Matchbox Monday dishes up a delectable Moving Parts D

I have an excuse for getting a little behind with my run through of the Matchbox Moving Parts batches. The Super Chase! Sadly, Wheel Collectors did not get any of this batch with a Super Chase included. Doh! So, the hunt was on. And on. And on. Thankfully, my friend Luke McKenna from Australia managed to secure me one, and he brought it to the Gathering in Albuquerque for me. So, because of this, I was holding back on talking about the batch, as I wanted to talk about the whole batch. It was only after returning home, and disappearing for work for a few weeks, that I finally managed to sit down and run through the batch. You will find me doing a number of Moving Parts batches to play catch up over the next few months. I took photos of batch D, while having batches E & F sitting next to them. And, as I write this, Wheel Collectors are busy sending over batch G for me to run through as well. I am so thankful for their help (and Luke's on the chases I cannot get otherwise) as the UK still refuses to stock the best part of the Matchbox brand. Anyway, enough complaining, this is an awesome batch. I need to get stuck in.

Whoa! Until 2025, we had never seen a Matchbox casting from the Acura brand, and in 2026, we have our second. The MB1561 '24 Acura Integra Type S HRC debuts in the range in the number 10 slot in yellow.

As most people know, Acura is the luxury arm of the Honda company. When it launched in the USA in 1986, the Integra and Legend were the 2 vehicles that started off the brand. As we saw, Matchbox made a model of a 1997 Integra Type R last year in the basic range. After the 3rd generation, Honda decided to change the way Acura vehicles were named. Rather than giving them names that people could remember, they gave them random letters, in the hope that people would simply remember the brand, not the model. RSX? That moved on to ILX, and a switch from coupe to sedan? Really? For 2023, they brought back the Integra name again. Yay! Other Acura cars are still random letters. I wonder if more will revert to names. 

This one fell to Garry Gopinath to recreate in miniature. This is classified as a 5th generation Integra, and as such, the road vehicle comes in 4 configurations. A base version, then A-Spec, A-Spec with Technology, and finally Type S. However, this is not a Typs S. Did you see the HRC bit at the end? This is actually a prototype vehicle that was shown at Monterey Car Week in August 2024. HRC stand for Honda Racing Corporation, and they took a standard Type S, added a huge adjustable carbon fibre rear wing, adding larger front splitters, enlarging the air vents on the hood, and adding a new exhaust system. It is not a production vehicle. So, that is a huge surprise. Giving us a prototype, and not a road vehicle. I like the surprise. We don't often see vehicles that are not regular road vehicles. Prototypes and concepts are few and far between. This one is based on a real vehicle, so is only nudging that envelope. I applaud them for thinking a little out of the box with this one. Why give us a standard Type S, when a HRC prototype is out there? 

So, what has Garry done? Well, I think he has done an amazing job. Obviously. The stance of this is just as the real one is. And when I say real one, I mean one. There is just the one. 

The front splitters were carried over on to the model really well. This one does look aggressive. The low stance, the way the vents look on the hood? Yeah, I think he has nailed this. 

And just look at that rear spoiler. Wow! I am definitely loving this one. However, there is one minor issue. 

As with most Moving Parts castings recently, we have an opening hood. Sadly, you can open it and see a beautifully detailed engine inside. But, if you let go of the hood, it falls straight back down again. This is an issue we sometimes see with opening hoods. It opens easily enough, but doesn't want to stay that way. I don't know why they didn't opt for opening doors here. 

There does appear to be a little gap between the hood and window. This may be required to allow it to open without catching on said window. It does appear quite close as you open it. I have a feeling they had to carve out fractions of a millimetre at a time until they got it to a point where it opened easily. It is a shame it won't stay up. It is the only minor blemish on an absolutely gorgeous casting. Garry has done it again. 

As you would expect with this being a prototype vehicle, they have opted to mirror the real vehicle's colour. Indy Yellow Pearl. Perfect. The model sees a fully detailed front end, although the tiny strip of yellow along the bottom of the skirt is not there. I am not going to complain about not tampo printing a piece of plastic. The hood vents are detailed. Although, I am not sure why they printed Integra under one of the headlights. It did not appear on the prototype. They did add the HRC logo in the grille. I am impressed. 

