Matchbox Monday has a second stab at Jurassic Dominion

A new week, a new home.  I am sure that many dinosaurs from the Jurassic era (and Cretaceous) would probably have felt displaced when moved.  I hope you guys don't feel too weird reading my report at a new location.  This is where I am mainly going to be setting up shop for the time being.  The Lamley blog will be linking to this one each Monday as the reports appear.  So, as I did a report on the first batch of the 2022 Jurassic World: Dominion series earlier this year, I guess I really should show more.  I mean, there are 4+ batches.  

There is no numbering system for the Jurassic series this year, so for these I am just going to go in alphabetical order.  This means I am starting big time with Jeep.  The first of which is a brand new MB1272 '19 Jeep Gladiator casting.  

This is a casting of a vehicle that was specifically created for the latest Dominion film.  It was seen in a few scenes, the one that stuck with me was when Ian Malcolm used one to go after Alan, Ellie and Maisie.

So obviously this is not a standard looking Gladiator.  It has all the detailing of the vehicle that was used in the film.  And for this, I absolutely love it. It just looks so cool with all the little extras added to it.  

Including a lot of luggage items on top and in the rear.  It is a busy design, but this is how the vehicles in the film looked, so it appears that the Matchbox team have created a perfect representation of the real vehicle. They must have been given photos and sketches of the real ones to work from, as obviously they were creating these before the film appeared.  

Therefore, I really cannot fault this.  As I said, I love this one.  The final look is amazing too, in tan with the side detailing etc.

As well as the front detailing too.  I would say that this is my favourite of the batch.  I am a bit of a Jeep fan anyway, and although I do like stock ones for the most part, there is something about a Jeep that giving it these extras can sometimes enhance it too.  And on this, it really works. I would say I hope for a lot more, but it is quite tough to do that.  Just do alternates for future batches.

And being a new casting, I do show a base shot.  Note, it doesn't actually specify it as a 2019 model on the base.  Only the blister.

As I mentioned, this batch is quite Jeep heavy.  Second model in, second Jeep.  This is a new version too.  The MB1082 Jeep Wagoneer.  Which now appears to be dated.  I have a feeling that the one Owen Grady was driving in the film was a 1989 model, so they have used that to date this particular one.  

It comes in a lovely metallic black with the wood panel side design that we have seen on numerous releases of the casting already.  

It may feel very familiar because Matchbox has made a pretty similar version already.  And because some of the issues have been of bog-standard models with wood panel sides, it didn't really need much to create this.  Because this is pretty much what they have been doing for the model in the past.  In fact, I would not be surprised if they didn't just pull out the old wood panel side tampo template they had already and just used it.  It was perfect, just the way it was.  And that too is another thing that I love about Matchbox.  

So let's do a recap, shall we?  It all started back in 2018, when the casting first debuted as MB88 in the basic range.  It came in red, with the same wood panel side detailing.  I did notice that the red was good for a shade.  

After that came what some people might have thought of as this model.  The 2019 MB14 was metallic charcoal with the same wood panel and, well, everything else.  

But that is the thing.  They are replicating Owen Grady's car.  He drove one that happened to be almost the same as one they had done in the past.  So yes, it is very close.  But this is a metallic black compared to the metallic charcoal of the 2019 issue.  Obviously, my lighting as I was taking the photos is also having an effect with comparison.  In person, you really see the difference.  When flash photography is involved and everything gets a bit brighter, it does sort of wash a bit of that away.  

So yes, this is very close, but that is just a coincidence.  They couldn't really ask the filmmakers to use a different colour Jeep in the film because they had already released a similar one.  And because they have a habit of making very real replicas, this is the unfortunate result you may happen to get.  

Now those were the only 2 basic range issues for the model.  For 2020 it moved to 5-packs, and appeared in the MBX Countryside pack in blue, yet again using that simple wood panel side design.

2021 was the first time we saw the Jeep sporting something different.  The Off Road Rally 5-pack release saw a tan model arrive with a recurring D.E.R. theme on it.  

And if you were in a Target store, you might have found a Retro release with the blue coming back for a second outing in the set. It is a lighter shade of blue to the 2020 5-pack release, which is why I kept this.  Who would have guessed I like shades?

Oh look, a shade.  Yes.  2022 saw the MBX Rodeo Hitch & Haul set appear with a brown Wagoneer sporting a Jimmy G's Rodeo design.  And different batches appeared in different shades of brown. It was also in the 2022 Retro series too, pulling back the 2021 tan for a second run.  But that was the same as before, so I didn't get it again.

A third Jeep?  Yes.  6 models in the batch and 3 of them were Jeeps.  This is the return of Jeep 29.  Or, in proper speak, the MB1127 Jeep Wrangler with roll bar.  

This is the model's third outing in this "29" guise.  To date, none of them have been clean.  One day somebody will wash it.  Obviously, this is a replica of a vehicle from the original trilogy, and you cannot really fault it.  

But I know for some, this is just a repeat.  Therefore, it is a bit irrelevant. But you know what I am like.  Time to pull out the previous pair.  

