Matchbox Monday finally shows off the Leipzig items

Recently, Matchbox were in Germany for the latest European Convention. As always, this is run alongside the Modell-Hobby-Spiel in Leipzig, and as has been the case for many years, Dirk Schleuer has been able to get some amazing Matchbox models made for the event. He also has a few extra items provided. Do you like these pins? Now, there was a delay in me getting these from Dirk, as there was a little something extra that he wanted to include in the package that was literally brought to the event by Abe Lugo. I will get to that shortly, but first, a few pictures of the event.

Photos are courtesy of Dirk. The last one is a cool one. Fun Club. Oh, that brings back memories.

Dirk had a small run of these made as code 2 models, using blank MB276 Dodge Viper GTS models as a start.

He had 50 of these made for the event, given out to those who helped with the event.

These had used the same logo that was made for the 1993 UK Fun Club release of the MB003 Porsche Turbo. That was a fantastic logo to use. I had to get my Porsche out for this photo. Thanks Dirk.

However, they weren't the stars of the event. The show model for the event was the new MB1437 '63 Mercedes-Benz 230SL casting.

Abe had travelled over from the USA for the event, and he had a little extra something to include with this model.

Now, this is the main issue. Ignore the figure on the side. Dirk has confirmed that this is actually a run of 200. Why?

It is a lovely red issue of the Merc. However....

Inside the plexicase was a little packet. This was what Abe had brought with him for the event.

The Mercedes-Benz that Matchbox had created for 2024 is a convertible. But, they wanted to give this the look of a hardtop. So Abe created this lovely little roof piece. Sadly, mine has a crack in it (Dirk will be sending me a spare roof element in his next box). But, that does not detract from how awesome this is.

Of course, this is me, and this model comes off the plexicase.

And then we pop a little roof on. How awesome is that? The reason for this is simple. This was a real vehicle.

Eugen Böhringer drove this car to victory at the 1963 Spa-Sofia-Liège Rally.

Various photos from the event.

As well as a few snapshots from a video that was made at the event.

Of course, Mercedes-Benz were quick to capitalize on that in their advertising of the road car.

One of the signs has weathered the years, but it was thought that the real vehicle was long gone. But, it turned up a few years ago hidden in a garage, and was restored back to its former glory.

Designed by Paul Bracq, he was reunited with his car in later life. He is soon to turn 91.

The car was given the name "Pagoda" due to the shape of the hardtop roof.

Well, Dirk managed to get the real vehicle into Leipzig for the convention.

Lucky Abe got to sit in the actual car he has designed a model (and a roof) for.

That was really cool.

I think that was the star of the vent. What a coup by Dirk. And what a model from Abe.

Creating the exact 1963 rally model makes this even more exciting. And with that Pagoda roof element supplied by Abe, it is just the cherry on top of the icing on the cake.

I am leaving my usual rundown of what I think of the new casting for when I run through the basic range batch shortly. Because, this is promotional stuff. They are always incredible. Sure, the roof sits a bit funny on the visors. But, who cares? We got the Pagoda!

With full detailing around the model, and the perfect red wheels with proper tyres, this thing is beautiful.

I love it! Thank you Dirk for waiting to send me the whole thing.

You will get my review of the casting of the non-Pagoda when I review that batch of basics.

However, this is a new casting, so here is a base shot for anybody who likes that sort of stuff.

But, there is more. You see, the original plan was to make 250. Hence the first label. However, 25 of them were slightly different. How?

The roof! It is on fire. No, wait, that a Bloodhound Gang song. The roof is pink!

Yes, getting one of the pinky roof models is a rarer feat. 25 compared to 200.

So, 225 red models were available. 200 came with a red roof, and 25 with a pink roof. But, there's still more!

Again, you will need to ignore the label. This is the rarest of the trio. In fact, when all was said and done, they got 18 of them.

White roof! And a base that is signed by Abe as a number out of 18. But, this is not a white roof on the red car. Look carefully at the base. The screws are not in their usual spots, aligned with the rivets.

I have no idea how they managed to do this. But the car (and its wheels) are pink.

Yes, they managed to get a pinky.Isn't it freaking awesome! Pinky comes with a white roof, not with a pink roof.