And it gets a detailed rear end, that does edge around the corner. Again, perfect. 

So, time to put some scores to this one. Inclusion. I am really surprised with the idea of adding the prototype instead of standard road vehicle. This is definitely thinking outside the box. I have to give it a 10 here. I love it. Casting. One minor flaw. If that hood would stay up, it would be top marks, but as it won't, I can't give it top marks. So, it gets a 9. Design. Faultless. An easy 10. A final score of 29 out of 30 for this debut model. I am very happy with it, and hope to see some alternate colours over coming years. 

And, obviously, a new casting gets a base shot. 

The next model in the list is the other new casting in the batch. The MB1570 '77 Pontiac Firebird debuts in black in the number 22 slot.

I have to admit, I am a big US muscle car fan, and the Pontiac Firebird is one of my all-time favourites. And the second generation, which was sold between 1970 (and a half, if you are nerdy) and 1981, is an icon. The 1977 model year coincided with a big facelift, which included a change to a 4 headlight system at the front. And this is what we have here. 

This model was actually created by Bryan Benedict. He worked at Mattel from 2004, until shortly after creating this model, as he left in late 2025 to pursue a new career. Before his long tenure at Mattel, he had been working for Honda, Mercedes-Benz and Mitsubishi, so he knows how to design cars. And it shows. Whoa!

He has captured the shape perfectly. I am so impressed with this one. It was always something I felt was off with the old Lesney made Firebird in 1979. The front end did not seem right. This one has it spot on. The wheel arches are not flared, like they were on the Lesney. This does seem more realistic. However, I think the TransAm variant does flare the arches just a little more than this. Not that I dislike the Lesney one. It was part of the reason that I love muscle cars in the first place. But, the more I checked pictures of real ones, the more I felt that they did not quite capture it well enough. This has come along to rectify that. Yippee!

Again, we have an opening hood. This one pops up and stays up effortlessly. We get a lovely view of the detailed engine, as this is a large hood. I know I often point out how many get the opening engine, but I think this one deserved it. 

They have gone with the T-top variant of the model. It was only sold as a hardtop with removable roof panels. There was no convertible. I am loving the screaming eagle hood design. It had to have it. 

When it comes to design, this black look is an icon in itself. Partly because of the extremely well known Smokey & The Bandit film. They do appear to have pretty much replicated that iconic look for this debut. The front end is effortlessly detailed perfectly. 

I mean, adding Bandit into the license plate? I absolutely love it! The rear end could not look any better.

The sides are also detailed. We see a little gold pin striping over the wheel arches, a detailed door handle, and the tiny screaming eagle on the pillar. Topping it off with gold pin striping to the black tri-spoke wheels. Chef's kiss! I don't think that there is anything that they could do to improve this in any way. 

So, I think you might be guessing how this scoring will go. Inclusion. A big fat 10. I do believe this could be one of the contenders for new casting of the year. Well, it will not beat the Porsche 911 that arrived in batch A, but I think this could rank very highly in my Top 10 lists. Casting. Spotless. Another 10. This looks like they just shrunk a real one. Design. Replicating Bandit in miniature was inspired. I am sure Burt Reynolds would have approved, if he was still with us. Another perfect 10. A perfect score. What a debut. Long may this one continue. 

Another base shot, as this is another newbie. 

We move up to the number 26 slot in the series for our next model, which also comes in black. However, this is a matte black. This is the MB1539 Alpha Wolf Electric Truck, which appears for a second year. 

This model is still technically a prototype. Alpha Motors first showcased the Wolf in 2021, and they were hoping to get production underway in 2023. Then it moved to 2025. Here we are in 2026, and it is still in pre-production stages, with more prototypes coming. I don't see this going the same route as Bollinger Motors, which went into receivership in 2025, as Alpha Motors is showing no financial issues in the way that Bollinger did. I have no idea if the real Wolf will be given a matte black look as an option. But, they should. It looks really cool. There is something about a matte black finish on a truck. I love the retro look of this one. And the front end detailing is as it was on last year's model. 

And the rear gets detailed. Honestly, there is not much else they can do with this one. The sides on real prototypes have nothing that would require tampo printing in miniature. The silver pin striping on the wheels is, again, a lovely detail.

