority of Harvick's liveries are focused on selling Busch Beer. 

While this diecast leaves a lot to be desired, fans of Kevin Harvick have a lot to look forward to as he and Kyle Busch continue to duel for the 9th and 10th place for all-time wins. 

Fast Rating- 4/10

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Joe Gibbs Racing 2022 Interstate Batteries Camry: Kyle Busch

This isn't meant to be a dig at Lionel, but this diecast of the number 18 Toyota Camry feels just as ancient as Kyle Busch's career at the JGR racing company. It's difficult to convince buyers they need to purchase such an irrelevant piece.

The 2022 season will perhaps be remembered as the most miserable we've ever seen the future Hall of Famer. As relations between the driver, owner, and manufacturer slid rapidly down-hill, Busch's disinterest was obvious.  

Interstate Batteries and JGR are synonymous in Nascar and if anything this 1/64 represents that. Sadly, whoever was in charge of the color pallet machine during the production of this car was clearly asleep at the wheel. This muddy green color looks nothing like the vibrant neon green that should be the base color on the car. We will see this problem persist in other areas of Wave 4. If anything was going to save this display, it was going to be some nice decal work and good printing. From first glance, we have neither. Does it even matter to mention this car was run 5 times? Best finish, 3rd at Dega in the Spring.

Fast Rating-2/10

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