Matchbox Monday delivers the first half of batch D

Batch D of the 2025 basic range consists of 11 models. However, due to the way that they create Super Chases and Target Reds, this is one of 2 batches where both overlap, which increases things to 13. So, as I do, when things get too large, I split the batch into 2. The first 6 will be showcased here, and in a few weeks, I will be back with the other 7. After last week's change of style, I am back to the usual way I do things. So, let's get on with it.

I start with a model that has not been with us very long. The MB1445 '23 Alfa Romeo Tonale. This Garry Gopinath creation only debuted in the final batch of 2024, so as it rolled through to the first batch of 2025, we only had 2 batches without a Tonale. It takes the MB49 slot in the 2025 basic range, and comes in a totally expected red.

Alfa Rosso. That is the name they call this particular red. It is one of Alfa Romeo's most common colour options. Every Matchbox model that has ever been made has been sold in red. It is a bit of a go-to colour option. Along with Ferrari, red is a bit of an obvious choice for an Alfa Romeo. I do not mind at all. I was expecting it. To be honest, if we had got through year 2 without it turning red, I think I would have been quite stunned. Apart from the first Alfa made (the Carabo), this was the only Alfa that did not debut in red. Which was a bit of a surprise in itself. The Carabo did take a number of years before turning red (1971-74 in purpleish pink, then 1975 in bright pink Streakers look, before switching to red Streakers look. That was the longest before a red outing. Nowadays, I would not expect that at all. I think this only did not debut in red because another Alfa also arrived, and that was red. I think they went with an alternate to make things interesting.

With simple wheels, clear windows and front/rear tampo printing being the name of the game here, I cannot fault it one bit. For a basic range model, they could not have improved this at all. A perfect way to start my review. A 10 out of 10.

Can I give it a bonus point for already sporting a shade? I noticed a slightly darker or lighter shade to this one.

Which I also noticed with the debut issue in metallic green last year (or 4 months ago).

Plus, I love that this realistic design on models gives us models that really work well together. Using the same tampo design on numerous releases really does help.

Plus, it really goes well with the debut of the MB1473 '22 Alfa Romeo Stelvio from last year's Moving Parts series.

Next up, taking the MB50 slot in the basic range in white, is the MB1289 Road Roller. I still don't know why they didn't put the MBX in front of the name, like they do with many of their own creations.

After being absent in 2024 (unless you call being an added extra in a 9-pack), the model returns for its third outing as a basic range model, after 2022 and 2023. I think they are trying to bolster the construction side of things at the moment. This gets a theme which has been seen before, twice! Which means that this is now an official recurring theme. Something I do like.

If you are trying to remember the previous 2, here we are. The RW048 GMC 3500 Attenuator Truck debuted the look in the 2020 Working Rigs series.

Then, the MB1251 Road Stripe King saw this look in the 2022 basic range. However, there are couple of small things to note.

A couple of small things that irked me. For starters, both the first 2 saw an orange stripe in the side design, and the Road Roller is yellow. Plus, if you look closely, the Attenuator Truck was Unit 5 and the Road Stripe King was Unit 3. What is this? Unit 3! Dammit! It is the small things.

The rest of the model was perfectly fine. The blue plastic parts match the others, and the look is pretty realistic. But, those 2 little niggles are enough for me to not give it a top score. Had it been an orange stripe and Unit 1, 2, 4, 6+, I would have given this a 10 for design. But, 2 errors loses it 2 points. Yes, I am being cruel. But, I can't just keep handing everything 10 points, or things would be pretty boring.

However, I would want to state that I love them doing recurring themes. I want to see this theme continue. I hope that future issues have the correct orange stripe and different Unit numbers on the side.

Ooh! The MB302 '69 Chevy Camaro SS-396 makes its return to the basic range after 12 years. That is a gap and a half. I was wondering if it would after its plastic surgery a few years ago. It takes the MB72 slot in blue.

And it has stripes! Yes! This is really cool. Last year, the MB1036 '16 Chevy Camaro Convertible was released in this same look, so I love that they have created a sort of then and now with these. Having a classic and a modern car tied together with a look is fantastic. I think this is called Le Mans Blue, and is an official Camaro colour from that time as well. The stripes were optional.

However, with no front or rear prints, due to those parts being the base section, this appears to have only a single pass through the machine. It is a shame that they didn't give us a little side detailing to help. Is it enough to drop points? Maybe a half point. I think they could have popped a little side detailing in. 9.5 is still good.

