Matchbox Monday challenges itself to a candy dive

Okay, here's the deal. Last week, I noticed that my blog report was fairly short (by my standards). I know, I know, years ago, they used to be a lot longer. I would do dive backs of various models after reviewing the new stuff. Well, I have made a decision that if my report does go a little too short, I will pull out a model or 2 that is related to what I am talking about. And this week's report sees the first in my short blog dives as one of the models I am reviewing, I went nuts with the deepest of dives. That is because, this is the latest batch of Candy models, and only 2 of them were new. Everything else is old stuff in newer packages. So, let's get on with it.

We start with number 1 on the list. This is the MB759 '08 Dodge Challenger. It comes in lime green with a Mike & Ike livery. 

The first thing I realized about this is that this is not one of the Tootsie Roll Industries products. Back when Matchbox first debuted the Candy series, in 2019, they ran with 6 models from the Ferrara Candy Company (including ones sold under license from Nestlé in the USA). However, when they released a new set in 2020, they sold 6 models from Tootsie Roll Industries. in 2024 (6 additions out of 12) and 2025 (4 additions out of 12), they added more Tootsie Roll industry models to the range, while carrying forward others from previous Tootsie Roll Industry liveried models only. None of the Ferrara ones came back. So, after 6 Ferrara models and 16 Tootsie Roll Industry models, we see a new one here from Just Born. Considering Just Born have been around for over 100 years, they only currently sell 5 products. Mike & Ike being one of them. As Mike & Ike packages come in green, it makes perfect sense for the model to also come in green. But, wait a sec. 

As with other Candy series models we have seen to date, the side design is indicative of the brand that it is representing. But, this has so much more. I am loving the side stripes and SRT logo being used. But, we also have the front detailed, and the hood detailed. Stripes going over the hood? Way cool! This has a lot of character to it, for what is essentially a core release. How have they managed to get so much tampo on this one? I am loving it. 

Okay, the rear didn't get a hit, but seriously. For a core model, this has been given a lot of detail, over and above what we normally get. I am seriously impressed with this. I know some may not like the candy series models, as they are not 100% realistic, compared to others, but I enjoy these extra models. And this is definitely one of the best ones that they have done. I am giving this a 10 out of 10. 

Now, get prepared. I am diving way back to the beginning of the Challenger in the Matchbox range. It is hard to believe that Dodge have only ever had 3 generations of Challenger. The first generation was officially sold between 1970 and 1974, but Matchbox, during the Lesney era, only got around to releasing a model of it after the real one had finished. It was created in 1975, and debuted in early 1976 as MB1-C, replacing the Mod Rod in that slot. It came in red with a chrome interior and white plastic roof. 

Although early runs actually saw it with the smaller dot-dash wheels before they switched to the 5-arch. 

In the pre-Mattel era, a model would stay in its slot in the range for multiple years, and would only see new looks every now and again. This one was sold between 1976 and 1979 in red. However, aside from the early runs with dot-dash wheels, you could find quite a few differences as production continued. For starters, the obvious one. Shades of red. Lesney were known to use whatever paint was cheapest at the time. So they would bring in paint, when it ran out, they would buy from somewhere else because it saved money. This meant that shades were rampant. The red here varies between a redder shade and pinkier shade. 

Plus, in 1979, they decided to give up chroming the interior. Models started turning up with white interiors instead. 

And shades continued. But, we also found some would come with a smokey window. 

In 1980, they decided it was time to refresh the model. However, as is often the case with Lesney stuff, they would run of production of the various parts, and things would never line up. Crossovers would often exist, and in this case, they ran out of white interiors before running out of red bodies. The new look was getting a red interior, so they just used up the remainder of the red bodies with the first of the red interiors. 

And then turned the model blue. This continued through 1981 as well, and again, this meant that we would see a variety of shades of blue. There is also a smokey window variant, which I am yet to find. 

