!Matchbox Monday rallies around another Walmart set

I am seriously impressed with how Matchbox has upped their Walmart exclusives for the USA market. I say that, as these models can be found in select other markets in other stores outside of Walmart. But, because they wouldn't exist without Walmart USA requesting them, we still classify them as Walmart models. As noted when the first batch arrived, we now have batches containing 5 new looks. No filler. No duplication of older items, or carry forwards as they are referred to. And I think this is a very good thing. Whenever I pop over to the USA for the annual Gathering in July, I do visit a number of Walmart stores, and pegwarmers always tend to be the models that had previously been sold. The new stuff goes first, and then we have to wait for the carry forwards to slowly fade away before getting any more. With no carry forwards now, everything is new. Worthy of being picked first. After the European series, we now have MBX Rally III. 5 models, some of which have been around quite a while, all in lovely new decos. So, let's get on with them. 

There is a theme that is running through all 5 models in the batch. Each one has a set of grid co-ordinates, and features a topographical design. Did you notice that each grid co-ordinate appears on the edge of the blister?

The first model in the batch is the MB860 Ford Explorer. According to the package, the grid co-ordinates for this model are 36.0636 N, 84.3284 W. Now, I may be wrong, but from what I can tell, this means it is....

An unnamed road in Anderson, TN. Not far from Oliver Springs. 

The grid co-ordinates are also duplicated on the model itself. I have to admit, I love this colour on it. The dark burgundy look is very nice, and the Dirt & Rocks Adventurers side design, along with the topographical design looks really cool. It comes with a blue window piece, which doesn't look out of place here. 

But, what I was really blown away by was that this is essentially a core range model. Yet, we have the hood detailed and the front detailing as well. Wow! That's not all. 

The rear is detailed as well. I am stunned. This is a premium level of detailing on a core model. I knew that this was likely to see more tampo, as the European series saw extra tampo on the models. But, this is a full set of tampos. I am stunned! Seeing this level of detail sets the model off perfectly. I think this is my favourite model in the entire batch. One of my favourites of the Ford Explorer in general. 2nd, if I was to put a place on it. This gets an easy 10 out of 10 from me. 

I guess that means I should do a dive back to justify which is still my favourite. It's not the 2012 debut in white. That was pretty cool in the Forest Ranger look, but not as cool as the newest one. 

A quick base shot shows that since it debuted 14 years ago, the only adjustment that has been made to the model is to update the Matchbox logo on the base. 

It was released twice in the 2013 basic range. Once in black, and the other one in white was also added to the EMT 5-pack that year, as they were sadly duplicating random singles to 5-packs at the time. Thankfully that stopped. Neither of these are my favourite.  

Hello favourite. Yes, the 60th Anniversary special in orange is still my favourite look on this casting. I am so unhappy that they never ran with this design on other models, creating a theme. 

The 60th Anniversary models were also slightly premium, receiving extra tampo hits beyond the usual. 

In 2014, it was only used in a Mission Force: Police set. This design has been used a few times since, becoming a bit of a recurring theme. 

2015 saw it back in the basic range, and back as being a duplicate in a 5-pack, as it was also in the same look in the Police Squad 5-pack. This look has been repeated since on another model. Seriously, why was the 60th Anniversary one not recurring?

It also saw another premium outing in the Supreme Heroes series that year. 

So, it is the third model to see a full tampo hit. 

It then saw 1 more basic look in the 2016 range before going on a brief hiatus. I did spot a little shading to that one. 

It returned in the 2019 basic range, sporting its third police look in black, with white doors. The 2013 model was a Matchbox original design, but 2015 was California Highway Patrol and this was San Diego Police. I love the real looks. Not as much as that construction one in 2013!

Apart from the 2012 debut and 2013 white carrying forward to 5-packs, the next new look on the casting was in last year's Walmart Adventure Guides series. Which I believe is just 3 Walmart batches ago. Yet, at that time, it was part of a series with carry forwards, and limited to 2 passes through the tampo machine. 2026 really is a game changer for the Walmart stuff.

For a model that is now in its 15th year of action, it has only seen 11 unique looks so far. It hasn't been overused at all. 

The second model in the series is even older. This is the MB878 Jeep 4x4. It comes in a pale blue.

