Die-Cast Dash: Nothing Like New MATCHBOXES to Brighten Your Day!

I’ve been a roll buying new Matchboxes. Mattel has been killing it lately with MBX releases, which I’m glad to see; for a while there, a couple of years ago, I was getting worried, as it seemed like after an initial flurry of activity, new releases under MBX were getting fewer and less interesting, but then the “Collectors” series came out, which must have juiced the market; ever since those releases, we’ve been getting some good stuff, Maynard!

Here’s a look at some of the latest die-casts that will grace the track and environs with their presence…

First up: a Collectors Series ‘64 Buick Riviera. The Matchbox Collectors are a cut below the Hot Wheels Premiums because they still have plastic baseplates, but they do have 2 piece wheels/tires and many have excellent paint styles. I’ve seen this ‘64 Riv casting before in black and a handful of other colors in the main line series and didn’t acquire one because I like the Johnny Lightning model of the ‘65 Riv better, but when this Collector was released in red with white scallops, I pulled the trigger: wasn’t gonna pass up a subtle kustom touch like that! I liked this one so much I found a place for it on the freeway adjacent to the track.

Next up, the ‘70 Javelin in fetching “Big Bad Blue” with a matte black hood. What I like about this one is that it is a Javelin 4-seater and not the much more commonly modeled 2-place AMX! I haven’t opened this one yet because I haven’t found a place for it, but I also want another copy so I can open that one and keep this one pristine! May be time for a trip to Colorado Diecast!

Here is another of the 70^th Anniversary models I’ve been after for a while and only now got around to finally grabbing: the Jaguar D-Type, one of the greatest racing cars in all history and thus a must for a racing track diorama! This is an interesting choice, since Hot Wheels already made an excellent model of the D-Type back in the late 90s, and an early copy of that casting-which is all metal-is also on the diorama, but there’s nothing wrong with having two D-Types at the track; in spite of the real car’s rarity, Drag City is the kind of place where you’d see them!

Like all the 70^th Anniversary models, this is one matte gray with orange and black accents; I’m not sure where the inspiration for that color combo came from other than the unfathomable popularity of gray in consumer design over the last few years, but I won’t complain; I like it! As with the dark blue Hot Wheels version, this one went over to the paddock to park right next to an equally cool Hot Wheels Premium model of the XP-87 Corvette Stingray prototype sports racer from 1959, which presaged the shape of the upcoming C2. Both cars are clearly undergoing final preparations and checks for racing by their respective teams.

Back to the road, we have an awesome new release that I loved so much I bought a quintet of them: the mid-70’s Jaguar XJ6C. Made only for a short time in the Series II era, the hardtop coupe version of the XJ6 sedan was one of the most beautiful cars of its time, and while this bland non-metallic medium blue may seem uninspired, I can assure you it is historically accurate, because I remember these cars being on the road when they were new when I was no more than 3 or 4 years old (they always caught my eye!), and this was a fairly popular color on the real thing. Future releases may be more flashy, but it seems like these 1^st issues are always the most realistic, so I wanted a whole mess of them to leave packaged.

Its a shame such a beautiful car was released during the awful British Leyland era of socialized labor and rubbish quality control, but since it was, I thought the car’s notorious reputation for electrical problems would make one of the garage bays of the local repair shop on the main drag a perfect place for it!

Last up is the one that’s the most interesting in terms of its relationship to the original Lesney Matchbox era: the Mercedes-Benz 450SEL. Matchbox fans know this was previously released in 1980 with a baseplate copyright date the year before, as always seen in the Lesney era, so its no surprise this new issue is called out as a 1980 model. I got it in both a bland blue and “Caledonia Green,” a hideous color which was a very real option on the original cars.

I took the time to examine this recent release alongside the original which I have many copies of, and found several significant casting differences, especially at the front, where the headlights are ink-jetted onto flat surfaces of the body rather than cast as part of the baseplate as on the original.

Of course the original is all metal and of course the new release has a plastic base, but much of the rest of the car seems very similar in size and structure to the original. Even so, I believe this is a new casting and not a reproduction, although I’ll bet the original die was used as a basis for this new one. Although the model overall has a much cheaper feel than the original, that’s only to be expected, and some of the details, like the side mirrors, ink-jetted tail lights and license plates, and the sunroof impression cast into the top are nice touches.

Nice job, Mattel! Keep ‘em coming; us Matchbox loyalists are still out here, and still spending money!