Matchbox Monday brings us Moving Parts batch B

Well, it appears we have another overloaded batch of Moving Parts. As we know, every second batch will see a chase vehicle included. Sadly, Wheel Collectors never got this particular chase in. I managed to source one from Australia. But, if they had received the chase in their assortments, I would have been hunting down a certain model that was removed to make room for the chase. A lose-lose situation. I am not going to rehash my argument over increasing case counts. I am just going to get on with the models. There are 9 to go through here, in the assortment of 8!

And we start with something brand new. The MB1532 '23 Toyota Century. It takes the number 4 slot in the range for 2025, and arrives in a very classy looking black.

Now, I have to admit, I was totally surprised to hear that they were going to make the Century. The Toyota Century was first launched in Japan in 1967, taking its name from the fact that Sakichi Toyoda, the founder of the company, was born in 1867. It was a celebration of his 100th birthday. Since that time, the Century has been mostly hand made in small numbers, mainly for the Japanese market itself. It gets little action outside the country. In fact, this 3rd generation (yes, almost 60 years in, it is only in its third generation), is only sold in Japan. And it is not generally sold in Toyota/Lexus dealerships. It is sold in special stores. So, this is a very exclusive car. It is also extremely luxurious, and is thought of as Japan's answer to things like Rolls-Royce, Maybach and other high-end luxury cars.

And this model really looks like a luxury vehicle. Created by Garry Gopinath, it is extremely well crafted, and comes complete with lashings of chrome and silver trim.

I was not overly enthusiastic about it when I heard it was coming. But, now I have the model, I am most impressed. This is awesome! I do like it when they think a little outside of the box. How many Toyota Centurys have been made in miniature by non-Japanese manufacturers? I have no idea. I only know Matchbox. I know brand names of others, but couldn't tell you what they make. This model comes with an opening rear, which has been crafted well, and opens/closes smoothly.

Inside, you will find some luggage. I love these little Easter Eggs. A little whimsy. And, as you can see, when the rear is up, that received a tampo hit, and the model has all round tampo. I do wonder if they were able to create the side parts to the rear at the same time they did the side tampo hit. A clever angle positioning in the tampo machine, and they might have done a side and rear hit in one go. So, this could be a 4-pass through the tampo machine or 5.

The front end looks really classy. It is extremely well detailed, and a very impressive debut.

I am loving this one. Scores are going to be easy. Inclusion. I love radical thinking outside the box. A Japanese only luxury vehicle. Brilliant. A perfect 10. Casting. Garry has hit this out of the park. I cannot fault it. 10. Design. It has everything it needed. There is literally nothing I could think of adding to this. Perfection. 10. This is a stunning debut vehicle, and a perfect 30 out of 30. I am really looking forward to seeing more in the future. Although, outside of grey, silver and white, I don't know if the Century gets other colours.

A very shiny base shot to finish.

Whoa! Another new one? This is the MB1540 '23 Ford Maverick. Another of Garry Gopinath's creations, taking the number 13 slot in blue.

The Maverick name is not new to Ford. A small compact car was produced in the 1970s for the American market, as a way to counter many imported vehicles. But, back in 2021, Ford unveiled a new Maverick. This was a small pickup, the smallest in their current portfolio, using the same chassis as the Bronco Sport and Escape. It went on sale in late 2021 as a 2022 model, and has been a smash hit. In fact, orders were so high that they had to suspend them to allow the factory to catch up. Weirdly, as this is a smaller pickup than the Ranger, which is sold worldwide, the Maverick is only being sold across the American continent at the moment. I wonder if they will change that down the line.

So, if you are in the American market, this makes a lot of sense. For those of us outside the American market, I think it still works, as I enjoy seeing vehicles from different places. Just like with the Toyota Century. That is only sold in Japan. This is sold across the American continent. So why shouldn't it be in miniature as well? So, what do I make of the casting?

This vehicle is mirroring big brother (the Ranger), as it has an opening hood.

And the tailgate pops down at the rear as well. Great stuff. And look at that metal rear bed. We often see the interior stretching over the rear bed nowadays. But, this one is still metal. It has a really solid feel to the model. I am extremely impressed. Garry has captured the shape perfectly.

The model sees 3 passes through the tampo machine. The rear lights are depicted on the body, and the tailgate has further details added to that.

It simply has a front print as well. Nothing on the sides or top. Not that it needs anything. I think they have detailed this perfectly. As to the colour? Ford calls this Area 51. Why? I have no idea. It's a pale blue. Are they saying this is the colour of alien visitors? I think I have seen aliens in a similar light blue in the past (in film, TV etc). The only minor flaw I have is the gap on the front hood. The edges are pretty snug. But where it sits in front of the window is quite a noticeable gap. I don't think it is a major issue. It is not as big as a certain Triumph Spitfire we saw recently.