The grid co-ordinates for this one appear in a different format. 30, 00, 11.8N, 120, 18, 42.0W. 

This, I believe, refers to the Rubicon Trail in El Dorado County, CA. Which is a bit of a shame in my eyes. Rubicon? Why not use the MB1182 '18 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. It was right there. They used the wrong Jeep!

Still, we get another of this one. The MB878 Jeep 4x4 is one of the oldest castings that is still in use by the Matchbox brand. Not that it is an issue, but I am not overly fussed with this particular look. The pale blue does look quite bland. And the side design is simply the topographical map and a small Tahoe logo at the rear end. No tours, or adventures etc. Not the like the Ford Explorer at all. 

The hood print does feature a compass alongside the map. It doesn't speak to me. The front lights are depicted behind the bull bars.

But the rear is left completely blank. That is a bit of a sad point. After seeing the Explorer so well done, with a design on top of the map, and full tampo. This really feels like a let-down. I am not so keen on this one. In fact, out of all the 5 models, I think this is the bottom of the pile. I would give it a 5 out of 10. There had been some really cool liveries recently, paying homage to earlier ones. After seeing such cool models, I do feel a little deflated with this one. Well, I guess that means I need to do a dive back.

So, where to start? Before it debuted, that's where. For those who do not know, this is not originally a Matchbox casting. Back in 1981, Kenner decided to try their hand at model cars. They released a series called Fast 111s (pronounced Fast Ones), and over the following 3 years, they created a total of 36 castings. Most of them were fantasy vehicles, although some were clearly based on real vehicles, with modifications. None of them were given real names. Kenner were the company behind Star Wars figures, and had paid a hefty license fee to make them. Anything to avoid paying more fees. Each model came on a blister with a license plate. The 1982 new additions included a model called Gravel Grinder. This was where the Jeep first started. It came in either green or white over 1982 and 1983, before the range was discontinued at the end of 1983. However, daft fact, the models were being made under license by Universal at their Macau factory. When Lesney went bust in late 1982, Universal took over the rights and the models. However, when Lesney stopped trading, the R&D department stopped working on new tooling. It took a while to get going again, and Universal was sad to see so few tools being prepared for 1983. So, the R&D team took 6 castings and modified them into something new. It was new enough. AMX Javelin became AMX Pro Stocker. Volks-Dragon became Sand Digger. Holden Pickup became Ruff Truck. Boss Mustang became IMSA Mustang. Mazda RX-7 duplicated into IMSA Mazda. And Porsche turbo duplicated into Porsche 935 Racing. But, this still was not enough. Universal were given these Fast 111s castings by Kenner, as they were no longer being used, so they took 4 of them and altered them into Matchbox models for 1984. King Cobra from 1981 became Ford Mustang GT (retired after 1996). Dirt Digger from 1981 became Sand Digger (casting broke in late 1984, and they couldn't be bothered to fix it). Mighty Mule from 1982 became Chevy Blazer 4x4, which still appears from time to time. And this Gravel Grinder, also from 1982, became the MB131 Jeep 4x4. It debuted, exclusively in the US range in 1984 in black.  

It ran for 3 years unchanged, however in 1986, they decided to move production from Macau to China. 

In 1987, they decided to give the model a new look. They simply turned it white, and the design was the same, but also in new colours. 

Bizarrely, they decided to send production back to Macau in 1988. 

It continued on unchanged, officially, until 1994. The final year of production, they decided to add the casting to the ROW range as well. However, as was the case in 1989/90, Universal went through a phase of cost reducing models. Most of the vehicles with metal bases were switched to plastic during this period. This was switched in early 1990, shortly before the Macau factory closed (not shown), and then went to their new factory in Thailand. The same factory that now produced the models. In 1994, it was then shipped out to a newer China factory (not the same one from 1986). 

For 1995, it was finally given an entirely new look. Fluorescent orange, with a Cool Mud design. This was during the Tyco era, as Universal had gone bust in late 1992, with Tyco swooping in and taking over the brand. One of the things they decided to do was to create some variations for the variation hunters in 1995. 20 of the models in the basic range were changed by reducing the amount of tampo print during the year. The Jeep was one, with the hood print fading away during the year. 

