Ambassador’s Report August 4th, 2014
By: Larry Scaduto
Greetings to all and thank you for reading my first official
Matchbox Ambassador’s report. I might not be posting every week but, I
will do my best to get these reports out in a timely fashion. A lot of
product was shown at the Gathering this July, so there are no new
pictures from Mattel this time around. I’ve been promised that when
something is available, photos will be passed onto you. All images and
stories within this report are published with the permission and consent
of The Matchbox Team and Mattel.
Matchbox Questions & Answers
1. Are there any thoughts on having another Line Preview sometime in the future?
Not possible at this time.
2. When is Toy Fair and is there going to be a special model to look for?
It is in November and we will have a model for this.
3. Is Matchbox making a model for Dream Halloween this year?
This is TBD
4. When
will the collector’s poster be available to print out and how will it be
structured? Will it be a group picture of all models together or
individual shots of each model? And lastly…. Will there be a checklist?
The digital poster will be available in the fall but we can’t discuss the content yet.
5. It was
noted at the Gathering that you gear your presentation to just boys.
When in fact there are girls who collect as well. Is there any chance of
designing models that would appeal to girls as well?
Since we are a boy’s brand, our main focus is designing models that
appeal to them and the way they play. While we are aware that girls
collect as well, there are still a higher percentage of boys that
collect our product so we design accordingly for this.
6. Being a unique car, how will the Presidential Motorcade – Cadillac One ever be recolored?
We will refresh the model in the future by selecting colors that are
most suited for limousines since Limos can be seen in colors other than
just basic black.
7. With
the return of a Ford Cab to the lineup, are there any thoughts of
bringing back the Convoy Series? Having one in a Mission Force Set would
be a good start!
We are not sure if Convoy Series will return. We just thought it would
be fun to make this truck cab compatible with previous Convoy trailers.
8. It was mentioned that there will be 125 models next year in the basic core line. How many will be recolors?
We usually recolor 5 models as we did this year.
9. Will the mystery cars come on blister cards mixed in with the regular issues?
The mystery cars will be sold in sealed plastic bags instead of blister cards.
10. Also will they be part of the 125 releases or in addition to the regular issues?
Models will be pulled from the 125 assortment but there will be 6 models with exclusive deco.
11. Will 5-Packs ever go back to all exclusive models or will they continue to have just one?
This is still TBD
12. Are Mission Force Sets continuing into 2015?
Yes they are.
13. Can we
get any information on the following MAN numbers: MB927 MB928 MB929
MB930 MB932 MB936 MB937 MB940 MB941 MB944 MB945 MB946 MB951
MB953 …………………… this is assuming these are all updated castings for older
vehicles.
Your assumption is correct. These are all updated castings. Some are old and some are relatively new.
Here are the names according to your request:
MB927 Ford Raptor MB928 Desert Thunder V16
MB929 International CXT
MB
930 Pontiac Piranha
MB932 Fire Smasher
MB936 Water Tanker
MB937 Urban Tow Truck
MB940 Road Roller
MB941 Jungle Crawler MB944 Ford E-350 Ambulance
MB945 Subaru Impreza WRX Police MB946 Scraper
MB951 Pontiac Solstice Concept MB953 Chevy K1500 Pickup
No. 7 Hairy Hustler & No.6 Mercedes 350SL Pre Pro’s
The Matchbox GAF View-Master Grand Prix Game
This game is from my collection. I believe it was introduced in the
early to mid 70’s. It features a large fold out game board and 4 very
hard to find models. (Well maybe 3) This was purchased overseas on e-bay
and is considered the rarest View-Master sets.
The game is played on a Grand Prix circuit board, which slides out when
you fold down the end flap of the box. The board then folds out to give a
MASSIVE 4’ x 3’ playing area. Each player chooses a car and they line
up on the grid, ready for the start. The dice are thrown and the cars
move off around the track, one space for each number.
This story sent by fellow collector: Fabrice Declercq
First, a little introduction…. My name is Fabrice Declercq, 46 years old
and I live in Belgium-Europe. I collect Matchbox since 2003. It all
started after visiting the exposition at the Belgian Toy museum about 50
Years of Matchbox. Superfast models of the early seventies are my
favorites. They remind me of my childhood and how much fun I had with
these little cars. After having most of the regular variations of these
models in my collection I start collecting the rare variations. Well
needless to say, this is very expensive. Brazilian variations,
pre-productions, errors etc...
I'm running on a limited budget so soon I found out that these are way
too expensive for me. Feeling a little bit sad about this I try to find a
solution. Soon after I was thinking: why not create my own MB Superfast variations?
And so I started. They are as fake as can be but I enjoy the whole
process very much. Going to swap meets searching for early Superfast
models with good wheels is exciting and challenging. Thinking about
which colors and decals - labels I will use can take sometimes several
days. But the best part is for last when these little very beautiful
gems are on display and I get that wonderful feeling of having something
unique in my collection. It's a feeling I can't describe. Guess not
many Matchbox collectors are doing what I do. So, after reading your
first Ambassador report I thought to myself: why not giving it a try and send an e-mail to the new MB-ambassador about my special way of collecting.
Attached are some examples of my own created MB Superfast models.
Ambassador’s Note: Thank you goes out to Fabrice for showing us his wonderful work.
First pic is of a Mod Rod is snow white with a primer black engine and Flying Bug heart shaped label.
Second picture shows a Blue Shark in BP yellow with #3 Monteverdi Hai label.
3rd picture is of a Beach Buggy in snow white with a sunflower label normally used on the Beach Hopper
4th picture is a Road Dragster also in BP yellow with a primer black engine and scorpion label.
What’s New
(Thank you goes out to Terry Ozima for some of these finds)
The 9-pack & 5-pack were found at Target and the latest batch
pictured above was found at Wal-Mart in the suburbs of Chicago!
Here’s a few Real Talker PrePro’s from my collection
Albuquerque’s Finest