So, what are my scores for this? Inclusion. Honestly, another 10 is the only score I can give. Casting? That front hood gap is a very minor niggle. That is the only flaw. Almost perfect. But, a 9.5. Design. That is out of this world. Ha ha! Get it? Area 51? Yes, I know, don't give up my day job. A 10 again. So, this gets a very good 29.5 out of 30. A very good start, and I am looking forward to seeing more of these in the future.

Again, being a new casting, I finish with a base shot.

Son of a.... I forgot to show the packaging before ripping it apart. And I wanted to point out that this year, they did not make a mistake. If anybody remembers last year, they accidentally showed the Vauxhall variant of the Mokka on the packaging. Well, this year, it is the correct Opel version of the MB1454 '22 Opel Mokka on the package. It takes the number 18 slot this year in blue. Which is officially known as Colibri Blue. Colibri is a variant of hummingbird which is green with a blue head. This shade of blue mirrors that head colour. And it looks lovely.

As we would expect from a Matchbox release, they have simple given us a perfect attention to detail at the front.

And at the rear. I don't think they could have done any more for this one. Real vehicles have nothing on the side, so there is nothing they can add there. Paired with a smoke window and black wheel hubs, I think they have nailed it. I love it! I honestly think it is a nicer model than the debut one was.

Opening the bonnet (or hood) reveals that they gave this a third pass through the tampo machine by detailing the engine. Honestly, you can't improve on this. I can't see any other choice but scoring this a 10. I love that they are doing more worldwide vehicles. I was feeling the Matchbox brand was getting too Americanized.

I admit, I did knock the debut for the colour. I felt the green was a little too dull. When you see them in real life (I see the Vauxhall ones, but Opel are the same), they do stand out as they are quite bright.

But I think this year's blue one stands out more than last year's green one. Great job. I wonder what colour they will do next?

I didn't miss any other packaging shots. Fourth in the report is the MB1304 '16 Range Rover Evoque. Taking the number 22 slot in the 2025 series, it comes in dark green this time.

Here's a daft fact. With this being the 4th year that the Evoque has been in the Moving Parts range, this later casting has now outdone the original casting as a mainstay in the core range. That debuted in 2016, saw another outing the following year, then a 3rd in 2020. That model has never been sold in green.

I believe they were aiming for what is known as Aintree Green. A type of green that Land Rover used on the Evoque at the time. It is a nice colour, and the front and rear tampo printing is spot on again. But, they have never looked at those awkwardly fitted doors. They have never been right. I always zoom straight in on those whenever I see this model. Which is a real shame, as again a smoke window looks great, and this has gunmetal wheels, which I think are a great contrast to the metallic green and grey interior.

If it hadn't been for those badly attached doors, this would have been a perfect 10. But, I am knocking a point off as they need to get them looked at. This model (and a certain 1964 Pontiac Grand Prix) really need doors looking at before releasing any further versions.

Because I would like to see more of this. I am not fed up seeing it. It debuted at the start of the 2022 Moving Parts series in Fuji White.

And by the time it reappeared for a second 2022 outing in Firenza Red, it was already showing signs of badly fixing doors.

The 2023 outing was in a sort of champagne colour, which is pretty close to the Kaikoro Stone official colour.

And last year gave us a Moraine Blue look.

5 colours in, I think we have scope for doing some more. Baltoro Ice is a lovely colour (very slight greeny tint to a white model), and let's face it, we haven't had a silver one yet. But, I really would like for them to fix that wonky door. The other side door is not doing too bad. It is just the one door that really needs fixing.

What's this? A third new model. Wow! 3 new castings in this batch. That is pretty cool. This is the MB1537 '24 Lexus GX. It debuts in the number 24 slot in beige.

Matchbox have been going all out on adding Lexus models to the range lately. The first Lexus they made was the GS430 in 2007. It ran until 2010 and has not been seen since. We did not see another Lexus until the '94 Lexus LS400 popped up in 2021 (or 2022 as it ran late). 2023 saw them add the '22 Lexus LX and Lexus LFA to their portfolio. And this year, this is the second Lexus again, after the '21 Lexus LC500 arrived in the basic range.