I think I need to do a dive back here. This model debuted as just the 3rd Camaro casting ever created by Matchbox, after the Camaro IROC-Z28 and '93 Camaro Z-28 (police and civilian), and it debuted in the 1997 range in blue, with dual white stripes. Yes, this is also a bit of a throwback to the debut, although that is notably darker. Again, an official Camaro colour, known as Dusk Blue. I also have shades to that one. I do love a shade.

If you lived in the USA, you might have found a 75 Challenge issue in gold as well.

1998 saw them complete the colours of the US flag (as well as many other countries), with a white (known as Dover White) in the basic range, and red (known as Garnet Red) in the Roadside Assistance Adventure 2-pack.

It was also our first look at some premium issues. The Premiere series saw a green (known as Fathom Green) in the World Class series 17 and orange (known as Hugger Orange) in series 20.

For 1999, we only saw 1 outing. It was in the Open Road 5-pack in orange. A similar orange as the last Premiere, albeit a little lighter. Hugger Orange was also known as Monaco Orange, but I think technically both are the same colour.

2000 saw its final outings. Another premium outing here, with a Coca-Cola themed release in the Collectables series. There is another white, which I don't have. This is because Collectables also did some character cars, with models sporting massive figures stuck to the top of them. This was released in an "I Dream of Jeannie" livery, with a massive Jeannie sitting on top. I have never attempted to buy these models, as with those huge figures, it pushes them outside my collecting remit.

We didn't see the casting again until 2003. It popped up in a Nickelodeon themed licensed 5-pack in orange. At that time, Mattel were taking 3 of the models out of these 5-packs, changing their colours, and selling them as singles as well. This was chosen as a single as well, and was switched to blue.

They did the same in 2004. A Looney Tunes 5-pack saw this in teal, and again it was turned into green for a single release.

We also saw some more outings. It was in a regular Haunted House 5-pack in black, and the Superfast series saw it in green.

In 2005, the model returned to the basic range for its third outing there. It came in blue again, but this time had flames going down the sides. It was also in a Halloween 5-pack, which was mainly the 2004 Haunted House in alternate colours. What was black became red here.

It was again in the Superfast series, which for 2005 had split between ROW (7,500 white) and USA (15,000 cream) issues.

For 2006, it was given one more Superfast outing in burgundy as part of the Streakers subseries. It was also in another licensed 5-pack, One Piece, in black. By now, the idea of 3 singles from a 5-pack had long gone.

2007 saw a core release in the US Classics 5-pack, back in the Monaco Orange (or Hugger Orange) with black striping down the sides. This was not the same as the 1999 release, as the tampo was differently detailed.

And we also saw another premium, as part of a Walmart exclusive Superfast America series. This was a simile Fathom Green to the earlier Premiere, but again, completely different tampo detailing.

In 2008, it got a single outing, as part of the SpongeBob SquarePants themed licensed 5-pack in black. After that, the model went a little quiet again.

Until it returned as a 10-pack exclusive in 2011. This was the year that things went a little differently. For a number of years, we saw 4 batches of releases. Each batch would see an all-exclusive pack along with 2 alternative filled with models pulled from other areas and 1 exclusive. However, in 2011, the "Real", "Action" and "Adventure" all-exclusive packs were dropped, and those batches simply saw the 1 exclusive in 2 different packs. Which were the Camaro alongside a '65 Ford Mustang GT. These 2 castings had a different colour for each batch, with the Camaro seeing yellow in batch A, black in batch B and red in batch C. The final batch of the year would be the 1st Editions all-exclusive pack on its own. After 2011,every all-exclusive pack was gone.

After taking 2012 off, we saw it return to the basic range for only the 4th time. It was now in tan. Or Champagne, as Chevy called it at the time. This was the last time we saw the model in its original configuration.

It lay on the sidelines until Abe Lugo decided to tinker with the casting. With another '69 Camaro (the MB629 hardtop) seeing a little tinkering for 2021, Abe thought it might be better if this was altered to better match the other '69. So, he retooled it, and it debuted in the 2022 Target Retro series in orange with flames.

In 2023, it was a part of the Blue Highways III 5-pack, and was given another tan outing (or Champagne), which I did spot some serious shading to.

And was also a part of the Walmart exclusive Muscle series. Officially, it was a carry forward model, but the one they chose to carry forward was the 2007 US Classics 5-pack issue. This meant that the casting was totally different between the 2, making it a very worthwhile carry forward.