For 1996, they changed it again, by turning the model fluorescent pink. It only came with no hood print. They also added the model to the Off Road 5-pack that year in metallic burgundy with no tampo. 

In 1997, the basic range model was switched up again. It was now blue. The same Cool Mud livery was used, but the hood print was brought back for this one. 

And, if you lived in the USA, they had a Gold Challenge that year. Each of the models in the basic range was run in 10,000 pieces in plain gold instead of their usual colour, and randomly inserted in boxes. I did notice that this one sports a bit of a shade. I have 2 of the 10,000.

It was again in a 5-pack. Rugged Riders saw a metallic blue with flames. I also noticed that these flames varied a bit as well. 

And that still wasn't it for 1997. It was a busy year for the casting. It appeared in 2 different Action System sets. Tan in a Safari set and silver in a Hang Glider set.

1998 saw the model turn blue with a white splash in the basic range. This proved to be the final year for most. I did see a bit of shading to this one. 

While the Rugged Riders 5-pack saw models given new colours, with this one turning yellow with red flames. 

Although the casting was dropped from most markets for 1999, the sole survivor was the German market. They saw this metallic burgundy release for 1999. It is different to the 1996 5-pack issue, as the roll bar is grey, not black. 

1999 was a fun year for variation hunters. Mattel had taken over by now, and still working things out with the brand, they decided that this US vs ROW split needed a bit more separation. So, what did they do? The US market was seen as a predominantly English speaking market, and models in both singles and 5-packs were given lots of words in the design. ROW markets were so diverse with their languages that they either left writing off, or switched it for pictures. They are universal. The Wilderness Road Trip 5-pack was a prime example, as the Jeep had Wilderness Tours written under the doors in the US 5-packs, but ROW packs saw the writing removed, and the red flash centralized in the space under the door. 

2000 saw another cool model. It was again in a 5-pack, this time in green. Camp Jeep was the name of the pack, and this model had mud splattered all over the side. But, to give us a feeling of wheels being covered, they actually made it with brown wheels, but tampo printed black blotches onto it, giving us the impression of muddy, but not totally mud wheels. I think that was a brilliant look. 

After this, it went on hiatus for a while. It returned in the 2006 Superfast series, where it came in black with new wheels (the spare in the back was still the original), and featured lovely rear tampo printing. 

It then appeared in a second Scooby Doo 5-pack of 2007 in green with Safari Camp (and Scooby) on the side. 

In 2008, it made a return to the basic range. But only in the US market. 2008 was the first of 4 years where the range was split 3 ways. The US range saw 100 models, with ROW market selecting 75 out of the 100 for their range, and LAAM markets selecting a different 75 for theirs. The Jeep was only in the US range. 

2009 saw more of the same. A US only basic range issue in black.

However, it was available worldwide in the Desert Adventure 5-pack. This was a fun one. You could find that the shade of mustard yellow would vary quite a bit during production. 

And there was also a short run where they ran out of the newer ringed gear wheels, so just pulled out the older oval wheel design to keep production moving. They rarely seem to do this nowadays. Easy way to get people to buy more. 

It went on another hiatus after that. During this time, they decided to tinker with the model, switching it from MB131 to the current MB878 MAN number. The roll bar was thickened. The spare wheel in the back was changed. And the rear slot where an aerial was inserted was removed. It returned in the 2013 Desert 5-pack, and again saw a wheel variation. It could be found with either dual ringed 8-dot wheels, or ringed gear wheels. 

It was back on hiatus again until reappearing in the 2018 basic range in blue. 

After this, we had a spate of fun homages. The 2019 Jeep set, exclusive to Walmart in the USA, saw a black model paying homage to the Matchbox debut look. 

And the basic range release was a recreation of the 1996 basic range look. I did see a little shading to the pink on this one. 

And the 2020 basic range look was paying homage to the second look it had. 

And the Off Road Rally Walmart set that year saw a look very much like the 2009 one. Except it was now 1 number up. 

It was given a unique look in the 2020-2022 Top Gun Maverick 5-pack. 

While the Retro series, exclusive to Target stores in the US saw a recreation of the 1997 blue basic range look (except no hood print). Still waiting on a recreation of the 1995 basic in orange.

