Matchbox Monday goes extremely orange

This week, I am turning this post extremely orange.  Matchbox is often referred to, specifically in Mattel circles, as the orange brand.  I think they have a blue one, or something?  I am a Matchbox person.  I only pay attention to that area, so what other manufacturers do often go over my head. To celebrate their 70th Anniversary, they released a special series of orange looking models from the Moving Parts series.  These appear to be a stand-alone series, as they were numbered 1 through 5, and are not sold in the same mixes as regular moving Parts.  I have to admit, I don't know the specifics of why it was done like this.  But, I don't care.  More Matchbox is always good for me.  

Each model comes on a stunning card, with a great artistic drawing of the model in question. All the writing appears to be in script, rather than in block capitals.  It is very fancy.  But, this is me, and after 3 seconds admiring the package, that was more than enough.  Rip, rip, tear….

I mean, number 1 in the set of 5 is my favourite model.  The MB1152 ‘80 Porsche 911 Turbo.  I couldn’t leave it trapped in a cardboard prison for any longer.  Particularly in this stunning orange look.  The paint finish for these is more of a matte finish, similar to what they did with the premium series I showcased the other week.  But this time out, they have flipped the colours around a little.  Orange, with the striping being more black, white and platinum.  

It sports a few logos in the design, for Falken, Bilstein and Momo.  The headlights also get a taped look to them.  This gives the model a bit of a racey look.  A little different.  I like it when they do things a little different.  

I think this is an awesome looking model, and a great addition to my little collection of Porsche Turbos.  As you saw only a few months ago, when I did a whole article about the Mattel Creations model, I have a massive collection of Porsche Turbos, going from the classic Lesney one, and including the modern take.  This goes beautifully into the collection, as I think it is a stunner.  I won't bother with a dive back again, as I only did that at the end of June. You can literally just go back a few articles to see it again.  But there is one thing I do want to add….

Shades!  Yes, the orange on this model appears to be very good at coming out in different hues of orange.  I could not pass that opportunity up.  That just turns this model from a 10 out of 10 to a 20 out of 10.  I think that is how it works.  And yes, I do know the lighter one has got a flaw on the driver door.  It is not quite shutting correctly.  The other was fine.  I can overlook it, as it appears to be a 1-off for this one.  It makes this a little more unique.  I embrace the unique ones.  

Number 2 in the set is the MB1328 '20 Chevy Corvette.  This comes in, oh yes, orange.  

Just as with the Porsche, this gets a simple striped design in the same 3 colours.  I do enjoy these, as I love a striped look.  There is just something so cool about stripes.  

I am noticing with these, they are giving us a very slightly premium feel to them, giving the models a 4-sides tampo look.  Front detailing. 

And in this case, the engine inside is also highly detailed.  Is that 5 passes? I don't know, but these do feel like they have quite a quality premium feel to them, even though they are not exactly premium.  Or are they a sort of mid-placed series? I remember back in 2013, when the 60th Anniversary set came out, they were not premium, but were placed slightly above a regular issue. This could explain the fancy matte paint jobs all round as well.  

Hee hee! Shades!  That is another thing about this matte paint.  It does appear to be pretty good at shading up.  

As I didn't do a dive back on the Porsche, I should do one here.  This goes all the way back to, oh, last year.  It debuted in the 2022 Moving Parts range in blue in the number 16 slot.  

We also saw a number 43 Moving Parts this year as well.  This was also a lot of fun for the shade fanatics.  

This is far from the end of this model.  I have already photographed the next one out.  It will be reviewed on the blog very soon. 

The 3rd model in the set is a little less used to date.  The MB1307 GMC Hummer EV.  

This is only its second outing to date.  And, well, you know what colour this is coming in for this set.  Wait a sec?  Who's stolen the platinum striping?  This just gets black and white on it.  

I am noticing a little box rubbing with this model.  That is the issue you get with a mate finish.  It is prone to scuffing very easily.  Which is a bit of a shame.  But, I can look past that.  

You might notice that there is a lot of tampo detailing on this one.  2 sides, front, rear, open hood (will have been done separately) and the front bumper is also printed.  That is 6 passes, unless they came up with a clever way of angling things to reduce the passes.  That may be why the platinum went.  Manipulating things in a clever way, leading to quick switches mid-print.  But they might have to skip a colour to ensure all the surfaces get a hit.  I tell you, these things are quite sophisticated at the factory.  And those production line workers, people don't give them the credit for their hard work in getting clever things like mid-tampo switches in on a model, on a fast moving production line.  I give them props.  They work hard.  

Guess what?  Okay, okay, I think people are getting the gist of the shade.  

As I mentioned, this was only the second time this casting has been used to date.  The first being very late in the 2022 Moving Parts series.  

That is 2 down to date, but I am sure we will see more of this one.  

Number 4 of 5 is the MB1309 '21 Mazda MX30.  Or, as the card say, scribble scribble.  Yeah, I had to concentrate to see it just said MX, and no addition of 30 to the end.  

Out of the 5 models in the set, this is the most basic.  All we have on the side is the Matchbox 70 Years logo.  No stripes.  Boo!  I was enjoying the stripes.  Simple front end detailing just about perfect.  