After taking 2024 off, this is now its fourth outing under the new tool.

Or only its fifth basic range outing. This now ties it with the '16 Chevy Camaro, which has seen 5 looks in the Moving Parts series (which I include as a core single range). It was tied with the Chevy Camaro IROC-Z28, '93 Chevy Camaro Z-28 civilian and '16 Chevy Camaro Convertible in 3rd as of last year, as they have had 4 different looks in the basic range. The only one to beat it is the '93 Chevy Camaro Z-28 Police, which saw 8 outings (albeit under 2 MAN numbers due to different roof lights).

Next up in the first half of this batch is the MB1287 VW ID4. It comes in green as MB92 in this year's range.

We can call it that now, as they managed to get the official name cleared. I heard there was an issue with it when they first sought out the licence.

This is a lovely colour for the model. However, as far as I can tell, this is not an official VW colour option. Maybe it should be. I don't know why cars in green are no longer popular. I think a green car looks great. One day, I hope to own a green car. I see the window/roof section is the little lighter one again, as the debut was dark. But, I think this works better. Especially as it does get that silver strip going up the side of it. I am glad they have stuck with this window tint level.

As is the norm, we get the front and rear tampo printed as well. Which means that this has extra tampo detailing than we normally get for basics. This is likely the reason why some models, like the Camaro I just talked about, end up with just the one. Try and even the overall tampo prints to an average of 2 per model. Sometimes it is a concession that they have to make on a specific model to allow it to be done. I am guessing that VW were adamant that the side had to get that silver strip. So, what do I think of this one? Well, I think it is the nicest one released to date. I am going to score it a 10.

This was the original release. Dark blue with a dark window/roof piece. It was part of the 2022 basic range, although was not found in all cases, as it was a late addition to the final batch.

At that time, because they could not get clearance for the name, they called it the VW Electric Vehicle 4.

The 2023 basic range saw the window section lightened to what we have now. Much better. It was a nice shade of red.

With 2024 coming in white. This was the time when clearance for the ID4 name had arrived. Bases were changed.

So the white model was seen with ID4, but so was the original blue, as it returned as part of the Best of Germany series as a carry forward. It carried forward with that updated base as well.

As you can see, the green is the first one to see a silver rear end. White was blank, and the others had black. But, they are still basically the same look, and I love the consistency.

Woohoo! A Porsche! I do love a Porsche. Especially a 911. This is the MB1185 '85 Porsche 911 Rally, taking the MB120 slot in the 2025 range in a bright mint green.

This look has been seen before. When we had the Walmart exclusive Porsche set in 2023, they issued this in black with the same front and roof tampo design. It went down a storm. It was so unique. It was different. Totally unexpected. And now they have done the same on a regular issue. Hmm!

I am in 2 minds about it. After all, not everybody saw the Porsche set. That was a limited release, and this one is a worldwide general issue. So more people get to see their unique design. But, I still feel like it was something that worked best as a 1-off. This is a rally vehicle, after all. When the Datsun 510 Rally gets an over the top print, rather than sides, it gets the roof items detailed, but still has that rally feel to it. The front and rear of the top sections have some details included, which gives it a rally feel. I do feel this might have been cooler with some rally inspired prints going over the front at least. The rear is a huge spoiler. That may be tougher to do. But, they might still get something added in there. As such, I am giving this a 7. Yeah, I know, a shocking result for a Porsche!

I did see that the mint green has a small shade between production runs. Not major, but enough for me to keep 2 of them.

So, let's dig into the past again. I did mention that this was a late 2018 release. It actually debuted as the 2019 Toy Fair model in September 2018. I always put these promotional models in the year before the year they denote. The 2019 model year didn't start until November. This was a 2018 promotional issue. Until the mid 2000s, they used to do a pre-Toy Fair model in June as well. Mind you, they used to do Australian, German and UK Toy Fair models as well. How I miss those days. My wallet doesn't, but I do.

It then arrived fairly early in the 2019 model year in white, with a blue side design. This has a slight feel of the Rothmans livery that real 911s used to use. Obviously it is not a Rothmans. That is a cigarette company, and there is no way, in this day and age, they could put that on a toy. I mean, in the 1970s, Matchbox had a JPS Lotus Europa and a Marlboro Formula 5000. Times were different back then.