The GX is a smaller SUV than the larger LX they recently made. It has been around since 2002 (as a 2003 model), and this is the latest, 3rd generation GX model. It has a sister model, the Toyota Land Cruiser (with Prado after it in some markets), but Matchbox have gone with the Lexus version here. Looking at pictures of real ones (I have never seen one, so am going by pictures), it appears that Garry Gopinath has created another masterpiece. I think this is extremely well detailed. I think he has done a great job in capturing that angular front end, and the way the windows down the side look is spot on.

And, yes, that rear end is spot on. I don't know exactly what that bit in the middle of the bumper section is. I notice it is on real vehicles, so it must have a use. I cannot fault the casting of this one.

And it comes with opening doors, which open and close smoothly. They sit flush when closed. No issues at all there. See, they can get the doors looking perfect. Again, fix the Evoque!

And, I am impressed by the perfectly smooth transition between body and sunroof. And, again, that part behind the hood (or bonnet) is a part of the real vehicle. Garry has depicted it as part of the window. It gives the colour break without the need to try and tampo print it. I think it is probably the better option. So, yes, I am perfectly fine with that. Especially when you realise how much tampo printing there is. We get front and rear detailing. But, do you notice the door handles are depicted. And there is black trim around the lower edge of the side.

Which means that this has up to 6 passes through the tampo machine. As we know, parts are tampo printed before assembly, so those doors would be tampo printed (2 passes) and the sides may have been able to be done along with either the front or rear print, if they were able to position the model cleverly. Or, failing that, being only a single colour, they might have done a flip process where they tampo one side, flip and get the other side through the last hit in a run. Tampo machines have 4 pads with 4 colours, so they can use black on the first pad, skip pads 2 and 3 while flipping, then black on the last pad, so both sides are technically one pass. I don't know. I am not at the factory. But, it has somewhere between 4 and 6 passes through the tampo machine. Very well done. Of course, this official Lexus colour is "Earth", and would normally come with a black roof. But, I can forgive them for not trying to tampo print that entire roof.

So, what do I think about scoring this? Inclusion? Well, this is another Lexus, another SUV. It is the smaller brother to the LX we got 2 years ago. Is it really needed? To be honest, I think this is a better choice than the LX. So, I am going to score this a 9 for inclusion. Casting. Perfection there. It cannot be faulted. 10. Design. As I said, I am actually happy enough they didn't attempt to tampo print the whole roof. I think it looks better as a model without it. So, again a 10. A total of 29 out of 30. Pretty decent. I just think we have a lot of Lexus models now, and if they were looking at another one, perhaps go in a unique direction and create the LM. How many minivans do we currently have? Hmm?

As it is a new casting, I finish off with another base shot.

This model seems to be making a lot of appearances. It arrived in late 2024 in Moving Parts, was then released (after a delay) in Mattel Creations, and now in only the second batch of 2025, it is here again. This is the MB1458 '24 Mercedes-Benz G580 with EQ Technology. Yes, the longest name is back for another Moving Parts outing. This time in black as number 39.

I don't know about you, but a G-Class in black is somehow right? I do think that they look best in black, and even an electric one looks awesome in black. This is satin black, which gives it even more of a black stance. Oh, yes, I love it. Could they have done the wheels in black? Maybe not. I think leaving them in a gunmetal look does give them a better contrast against all the rest of the black.

The model sees simple front and rear tampos, although the spare wheel is a different part to the rest of the body, so with that getting detailed, this is actually 3 passes through the machine.

The doors open, as we know, and with no side detailing, they didn't need anything done. With a satin black finish, both doors and body match perfectly. I don't think this could be any better enhanced.

I am definitely scoring this a 10. It is my favourite release so far.

I prefer it to the debut from last year. That was in grey, and did feature a little side stripe. Something I do like, but the black one is awesome. Putting a stripe on the side would have ruined it.

The Mattel Creations was based on the launch vehicle, and is extremely well detailed. But, I still prefer this one. And it costs about a tenth of the Mattel Creations issue. I get the Mattel Creations stuff as a completeist, not because I think they are generally better. Sometimes they are. Other times I think not.

I am going to be honest, I don't think they will top this black one. But, I do think there will be some very nice issues to come. Checking their configurator, Mercedes-Benz offers many colour options on this vehicle, and many are very nice. I like the Desert Sand and Copper Orange Magno looks in particular.

This is also being thrown at us at a rate of knots. Again, released at the end of 2024, with only 1 batch between releases, but in the meantime, we had a basic range 'alternative' as well. The MB1456 '23 Toyota Prius Prime comes to us in grey. It takes the number 45 slot in 2025.

Unlike the Merc, this is a little bland in this latest look. A dull grey. Toyota calls this Ash Grey. It is a real colour option, but it doesn't really grab me.

