Cars 3: Junior Moon

Hello everyone and welcome to another Mattel Cars 3 1:55 diecast review!  

Here we we have Junior "Midnight" Moon, one of the Thomasville "legends" seen in the film! Junior was released in the fourth quarter of 2017 in several cases (unlike the one I have here, some versions even come with a bonus mini poster and/or a collector's card); but even though he was represented in plenty of cases last year, I only just found him at my local Walmart this past week. I didn't care which release it was (though I would have liked the one with the collector card), I was just thrilled to finally add this character to my collection (despite his packaging being a tad messed up). It's about time! I feel like my area always gets the new stuff three or four months late. 

As far as the diecast itself goes, everything about it looks great! Nice details, good looking sculpt, perfect paint app and no complaints from me. 

His official bio reads, "Long before official stock car tracks existed, souped-up jalopies raced for fun on wooded back roads with only the moon to light their way. That's where Junior Moon got his start and his name. Junior raced by his own rules. Hud and all the other early Piston Cup Competitors truly loved to race with him."

FUN FACT: Junior's character is inspired and voiced by real life old time NASCAR driver Junior Johnson (who was active during the 50's and 60's). In Cars 3, Junior mentions running moonshine—another fun fact in itself since the real life Johnson family use to run moonshine and is famous for their moonshine recipe, distributed now as "Midnight Moon" (which was also obviously the inspiration for his Cars 3 name). Junior Johnson is also credited for being the first to use the technique called drafting, which is another aspect of racing touched on in the film.

If you're still looking to add Mr. Moon here to your Disney·Pixar Cars collection, hope isn't lost! If I can still find him in my area, there's a possibility you can too. Definitely check your local Walmart, Toys R Us and Target stores for availability or you can order her online using the direct Amazon link below.

Happy hunting! Please message me with any questions or comments you might have.