2020 saw another green basic range outing, this time in a mid-green with a side design again. It was also part of the Target Retro series, in a look inspired by an older VW Beetle 4x4.

It then was not used (apart from as a carry forward) until 2023, when it returned to the basic range, as one of the 70th Anniversary issue in platinum, and, as mentioned, was black in the Walmart exclusive Porsche series. This sports the same livery as the new one. As a 1-off, it was amazingly cool, but as a running theme, I am not so keen.

But, at least it is back. It doesn't seem to get the love that it deserves. Next time, I really hope we get a proper rally livery again. It's what it was made for.

And now, we move on to the last model I am looking at this year. The MB1302 '18 Toyota 4Runner. This is the 2nd of 4 Super Chase models we get for 2025. Thankfully, they have now corrected the card art (as the Audi in batch A said 1/6). We do only get 4 Super Chases in a year at the moment. It may change in the future. And, luckily, Wheel Collectors got this one in. But, here's an awkward catch. You might remember me complaining about Moving Parts chases. Those that appear at the cost of another model in the box. Having only a small box of 8, when it gets loaded with 8 new releases and no duplicates, then one gets pulled to put in the chase, it is annoying. Well, guess what? Basics on long card come in boxes of 24. To insert this in the box, something was taken out. Now, you would think just one of the models duplicated in the batch, surely. I mean, there were 9 models in the box doubled up. Not just models from batch D, but a couple from batch C were rolled over and still doubled up. However, some models were only 1 per case. 6, to be exact. With 9 doubles and 6 singles, what do you think went? Of course, one of the singles. As Wheel Collectors only received cases with Super Chases, they did not get the non-Super Chase case. So, that means, they were unable to send me one of the models. But, that's okay, I hear you say. Basics tend to last for 2 batches at a time. Most do, but some models only appear in one case. And, guess which one they decided not to move forward to batch E? Yes, the one that was removed to make way for the Super Chase. So, a certain MB1281 '22 Renault Mégane in white has now become a sort of chase in itself. It will be a part of my second half of the mix report, along with the Target issue. I don't know if Target assortments also removed the Renault, and how ROW short card boxes of 72 dealt with the Super Chase situation. I don't see all case assortments. But, as much as I enjoy these chases, I am not a fan of artificially creating a second chase on top.

That said, I am happy to see this return. Especially as it was not in the 2024 range. We will see a regular issue as well later in the year. As we often see with Super Chases, this is in orange. The Audi was also orange, and the next one is going to be orange. I wonder if they are starting to stick to a colour a bit more? Although Moving Parts has a charcoal release in batch D. So, I don't know. But, I like that we have a certain style to these Super Chases. As we know, Super Chases get more tampo detailing than regular basic range models. This sees the sides getting a little detail along with front and rear.

With many SC references on the model to denote it is the Super Chase. I wonder how many of these will actually end up in kids hands, to play with? I know I am playing with mine. But I am an adult, and that is a lot less forceful. You can't go wrong with this sort of Super Chase, and I am giving it a 10 for the look, but Mattel a 0 for the stupid choice of vehicle to make way for it. There were 9 doubled up!!!! Any one of those 9 could have made way for this. Not a single per case, which is not getting carried forward to the next batch. Out of those that were 1 per case, the Camaro and VW ID4 were also 1 per case from this batch, as well as 3 already carried forward from batch C. The Camaro got carried forward, but the VW did not. Which means, as one of the 2-per case models was the MBX Lil' Dumper from Batch C, doubled up then, that model actually gets 4 times as many as the VW, and the Renault gets even less. I don't often complain about case assortments, but when doubled up models get carried forward, and single models in a box don't, you do find quantities of models can vary quite a lot.

Anyway, rant over. Let's finish with a final dive for this week. The Toyota debuted in the 2022 range in burgundy, which I did see came in shades.

With 2023 seeing a lovely bright blue issue.

And with no release in 2024, this is the first time we will see it this year. We will return to it later when it makes a more common appearance as a regular issue.

And with that, I am done for this week. A set of 6 out of the 13 in total, we can see, if we do a lot of hunting around for batch D. Three of the ones I chose for this week are from Europe.

With a Japanese, an American and an original rounding out the group.

So as these head off, I am moving my thoughts to next week's article. Big hint there. Until then, check out Lamley for details of Dirk Schleuer's registration which begins at the end of the week for the European Matchbox convention in October, in Leipzig. And, as always, have a safe and happy week.