The doors are still opening smoothly. I can see absolutely nothing to argue about on this one. I think it is awesome. An easy 10 from me. 

Red may be my favourite colour, but when you make a model, sometimes a different hue works better. I think matte black is a better look than the red one from last year. 

I hope to see more of these in the future. It is a very cool casting, and I hope that it begins production, and we get a production colour. 

Next up, one of my favourite new castings from 2025 returns for round 2. The MB1547 Porsche 718 Spyder RS is in the number 27 slot in green.

This is known as Lighter Green. It is one of the more standard Porsche colour options, although you could technically go with whatever you wanted. I think this one really stands out. We should have more green cars. I like this colour on them, and they are so much better than one of a gazillion shades of grey. As we saw with the debut, the model has loads of tampo detailing going over the front.

And the rear lights curving round the edge is another gorgeous piece of detailing. I cannot argue this one at all. 

This is another with opening doors, and they are still opening and closing effortlessly. I love this one. Another easy 10. You can see how this report is going. Now you know why I was saying it was delectable. 

Again, I prefer the 2026 release over the 2025 one. They are definitely giving us the goods in this batch. 

I wonder what colour they will come up with for the next release. As I said, Porsche has a configurator with hundreds of options. There are so many to go with. I wonder if they will go towards the purple end? 

Yes! The MB1467 '92 Buick Roadmaster Estate is back. It debuted in 2024, but was AWOL last year. I was a little sad about that. I was really looking forward to getting another. Finally, it is here, and this one does not disappoint. It takes the number 28 slot in dark red. 

Buick called this Dark Cherry Metallic. It was a regular colour option on the 1992 Roadmaster. And I love that the model also gets a red interior. I think it suits the body perfectly. As we saw on the debut, it has a full wrap. The front end is fantstically detailed. 

And we get the wood panel siding, which wraps around the rear. The badge on the far end of the side works so well. And I think the disk wheels are the best option for this one. They are the closest we have to a regular 1990s style wheel. 

Just think, front, rear, 2 sides and 2 doors additional, that is 6 passes through the tampo machine. This one really looks the part. I cannot think of any reason why this also doesn't score a perfect 10. This batch just keeps piling on the goodies. 

Aside from the different body and interior colours, this is the exact same as the white debut. They look so good together. But, yet again, this one is definitely a nicer one. 

I really hope we don't have to wait another 2 years for the third one. I am so hoping to see a green one. Reminiscent of the debut Oldmobile Vista Cruiser (once it was corrected) as this was paying homage to the classic Mercury Commuter. And I think this deserves that homage as well. 

Well, another that was not seen in 2025. The MB1377 Jeep Gladiator. I guess this is part of the problem of having so many cool tools for the Moving Parts series, and only so many slots to put them in. Many will not be seen on a yearly basis. This is why models like the Toyota Century, '24 Ford Mustang, Tesla Cybertruck and Cadillac Escalade IQ that debuted in 2025 have not appeared again this year. The Tesla? I get it. Has anybody noticed a lack of anything Tesla this year? But, the others? I was really gutted not to get another Toyota Century and Ford Mustang. They are 2 of my favourite models. But, I digress, we are here for another I like. I am a Jeep fan, and am happy to see the Jeep Gladiator return in the number 32 slot in tan.

I don't know if it is just me, but doesn't tan really suit a Jeep? Gobi Tan, as Jeep calls it, was an option in 2020 for the launch year, and due to popular demand, returned in 2022. But, that is the thing. Popular demand. Why do they not make it more commonly available? Anyway, that is Jeep. This is Matchbox. They have done a beautiful job in replicating the Gobi Tan look on the model, and we see the front end detailed, some side markings (including the addition of the Jeep badge in front of the side doors), and Rubicon is added to the sides of the hood. Clear windows and black wheels suit it so well. 

Which opens up to show off the detailed engine underneath. And, again, this hood is able to stay up on its own. I am still not over the Acura! 

We also see the rear detailing. I think this is beautifully done. I am very impressed with how it turned out, and I am definitely giving this one a 10 out of 10. However, as much as I like this, I do hope that they consider a slight alternative for the next outing. They keep going with the Rubicon options. May I suggest they look at the Rewind option for a future outing? It comes with a cool graphic going over the top and sides. Plus, I would want to see the "Reign" colour option (which is purple). 