Now, while all this was happening, Lesney had created a rather unique Japanese range. !977 saw some classics return, exclusive to the Japanese market. In 1978, they expended it a little, but thought they would try something else. They contacted a company in Japan and set up a deal for this company to create and build some exclusive Japanese vehicles, just for the Japanese market. They came up with 4. All featuring opening doors. One of these was the J-22 Galant Λ Eterna. This was a name used for JDM vehicles. The Galant was sold in many markets worldwide, but was known by many names. Mitsubishi Sapporo, Mitsubishi Scorpion, Chrysler Sigma Scorpion, Chrysler Scorpion, Colt Sapporo, Plymouth Sapporo and (of course) Dodge Challenger. This was technically the second generation of Challenger in the USA. But, back in late 1978, when the Japanese sub-contracted factory launched it, it was only for the Japanese market, hence the Galant name. It debuted in red, and then also in yellow. Production ran through 1979, and eventually they sent over some samples to Lesney HQ in England. They hated them. They felt they were not up to the usual standard of Matchbox, and terminated the contract. However, as part of the original contract signed, Lesney would actually own the castings. So, late 1979 saw a massive upheaval. These castings were removed from the Japanese factory, and Lesney set up a new deal with another company in Hong Kong, who took the castings, and were told to improve them. Lesney also pulled all Japanese exclusives from Japan. They had just began producing some models that were planned to be released in Japan in 1980, and not wanting to waste them, created the MP-1 multipack. These packs of 5 random models were sold off, mainly in the UK. For collectors, we saw a number of unusual and unique items in these packs. All stuff that was destined for Japan before the contract was terminated. But, they were not this casting. This was made in Japan. It moved from Japan to Hong Kong. 

The factory in Hong Kong tried tinkering with the casting. There was not much they could do. But, they did run off some, and these were in green. They sold them in the Australian market in pictures boxes noting it as MB79, but they also added it to a 4-pack for the USA market known as Speed Sticks, and included a set of labels that could be applied. As with the England production, shades were rampant. Green varied a lot. 

And if you were wondering what it looked like with labels applied, this is how it ended up. They also release a limited edition Hot Points Challenger in the USA market as well (I forgot to photograph). 

Lesney noticed something with this. They were shown the shipping costs for the Hong Kong produced models. Shipping to the USA and Australia was significantly cheaper than shipping from England. As we know, they were struggling by now, and anything they could save would be worth it. So, they came up with a new idea. Seeing how some models sold better in some markets over others, they would come up with a brand split. They would set up some models in the 1981 range as worldwide issue. The original blue Challenger was a worldwide issue. These would be made in England, and shipped from there. ROW issues would be made in England as well. Mainland Europe was the biggest market for shipping them out. However, of a model was to be a US market only, they decided to simply ship the tooling for all of them to this Hong Kong factory. So, Hong Kong got really busy in 1981, creating a variety of US exclusives. One of them would be this green Galant. It was sold in the US market as MB63. But, there was that small sticking point. The Galant was sold as a Dodge Challenger in the US. 

So, as production continued, they altered the base name to reflect this. 

Early runs still saw the old wheels that they had been given from Japan. But, as Lesney sent over various tooling, this included newer wheels, which were substituted in. The ivory interior was also changed to green, and the tampo saw a mid-year tweak. 

Knowing that the original Japanese tooling was still not great, Lesney decided to create newer versions of the 4 models that were not working (in their eyes). Work started on the MB076 Mazda RX-7 (to replace Savannah RX-7), MB077 Datsun 280ZX 2+2 (to replace Datsun Fairlady Z) and MB078 Toyota Supra (to replace Toyota Celica XX), but they noticed that the Hong Kong factory had renamed the Galant to Dodge Challenger. Wait, they had a Challenger. They did a quick hack. Raise the rear and throw on larger wheels, add side exhausts, and change the hood to sport a large scoop, and voila! A new casting. The Hong Kong factory were readying up new looks for some of these for 1982, and a white Galant with a modified base and larger wheels was being planned, but Lesney said don't bother. They didn't want to confuse people by having 2 Challengers in the range looking totally different. As this was a quick fix, what was now the MB1 model debuted nice and early in 1982. The other 3? All headache-inducing. The Mazda wouldn't form the rear license plate. The Datsun's doors wouldn't stay on. The Toyota's roof would form. Niggles, hassles, delays, and bankruptcy forced them to delay until 1983. So, only the Challenger replacement appeared when planned. 1982 was also when they formed the new MAN list, which is still being used now (and is hitting the 1600s in 2026). The plan was simple. The first 75 were the ROW range. They then added the 3 that were being worked on in the hope they would be done before the end of the year. Then, they added in all of the US exclusives that were being made in Hong Kong. As the 4 original Japanese models were planned, all 4 were given numbers. However, the Galant never made it to production. So, the MB090 slot was technically never filled, and only exists in pre-production form. The MB001 Dodge Challenger was the only 1 used for 1982. It debuted in orange, and sported a black interior. However, However, again, there was an abundance of white roof pieces, so early examples were fitted with a white roof. There was also a small issue of forgetting about tampo. Some were found completely blank. Some came with only top print. 

And when the white roof pieces ran out, they switched to the new blue roof. 

Examples were found with silver bases or unpainted. 

And blue roofed models could also be found with tampo oddities. The England factory just did whatever they felt like at times. 