The thing with this model is that the rear lights are partly on the opening feature and partly on the main body section.  So both will need to be printed.  So just doing the rear is 2 passes.  It also features that swirly grey plastic.  I admit, out of the 5 models in this set, this is the least desirable.  It is an SUV, which, although extremely popular, they never really stand out too much.  You do need that front and rear detail to know which manufacturer we are looking at.  But the end result to this also feels just a little bland.  Had this just been in the Moving Parts series, I would have thought it was great.  But, as I said, I think this is being marketed just slightly above basic.  Not premium, but somewhere in between.  This doesn't feel like an in between.  This feels like a regular Moving Parts model.  

And this time I show the 2 because it has a standard variation on all releases.  Models come with either a sleeping dog or a set of luggage in the rear.  Wheel collectors knew this, so sent me both.  

Which is how it has been since it debuted.  As both this and normal Moving Parts are not sold in the UK, I rely on their help for all these, and have received both variants on all released so far. It debuted as number 4 in the 2022 series in blue.

Earlier this year, we saw the number 23 in dark red.  Both variants again.  

3 releases in, 6 models collected to date.  I am enjoying this one.  I just feel this latest orange one has not got that oomph factor the other models in this set had.  

Talking of which, we do need to see the last one.  The MB1310 '19 RAM Ambulance.  It takes the final slot in the set of 5.  

This gets platinum and black stripes, with white writing.  We are also seeing some red in the lights.  

It may be an original Matchbox design, but it does look pretty realistic.  This model also receives rear lights, which is not something you would normally see on a Moving Parts release.  Because, slightly enhanced look.  

The opening rear doors are platinum on this model.  I was thinking whether they could have done that with the other model opening parts.  But, perhaps they would not have suited it.  This, though, does suit the alternate door colour.  A very good model.  That is 4 really cool models out of 5, and one nice Moving Parts model.  Ha! Poor Mazda! I sort of feel sorry for it, as I do like it.  But with 4 other stunners in the set, that Mazda does stick out a bit.  

There is a variation to this, but I have to admit, my photography skills are not the best at showing it off.  The interior of this model forms the front grille area. But, what I have noticed, is that some grilles appear to have a dull flat black look, but others are coming out a lot more shiny.  

Although, if you look carefully.  Plastic should be sharp.  The one on the left (the shinier one) has some of the grille details a little blurred.  I wonder if they actually painted this before tampo printing.  Do you see how the other colours appear more vivid on it?  I wonder if they just tampo printed, but it wasn't doing a good job, so added a black print across the whole front and then printed on top, to make them pop more.  This gives the model a shinier look.  It's a weird one.  But that is part of the fun of this.  Finding these oddities.  

This model had a really cool (and highly sought after) debut, as batch A of 2022 seemed quite elusive.  And the number 5 for 2022 was straight out of the gate in that first batch.  

And, as I recently showcased, the 2023 Golf Tournament promotional release from Everett Marshall was this model.  Half in red for the Burns Foundation, and the other half in pink for Breast Cancer Research.  The 2 charities that these help fund.  

I will soon be showcasing the next model in the series, as this is also in the Moving Parts series, albeit in a later batch.  So expect another one to pop up very soon.  Well, they are actually out.  I have received mine from Wheel Collectors, and will be soon to photograph it and prepare it for a future report.  That is it for this batch, and what I received from Wheel Collectors.  But, I did say I am going extremely orange.  I have a little bonus.

This has been a nightmare.  The MB1332 '75 Range Rover.  This was a part of the second batch of Moving Parts for 2023.  But, as you can see in the packaging, this was a chase model.  It was only in random packages.  Sadly, Wheel Collectors never got one.  In fact, very few appeared anywhere, and people have been quite frantically looking for one.  Any one.  It took me quite a few months to get this one.  

Being orange, I thought this would work as an addition to this report.  It is officially number 51 of 54.  The last 4 slots in the Moving Parts for 2023 are all chase models.  They were given numbers in the series, which is a bit different to the basic range, which includes the chase models outside the range.  

Now this, as a chase model, does get a premium treatment.  Real rider tyres.  A complete set of tampo prints all over.  

And a nicely detailed engine.  It is a stunning model, and such a shame it was so hard to locate.  The worst part?  the Range Rover is a dual casting!  It comes in either LHD or RHD configurations.  I got a RHD one, and am still attempting to find a LHD one.  I am a completist, and would love to get them both.  One day.  It is on my list of variants to find.  But for now, I am extremely happy I was able to get at least one of them.  It was true to its word.  A really big chase!  

It is currentyly only the second outing for this casting.  It debuted in 2022 in a mustard design.  A real look for the real model.  Number 19 that year, it is now on its second outing. 

That model was awesome!  But this new chase is awesomer!  Is that a word?  Am I making things up?  More than likely.  

But what I am not making up is that I am done with another “super cool, super fast” batch (plus extra).  Obviously, the Porsche is my favourite here, with the Range Rover close behind.  The Ambulance, Hummer and Corvette come up next, with the poor little Mazda lagging behind.  But, as I said, that Mazda is nice.  There is no model here I didn't like.  

All 6 of these came up as items outside what we had in 2022.  The 70th Anniversary set being unique, and the Moving Parts chase being added.  I assume Moving Parts chases will continue into 2024, but I wonder if we will get any other unique items?  

But that is still quite a way away.  I have a lot of 2023 items to run through.  So, back to basics next week? Until then, I hope everybody has a safe and happy week.