It was also in the 2021 Target Retro series, recreating the 2009 Desert Adventure 5-pack look. No shades or wheel variations this time. 

The last few issues before the latest one are recurring themes. It was a part of the MBX Off Road Hitch & Haul set in 2022, featuring the recurring National Parks theme. I spotted some shading to the mint on that one. 

With the last outing before the new one being in the Off Road Rally series, exclusive to Walmart. This was another of the recurring themes, with the green (or orange in some cases) "Team" look. Phew! That is a lot. I wonder when it will next pop up?

That was a big dive back. Are you still with us? I hope so. Because we are only on model 3. The MB1058 Sonora Shredder. It comes in a lovely purple look.

The grid co-ordinates for this one are 38.0939 N, -120.0422 W. 

Which I believe places it at the Hull Creek Campground, on Forest Route 3N01, in Tuolumne County, CA. 

This one has a bit more to the tampo printing. MBX Off Road logo, and Shredder written in a black triangle. It's not a major thing, but I think it helps to make the model stand out. The white grid lines really stand out on the purple background. However, I am unsure about having chrome hubs on muddy brown wheels. They look weird to me. 

Another thing I was a little sad about is that they have created this lovely look for the first time on the front. The whole front end is a part of the base, and this gets a tampo hit for the first time, highlighting the spots and having Shredder written there. However, while we get the hood printed, the spot on the roof are still left black. I really feel that they should have tried to get the yellow and white to print that as well. 

Especially as the back is left blank. I can understand it this time. There is not much that could have been done, unless they detailed the items in the back, which are part of the interior piece. It is nice. But, I have 2 major points I am not keen on, so I am only scoring this an 8 out of 10. 

I do wish this casting gets more action. It debuted in the 2017 basic range in black. Which can be found in either a satin or a matte finish. 

And was given a second outing right at the end of the year, technically the start of the 2018 model year. This time it was red, which varied in shade quite a bit.

Whereas the official 2018 look was in green. 

It wasn't used in 2019, but returned for what is still its final basic range outing in 2020, where this also saw the "Team" recurring theme. This time it was the orange version, which I saw varied quite a bit in shade.

It was also given the green "Team" look in the 2020 Off Road Rally set, exclusive to Walmart. 

Since then, the only other new look (there was a carry forward of the red in a 2022 12-pack) for the model was in the 2023 MBX Adventure 5-pack, in the recurring Jungle Safari look. 

Which means, for a model now in its 10th year, we are up to 7 different looks on this one. Which is a huge shame, as this Matchbox original casting is a really nice one. It deserves more outings.

Now it is time for model number 4 in the set. The MB1184 '65 Land Rover Gen II Safari. It comes in silver with an orange roof element.

It does appear that odd numbered grid co-ordinates are done in one way, and even numbers in another. This time out, we have 32, 49, 48N by 116, 10, 9.6W. 

That's in the middle of nowhere. Well, the map looks it, but this appears to be Sweeney Pass Road, in San Diego County, CA. 

Hmm! This is the first time that the casting has been made with a window that you can see in. Albeit, if you look closely. It is a light smoke, instead of the usual black (or solid blue on the 2022 basic range issue). That is a bit different. This is a little simple with the side design, but there are a number of colours. And the orange is a good colour to use, with the matching roof element. Now, these brown wheels look better with no hub detail. 

This is the first model not to sport a hood tampo print. But, the front is very nicely detailed. I like that end. 

Because the other end sees some detailing, but no lights depicted. I think they missed out a bit of the rear. It looks incomplete. Which is a shame. 

And, from what I can tell, again, this is only coming with a full load. When Abe Lugo created this casting, he created 2 different roof loads, and people used to scramble around getting 2 each time. I don't know why we seem to have switched to just a single roof element. It spoils half the fun of trying to hunt down 2 each time. Again, I am looking at giving this an 8 out of 10. The rear was a little too plain for getting a tampo print, and the lack of alternate roof pieces on this casting is somewhat disappointing. 

I only recently did a dive back on this one, so I am skipping that. However, I do wonder when we will see the alternate casting. That is also AWOL. The MB1341 '65 Land Rover Gen II with an interior and a different roof element. That one debuted in the 2021 Mattel Creations series and has not been used since. I was reminded of this one seeing a smoke window on the new Landie. We need to see that one again. 