As we know, Lesney went bust in late 1982. Universal swooped in and took over the brand. one of the first things they did was to start moving production from England to Macau. The Dodge was quick to switch. ROW exclusives were left in the UK, and only those that were sold worldwide were given the switch. Well, most. Some stayed in England (like those used for Convoy). At this time, they decided to refresh the look. Yellow Toyman. This one ran, and ran. 10 years! A decade unchanged. However, it may be worth noting, that this was only if you are in the US market. It was dropped after 1986 in ROW markets, although, weirdly, popped back up in 1990 as MB34 for 1 year before reverting to the Ford RS200 it had replaced. 1983 was an easy year to gauge. The front wheels were 5-arch. 

But, the Macau factory was just like the England one. Shades can be found. 

Not just with the yellow body, but also with the silver painted base. 

In 1984, they switched to dot-dash wheels. Funnily, the opposite way to Lesney when the Challenger debuted. Production continued through 1985 in Macau. 

However, in 1986, they switched to a different factory in China. 

Where it continued through 1992. That means plenty of scope for further shades. 

In the 1990s, as Matchbox was expanding further, we did see alternates in other ranges. 1991 saw a couple of very plain looking models. The white one was part of the Graffic Traffic series, and the all-yellow (including base) one was part of a German exclusive World Rally Christmas board game. 

In 1992, the USA market saw a new series of Action Pack models. A series of models in exclusive looks, with additional accessories that could also be used in the playsets at the time. The Challenger was one of the models, sold in  a lovely powder blue. 

And the Walmart owned Sam's Club chain of stores released a special 30-pack of models, of which half of the models were recoloured from their usual looks. The Challenger was found in white in this pack instead of the usual yellow. 

Then, in 1993, something odd happened. They finally gave the model a new look in the basic range. However, at this time, it was still a US exclusive release. 

By this time, Universal was also gone, and Tyco were now the owners of the brand. They had a plan for 1994. Part of that plan was to debut new wheels. However, with the Challenger sporting larger rear wheels, it would not work with just new front wheels. So, they went and retooled the casting again. Being one of the few holdouts from the cost reducing base spree, where most models had switched from metal to plastic bases in 1989/90, the Challenger was now given a new plastic base, which was much more level, allowing the same wheels to be used all over. 

They also decided to add it back to the ROW market at this point. Funnily enough, in the same MB34 slot that it popped up in for 1990. After 3 additional years, the Ford RS200 was dropped for good and the Dodge Challenger was now MB1 for the US market and MB34 for ROW markets. It ran for 2 years in this weird yellow with black scratches livery. However, gold wheels were only used in 1994. For 1995, all models switched from gold to chrome. And, yes, shades!

The model was also sold in purple in a Hot Rods 5-pack for the 1995 year. 

In 1996, the model was refreshed for a final year in the basic range. After 1996, the now white with purple scratches was the last basic offering. 

And the Hot Rods 5-pack was also refreshed with a new colour scheme for the model. 

There were plans to add it to a 1997 5-pack, possibly American Street Machines, but it was dropped before being added. Only existing as a pre-production sample. 

But, it was not quite finished. Because, they decided to make it a premium model. It was a part of the Premiere World Class series 9 in purple and then series 11 in red with flames. 

With a 3rd and final Premiere release in 1998 in series 17 in orange. After this, the model was finally retired. Not bad for 22 years of action. 

Although you may know that when Mattel fist ventured over to the China factory to see how they were doing, they discovered a warehouse out the back chock full of excess parts. They were told to just put them together any old how and sell them off. Some went locally to China, others to Canada in #20 boxes. Then we had remaining stocks dumped in Hero City 2-packs in the UK and The Netherlands. There were a lot of premium models with and old interiors and wheels added to make 'a whole' so they could be sold. Even the last remaining 1996 basics were sold like this. 

But, that was still not quite the end. In 2019, as part of the Superfast 50th Anniversary celebrations, Mattel decided to recreate this classic Challenger for Superfast. Abe Lugo sat there and created a lovely homage to the original one. Sadly, it did not make it out in time for the 2019 range. I did get this lovely pre-production sample. 

It finally arrived in the first batch of 2020, but still had the 50th Anniversary Superfast logo emblazoned on the rear. 

The hood opened on this one showing off the engine inside. Sadly, this MB1193 '74 Dodge Challenger castings has never seen action since. 

But, yes, another prepro. The 3rd generation Dodge Challenger debuted in 2008, and Matchbox were straight on the ball with this one. Well, almost, as it debuted in 2009. However, this blue prototype that Ryu Asada created was made in 2008. 

When the model debuted in 2009, it came in a solid orange. However, that wasn't quite how it was supposed to come. 

It was supposed to be metallic. A running change was made to swiftly change that. 

And I often find that orange is good for shades. 