The detailing is all there. The windows are a light smoke, which I think is probably the best option. Too dark and this would have really looked weird.

It just doesn't stand out. I think chroming the wheels was perhaps not the best. I think they could have been left plain. They seem a little off? Not the best outing, to be honest.

I think this definitely looked better in red last year. That had a darker window tint, which worked then. This one I am scoring a 7. It is real. It is well detailed. But, it just doesn't get me.

And, as I pointed out recently, I am not happy they did the exact same model in the basic range as well. It is almost like they are throwing this one down our throats. Meh!

I think if this had just been a Moving Parts model, I might have been a bit more lenient. I might even be a bit more happy about additional releases. But, I am not a fan. Next!

Ah! That's better. This may also be an electric vehicle, but it is a different vehicle to one used in the basic range, and it is not being done to death. In fact, this MB1376 '21 Fiat 500e is only on its second outing after debuting in 2023. It is in red as number 49 this year.

Now, what do Fiat call this colour? Red! Yes, with all the other colours available on the 500e being given random naming, when you want a red one, just ask for a red one. Even white is called Ice White. But, red is red. And, as we would expect, Matchbox has done what is expected. Front and rear tampo prints.

They even used a different shade of red for the rear lights. Attention to detail. You cannot go wrong with the realistic look, and that is what I expect from the Matchbox brand. I like the wheels just getting rims in chrome. That is a nice touch.

After debuting in 2023, I was expecting this last year. Better late than never. Out of all the electric vehicles they do, this is one of my favourites. I think it is a lovely little model, and the red suits it well. So, I am scoring this a perfect 10.

So, the 2023 model now gets a sibling. And they even matched the wheels. I love it!

I wonder if it will be in next year's range?

Plus, this is the same red as the debut of the MB1245 '19 Fiat 500 Turbo in 2021. So, that makes for a great pairing. I also wonder now if other 500 Turbo models will see their colour used on the 500e?

Now, if you were keeping count, that is 8 models. The entire box that Wheel Collectors received saw 1 of each of those 8 models. Sadly, they never got a Super Chase. I managed to source this from Australia. However, if they had this, they wouldn't have received one of those 8. Which is really annoying. So, the first of 4 (that is the number four) Super Chases for Moving Parts is the MB1369 '69 Ford Mustang Boss 302. Why am I stressing the number 4.

This is because the package says 1 of 50. Yes, they have made an error again. The basic range Super Chase Audi was given a 1 of 6 moniker. It is 1 of 4. This was given a 1 of 50 moniker. But, no, we are not getting 50 super chases. And this is not them sneakily reducing the range. The regular Moving Parts series will see a number 1 of 50. Spoiler alert, it is the new 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona casting.

The thing is, the last Collectors batch of 2024 saw a premium one, and then this gets a release. Does it feel too soon? A premium outing, and then a chase premium style outing a few months after. I like it. I just feel that maybe they should have moved it to later in the year, when the Collectors one was well in the rear view mirror. Does that make sense?

Because I think this is really nice. Especially this cool copper colour for it. The design is relatively simple. Just side stripes, and a black hood. Front and rear tampo and...

The engine gets an amazing tampo job. I think this is a much nicer model than the premium one we just had. Detailing is the same (except this gets a little SC logo on it for Super Chase).

And do you notice the little Superfast logo as well? I am happy to see that. So, this is a lovely release. I thoroughly enjoy these chase models. My wallet may disagree. So, scoring this is tough. Had it been released later in the year, it would have been a clear 10. But, coming so soon after a Collectors premium release means I am scoring a 9. It is just a bit too early. In fact, that has been a bit of a thing with this batch. The G580 and Prius are both models that could have done with being moved to a later batch, just to spread out their releases better.

A final recap for this report. The model debuted in the 2023 Moving Parts series in blue.

With 2024 Moving Parts getting a black model.

And, as I had just mentioned, we got a green model in the final Collectors batch of 2024. See, 2024 Moving Parts was fairly early in the year, and Collectors late. This should have been a little later this year, just to space things out a bit better.

This is a lovely model. I just prefer a better staggered release pattern for things. Too much can feel a little like overload (like with the Prius).

Anyway, that is enough for this week. A bit of a bigger one. 9 models. A third were new castings.

Along with 3 newer types of small vehicles (well the Evoque is small in Range Rover terms).

And 3 that I feel were a little too early to appear again. And, did you notice that the Mustang chase was the only 1 that is not a modern vehicle?

So, a batch of 9 is complete. Next week, I am back to splitting. You know that means a basic range report. Until then, I hope everybody has a safe and happy week.