Jeep did it on both the Wrangler and Gladiator, but we currently don't have the latest Wrangler available, so I would suggest a run in Reign on the Gladiator. 

As a reminder of what we have seen to date, it debuted in 2023 in red.

Then it was chosen to be a Super Chase for 2024 in orange. 

I hope they read this and give the Rewind look a go. I would be down for it. It may be too late for 2027, but I am definitely still up for a 2028 outing. Fingers crossed! BTW, sorry this picture looks a little blurry. I have no idea what happened there. My photography skills still need fine-tuning. Or major tuning. I don't know.

This brings me to the last model in the batch that was sent over by Wheel Collectors. The regular assortment of models contained 7 new additions, with the Jeep being the one that was doubled up to make up the assortment of 8 (unless they switched the second Jeep for the chase). The last of the bunch is the MB1463 '18 Ford Focus RS, which actually debuted in 2024, but has been a regular for the last 3 years. For a Moving Parts model, that is quite an achievement. I've cursed it. It will not appear next year. It appears here in orange in the number 34 slot.

Ford simply calls it Deep Orange. It is a real colour option on the RS, although technically didn't appear on the Mk IV. This is a 4th generation Focus, and the orange look was a swansong for the MK III. It was actually sold in 2018, as the model was about to be switched, and was limited to just 50 models, and only sold in the UK. But, that is not overly important. I always say that they don't have to be specific on these things. I think this bright metallic orange is a brilliant look on this one. As we have seen in both the previous issues, the model simply has front and rear detailing. 

The rear license plate says 6OR4 RS, which is a simple change for Ford RS. I like coded plates. They should do them more often. 

Another fantastic opening (and staying up) engine compartment, which is lovingly detailed as well. That poor Acura. I love the look of this one, and am impressed with the lack of shading between the metallic orange body and hood. Although....

How about a shade in general. I don't often get a chance to show off shade variations on Moving Parts. Because we don't get them in the UK, I don't get any chances to hunt down and compare things. I sigh again as I write that. I would love to see them in local stores. But, back to the job in hand. I do need to score it. How about a 10? Are you shocked? This batch has been throwing out 10s left and right. The only minor blip was the one thing that has cropped up many times. The Acura's opening part not wanting to stay open. 

As I said, this one is actually in year 3 in the range. It debuted in blue in the 2024 series. 

And turned grey for the 2025 series. 

And, I am going to say it yet again. This is my favourite look on this one to date. Each model in a new look in the set has been preferred to the previous 1 or 2. It is just the way has gone. So, as I mentioned right at the start, these are all that I got from Wheel Collectors. They were unable to find any chases in all the boxes they received. So, I turned to my friend, Luke McKenna. Australia does seem to be a good place to find chases. 

And he brought this one over the Gathering in Albuquerque in July. It was one of the few models I took home still packaged. Just so I could do this photo. And then frantically rip it apart to get the model out. 

Inside was the MB1546 '84 Rover SD1 Vitesse in a fantastic police look. It is number 2 of 4 for the chases this year. I love a homage. This has been crreated specifically because back when Lesney created the MB008 Rover 3500, it was altered into a police vehicle. Although this is way more detailed, you can see the UK 1980s inspired "jam sandwich" look. Many police forces in the UK used the red stripe between 2 thinner blue stripes look, and it was given the nickname jam sandwich, because the red was like the jam in the middle. 

Of course, this has a little more detail. I am guessing Michael Heralda made this design, due to the 58 on the roof. The Police sign has MBX London Police Dept on the sign as well. Which also pays homage to classic stuff. Matchbox used to use London because it is well known, but officially, because London is so large, it would be split into areas for the emergency services. We also see a little SC at the far end of the "jam". 

And because this is a Super Chase, every single surface has been detailed. Front, rear, sides, roof, bonnet. It is so well detailed.

And is that a detailed engine in there as well. Under the bonnet that stays up when you need it. If I am still going on about the Acura next week, I am definitely losing it. 