Which brings me to the last model in the batch. The MB990 '68 Toyota FJ Land Cruiser. This one appears in green.

I forgot to take the side photo of the grid co-ordinates. Still, I can read them off the original picture. 38.5733 N, 109.5508 W. By my reckoning, that puts it on The Spoke on Center, 5 North Main Street, in Moab, UT. 

And look at that. The model has Moab Adventures right there in the tampo printing on the side. Now, this one really makes sense. Grid co-ordinates for Moab, and Moab in the livery. Why did none of the others have anything like this? Am I rethinking my scores for the others? No. I still love that Explorer. Again, we have brown wheels with nothing on the hubs. It definitely looks better than on the Sonora Shredder. I thought it had a Fantastic 4 logo on it, but it actually says 4 Wheel Drive. And we get the hinges and door handles detailed. I don't think there is much else that could have been put on the side. I quite like this.

Just like with the Landie, this one doesn't have a hood print. I guess doing the roof meant no hood. Is that a weird colour? It looks unusual to me. I see it matches the front grille. But, I think it would have been better in white. I like the front detailing, and the fact that this is the updated casting with wheel arches formed out of the interior, the colour match between metal body and plastic interior is pretty close. 

But, again, we get no rear print. I would have preferred a rear detail over a painted roof. If they were limiting the amount of passes. This one is a bit all over the place for me. I am scoring it a 7. Putting it 4th out of the 5 models in the review. The Explorer was easily the best, and the Jeep the worst. The other 3 were all fairly close to me, but the Sonora Shredder takes the runner up position, then Landie and Toyota. This is not a bad look, but I just think it could have been a little more eye-catching. The Landie gets an eye-catching look with the bright orange roof element. And Sonora Shredder and Ford Explorer are both very nice colours to begin with. 

Oh, I might as well do another dive. When the Land Cruiser debuted, it was under the MB764 MAN number,and Ryu Asada was the mastermind behind it. It debuted in the 2009 basic range in yellow, which was very good for shades. It was available in all 3 ranges worldwide. 

It then changed to light blue later in the year. Again, I did spot a little shading on blue. 

I never found a shade to the 1st Editions 10-pack edition in red at the end of the year. I did try.

Year 2 saw the model in black in the basic range, in the recurring Anaconda theme. However, if you were in an ROW market, you missed out. It was US and LAAM only.

It saw a number of other looks as well. A simple orange issue was in the Desert Adventure 5-pack. White was part of the Adventure 10-pack. Finally, green (with a metal base) was in the Lesney Edition series. 

For 2011, the basic range release was back to being worldwide. It came in dark blue.

2012's basic range looked very similar to 2011. However, this is actually purple. We also saw a red issue in a Mountain Adventure 5-pack.

For 2013, it came in a sandy look with a side design. This colour is not that far removed from the roof colour of the new one. 

And in 2014, it came in a dark metallic brown look in the basic range, which I did notice was good for a shade or 2. 

It was after that finished that they decided to tinker with the casting, to save a little weight. The front grille and front wheel arches were swtiched to being a part of the interior. This gave the model a new MAN number of MB990. It appeared in the basic range in orange, which again was good for shades. 

And was given a random Jurassic World design, as they had just got the license, and wanted to throw something out quickly before sitting down and creating authentic replicas of Jurassic Park and World vehicles to tie in with later films. 

It took 2016 off before returning in 2017 in dark yellow in the basic range. 

And was also in the Walmart Camouflage series that year. As with others in the set, the pattern of camouflage would vary between models. 

After that, it was 5 years before it started back up again. 2022 saw a dark grey basic range issue. 

Plus, we had 2 different National Parks releases. The one with the white roof was part of the Target Retro series, with the plain roof variant was in the MBX Rally II 5-pack. What that had to do with rallying, I have no idea?

And, although this is technically the next release, we did see a carry forward in the 2024 Off Road Rally set at Walmart, which saw the 2013 look return. But, as that was pre-facelift, it gave us an instant variation with the updated casting. 

So, there we go. MBX Rally III. I do like the fact that there was a theme that ran across the set. But, some came out much better than others. But, I am done for another week, so before I start pulling out more basics to look at, all that is left to say is have a safe and happy week.