It was also included in the 1st Editions 10-pack at the end of the year. This time it was in metallic dark blue (again, with shades). 

In 2010, it was sold in metallic dark grey in the basic range. 

And in 2011, it was sold in yellow. This was also very good for shades. 

As was the Modern Rides 5-pack issue in red that year. 

2012 was a bit of an awkward year. There was a plan to sell it in green in the basic range. However, there was a small issue with the Chrysler Group that meant that all of their products were pulled. It got resolved, and things were back to normal in mid 2013, but the green model did make an appearance in a 10-pack as a non-exclusive before it was actually put in the basic range. This later turned out to be an exclusive that was unadvertised. 

Weirdly, when things did get sorted with Chrysler, they decided to throw a 2012 release out anyway. But, not the green one. A new, purple one. Especially weird as the planned new Dodge Charger Pursuit casting and Dodge Magnum releases that were also planned were just left blank. I have no idea why they decided to just put this one in. Anyway, this also sported a variation. This time with windows. light smoke or clear. 

After this, the model went on hiatus until coming back to the basic range in 2017 in light purple, with a hood print. Again, you can find shades. 

Another few years off, and in 2020 it saw a couple of outings. First, in the Highway Speeders 5-pack in green.

And then in grey in one of the Top Gun Maverick 5-packs. This one ran for a few years, as due to the pandemic, the film kept getting pushed back. Every time they started producing it again, the studio announced another delay. So, we kept getting packs released well before the film did. 

In 2021, it was a 9-pack exclusive in gold. 

And in 2024, the Coffee Cruisers V 5-pack saw a blue release. 

This one keeps going and going. 2009 through 2026 so far. Will it outdo the original? Only time will tell. There we are, I told you this was a deep dive. 

Yeah, I am not doing it again on this one. Phew! That was enough for this time. Maybe a future outing, if this MB363 '62 VW Beetle sees further action. This is the other new look for 2026. It comes in yellow with a Peeps look for 2026 in number 2.

And this one sort of makes sense. This is also one of the 5 brands that Just Born sell. And Just Born have a yellow Beetle with Peeps on the side in real life. Granted, it is a modern Beetle, not the classic, And that one sports a giant 'peep' on the roof. Just imagine if they had created a giant 'peep' to slot on top of this one (thinking Mr Bean's Mini as an example). Obviously, this is yellow, just like the real one. 

And, look, we have front detailing again.

And we get the rear detailed. Whoa! I am loving the use of PEEPS as the license plate. Honestly, the only way they could have done better was to have added a giant peep on the roof. And it has a chrome base. Jeez! How are they doing all of this one a basic model? I have been enjoying the candy series over the last few years, but these new ones have upped them to the next level. I am seriously impressed with them. Again, this is worthy of a 10 out of 10. I wonder if we will see any more from the Just Born team later? I am sure they will sell like Hot Tamales! For those who don't know, it is another of their products. 

Sadly, as these have also been reduced to batches of 5, just like the Walmart series, all we are left with are some carry forwards. Number 3 of 5 is the MB741 VW Caddy. It comes again in the Tootsie Pops livery. 

Sadly, this is one of the longest running ones. It debuted in the 2020 series, came back for 2024 when the series relaunched, and was also in the 2025 series. During that time, we have seen the base change from light to dark orange, but I see no new difference on the new one. I do wonder why they didn't use the 2024 Caramel Apple Pops version. That only appeared in the 1 batch. Both part of the Tootsie family. We see release 4 of this, and not release 2 of the other one. They chose the wrong one!

Number 4 of 5 is a second outing for the MB1041 '62 Nissan Junior. This comes in pink with the DOTS theme. 

As i said, this is only the second outing, but it was one of last year's new issues. 

But, if you are like me and enjoys a little shade variation, well this one is right up your alley. The difference in pink between the paler look last year and the deep pink of this year's release is extremely noticeable. okay, for a carry forward, I am happy with this one. 

And the last of the carry forwards is the MB927 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor in blue with Candy Blox design. 

It debuted in 2024. It returned for 2025, and I could find no variation. It has returned a second time, and still nothing. This one has been remarkably consistent across the 3 outings. Rats! Oh, well, I found 1 variation. 

Which means I am done. This batch contained 2 absolutely stunning new models, for licensed side design models. 

And 3 carry forwards. One of them was worth getting again for the variation, but the other 2 are only good if you are into card art. The 2026 cards are different to previous years. I am disappointed that the Raptor is not showing any variations, but disappointed in a different way that the Caddy was the same old one that keeps cropping up, and not the one that only appeared once. 

So, as these head off, I start planning my return to the basic range releases. I have the other half of batch C to work through. I think that will also need a little padding out. Until then, I hope everybody has a safe and happy week.