However, there is one minor little thing that I should mention. No, it is not the blue windows. They also pay homage to the old Rover 3500 casting, as when that became a police car, windows were always blue. No, this is a Super Chase. Until now, every Super Chase model had seen upgraded wheels. Real Riders. These are regular plastic ones. Hmm! Very unusual. I have a theory. 

Does anybody remember when the MB1459 '18 Dodge Durango debuted at the end of the 2024 series? It randomly came with real riders, even though it was not a chase. Well, has Mattel been sitting on a "we have used 1 too many real riders" regime for the last 18 months? I think those wheels are fractionally larger, and because the Rover has smaller wheel arches, I think they might have been rubbing a little. Due, to it being too late to create smaller real riders, they used their chance to balance the real riders back out. I don't know. I may be completely wrong. I come up with wild thoughts sometimes. Anyway, is the lack of real riders enough to drop it any points? Hmm! A 10. Nope, it is so cool, I am not going to worry about it. 

So, as I have mentioned the classic Lesney, I am going to do a full dive back. It all started in 1980 when they were creating a new SD1 casting. You might notice this particular pre-production sample in silver has a different opening sunroof. There was a leading lip, and the tab was only a short one in the middle of the opening part. 

Where this later blue prepro had the altered sunroof mechanism, with a full width tab to slide it, and no lip on the front. 

And now it is 1981, the model is ready to go, and so let's debut it in yellow. They showed it in the catalogue, and production started. Then immediately stopped! Why? A UK rival had just debuted the Rover 3500 as well, and that was also in yellow. They ceased production with only a matter of a few thousand made. So, what to do with those? Just throw them in the G-1 Auto Transporter set and sell them in UK stores. They weren't going to waste them. 

They switched it to bronze, and it debuted as MB8 in the basic range. It ran just the 1 year in the US range, and was replaced by the model it had originally replaced. The De Tomaso Pantera, which had been altered to Greased Lightning. But, ROW markets carried on for much longer. 1982 was still the original bronze. With 2 years of production, there were quite a lot of variations to find. For starters, the usual. Shades! 

The interior was known to vary as well. White, tan or light brown. 

And, while most sported dot-dash wheels, you might be lucky enough to find one with Maltese cross wheels instead. 

For 1983, the model was given an overhaul. Gone was the opening sunroof, and in its place, a set of lights on a bar and a beacon. Yes, it had been reclassified as a police vehicle. The original look was a dual black side stripe with Police in a yellow rectangle. 

Again, variations exist. The white actually is known to come in more creamy shades and brighter white shades. However, the more common things to look for are how the blue tint on the window appears, and also what the interior is. You can see this easily by checking out the tow hook. 

While shades of tan are the most common, black interiors exist in place of white ones, and you can also find window tint variations again on black interiors. 

In 1984, they decided to no longer chrome the beacon. This year's look was the same, but it now had a black beacon instead. 

Being an ROW exclusive release, production had stayed in England for a while. However, for 1985, they decided to move production over to Macau. 

While you think of the jam sandwich look for 1986 was the one that inspired the new Rover's look. However, did you notice that the 1983-85 had a yellow box for Police? This doesn't. I think Michael made a homage to both looks, combining them into the 1 new one. This is why I like it so much. The best of both. 

After 1986, the model was dropped from ROW markets, although did appear briefly in multipacks in 1987. However, in 1991, it popped back up again as part of a Chinese factory test run. When they were setting up a new factory in China in 1990 to replace the older China factory, they sent over a number of castings to practice. These were then sold in ROW markets in 3-packs or more famously, as part of a 6-pack in the USA. The Rover was 1 of the models in the set, so comes with a China base for this run, which appeared in 1991. After that, the casting was retired for good. 

And, as we know, last year, Mattel decided to create a new Vitesse, which debuted in red in the Moving Parts range. 

Which has now been followed up by a police version. I hope this is not a bad sign. Civilian - police - done. I am not done with this model yet. I hope we see more in the future. 

Which brings me to the end of another report. That poor Acura. The only model that stopped this whole report from being a clean sweep of top scores. It was one of two new castings. 

With 4 of the other 6 being on version 2, and the other 2 on version 3. And all 6 being my favourite release of the casting to date. It was a good batch. 

As these all scatter, they need to make way for my next batch of models. J8, if you know what that means. Until then, I hope everybody has a safe and happy week.