Obviously, when you check the base, the original rivets are normal. Not drilled for screws. It has 2 additional holes where the new screws appeared. This has been very cleverly done, and I applaud Abe and the Matchbox team for working so hard on doing this. You have no idea the effort that has been put into getting this available. And it is no surprise that they only managed to get 18 done. It is definitely the star of the bunch. Even if it is not technically the correct one.

So, those are the 3 Mercs done for the show. Red, red roof (200), red, pink roof (25), pink, white roof (18).

But, obviously, these roof elements are just placed on top. You could mix and match. Pink with pink roof? Red with white roof? Sure.

Pink with a red roof? Yeah, if you wanted to mix and match things. But, these are not the correct ways. Just remember which are the correct versions. Red/red, red/pink and pink/white.

But, that is still not it. There was a dinner, and for the dinner, Abe brought over many prepros of upcoming 2025 items. Many were seen in Albuquerque, but, with a few more months of development, some items have got a little further into development, and there were also a few items not previously seen in Albuquerue on display as well.

I am sure many people are stopping to take in these 2 pictures of upcoming items. I see the Cybertruck is more advanced, showing the opening frunk. I noticed the new dump truck and site dumper castings are not being fleshed out. As well as the school bus. With those 3 being original castings, I wasn't 100% sure on their direction. But, all look decent enough.

But, there is a dinner model. Abe was signing things at the Modell-Hobby-Spiel booth with a poster of it.

It is a fantastic looking MB1308 Porsche 911RSR.

I can't believe this is only the model's second outing, after it debuted in Mattel Creations in 2023. It came in a plexicase with a Porsche hologram on the corner.

The model itself is white and, well, flesh coloured. This is a nod to something great as well. I tell you, these are not random designs. For this, we now go back to 1971.

Porsche were racing in Le Mans at the time, what we now call the WEC. Their vehicle of choice was the 917/10. However, they came to the test with a modified model, built with a wider track. It was called the 917/20 and they only had the 1. However, the story goes that Count Rossi, who ran the Martini and Rossi drinks company that was sponsoring Porsche, did not like this wider model, so refused to allow the Martini logos to be applied. It was said that because they had altered the look of the car, the front end looked like a pig. Well, they just ran with that. When it turned up to the actual race, the model was flesh coloured, and had cuts of meat all over it. It started 7th, and was actually running 3rd when they had a brake failure and eventually had to retire the car. It never raced again, but "pink pig" now resides in the Porsche museum, and it was Anatole Lapine from Porsche who can take the credit for this iconic look.

It is not the only pink pig. In 2018, Porsche decided to bring the look back, and this time it was an actual Porsche 911RSR that received it.

This proved more successful. They took it to Le Mans, and it won the GTE Pro Category. So, with that to form a basis, they came up with their own look, inspired by this iconic look.

Using elements of flesh colour, and the "cuts" circling the body, this looks incredible. And those wheels? Wow! I love the Falken design.

This time, the model does feature the Leipziger Messe name/logo and the Modell-Hobby-Spiel logo. The Merc didn't. As this is technically, a Matchbox original design, based on pink pig.

Using it in this year's event is perfect timing, as the original 917/20 Pink Pig was number 23, and this features a 23. However, this also is because this is the 23rd annual event. As I said, perfect timing. And it is absolutely stunning. The team have outdone themselves yet again. I honestly don't know how they manage to come up with such amazing liveries.

I have to say, this actually puts the Mattel Creations model to shade. Sometimes, I think another release is better than the Mattel Creations. Mattel Creations are able to push the boat out for designs, which I love, but occasionally, something comes along to shade it!

Which this definitely does. Wow! This could be featuring in my end of the year Top 10s.

I do find it funny that both ended up with the number 23. Pure coincidence. However, when we see a third one, if that is also 23, I will laugh!  

Well, I think that does it for another report. I hope this was worth the wait. It definitely was for me. I have been blown away by what they managed to achieve for the 2024 event.

And again, many MANY thanks to Dirk for supplying these to me, as well as details and photos.  If you are interested in anything, you can always check out Moyshop.de for the final few models. He has a couple left.

Time for the promotionals to head off. Attention now turns to next week, where I will be returning to basics again. Until then, I hope everybody has a safe and happy week.