So we had 2 before.  In 2018 it was sold as a part of the Land Rescue Convoy batch, as both a single or a 5-pack issue, and in 2020 it was a part of the Total Tracker Team 5-pack.  As you can see, those 2 were in different shades of body colour.  

And the 2020 model is easy to identify as it had a dark red wheel compared to bright red as it first appeared.  

That's the best way to show the wheel variation.  Quite a noticeable difference. Well, the new release is back to a bright red wheel.  

It might actually be fractionally brighter than the original 2018.  

The interior may be fractionally darker than it was back then, too.  2020 saw a very similar grey interior, but it has dulled just a tad for 2022.  

But to me, the body colour is the dullest it has looked so far.  The original has a sort of yellow hue to it, which over the years is fading away.

Wait, that's not a Jeep.  Yes, only half of the batch were Jeeps.  This is a Matchbox Originals design.  The MB1273 MBX Capture Action Truck.  

Now, having seen the film, I don't recall seeing anything at all during it that might even closely resemble this.  Of course, I saw the film before I saw the model, so perhaps another viewing might have me spot something I wasn't really paying attention to before.  But I believe this is more likely just Mattel being Mattel.  

Obviously, Mattel has a licence to create a variety of tie-in content to the film.  As such, they are given some freedom to create their own items.  As such, a large Capture 'N Crush truck (which comes with a Velociraptor) was designed by Mattel for kids to play with.  That large plastic toy looks extremely familiar.  Yes, this is like a small scale representation of that vehicle.  That is where this has come from, in my opinion.  I see the logic.  Get a big toy for the child to play with, and they see a smaller version of it too, they will also want that.  After all, at the end of the day, these are kid's toys.  We are just a happy by-product of them.  Nutty collectors who can't/don't want to grow up.  Well, I am for sure.  Ha!

So, with this being a smaller rendition of what was created in a much larger scale, there is a large space in the back to accommodate perhaps a Velociraptor.  You know, like the one that came with the big toy.  

I have to admit, I sort of quite like it.  It's not that bad of a vehicle.  Rugged, wide, definitely looks like it will hold off a dino or 2.  Maybe not an Indominous Rex, but I think a tank might struggle there.  

So, although this might not be to everybody's taste, I see it has a place.  

Base shot!  Because this is actually quite a short and stubby model, there was not a lot of space to put things on the base.  So the model's name was omitted.

Now this looks a lot more familiar.  The MB1109 '14 Mercedes-Benz G-Class makes a repeat appearance in the batch.  

This is a repeat of the model that first appeared as part of the Battle Damage series back in 2018.  So, it has been 4 years since we last saw it.  Silver, with a muddy and claw-marked side design.  

And being the MB1109 casting, this means is it one with a bull bar on the front.  So is it worth getting this again?  Was there a variation to the one released 4 years ago?  Let's bring it in to have a check.  

So this is the original from 2018.  Black wheels.  Well that is definitely not going to throw up a variation as the same wheels are still in use.  Not like the red on the Jeeps.

Shade?  Hmm!  Fractional.  Not enough for me to really say yes.  Windows too are a good match.  

The tampo design is also proving to be a great match.  But I zoomed in more towards the rear, as there is something that is quite significant.  Notice the spare wheel?  The new one is on the right.  It appears to be much thinner.

That is because both the MB1109 and MB1195 castings have had their spare wheels altered recently.  Both are now the same as each other, and therefore all G-Class models are different now than originally released.

And as you might remember, because I only did a dive back recently, the other 2018 issues were the standard silver and black ones.  Silver was first, from the Island Transport Team set, sold as both single or 5-pack.  The black was from the Land Rescue Convoy batch, but only in 5-packs.  The regular silver did carry forward to the 2019 series in both single and 5-packs, but there were no differences at that time.  

And the last batch of Dominion had a new tan one.  Being new, this was the first time we saw a Jurassic World Merc with the new rear spare wheel design.  

This small group of models appears to be moving forward again.  A bunch of 2018s, and now a bunch of 2022s.

Finally, this batch sees the return of the MB1115 Off Road Rescue Rig.  Again!  Yes, just like the Merc, this model is in 2 batches in a row.  

Although with this, both the 2022 releases are carry forwards.  This one in particular is a double carry forward.

Because this model was the debut look for the casting back in 2018, and it was also a part of the 2020 5-pack that was issued as a means to keep the licence going.  After 2019, Mattel's licence would cease for the Jurassic stuff if they did nothing in 2020.  So they just popped out a 5-pack and a single, all repeats, purely to keep the licence.  Due to the delays with the film (because of the pandemic), the licence was rolled through 2021, and they had no real need to pop anything out.  But elsewhere under the Mattel umbrella, I do believe some items were still being created.  Mainly around the Camp Cretaceous series.  I would have liked to have seen a few Camp Cretaceous Matchbox models.  Especially the Mercedes-Benz 6x6.  But that is starting to go off topic.  

So, I guess I should bring in the 2018 and the 2020 issue of the model for comparison.  

When the 2020 model arrived, I was noticing it was a darker grey to the 2018 issue, so decided to keep it in the collection.  This had me wondering if the new release was going to be no different.  

One thing I did not factor in was the paint finish.  In 2018 and 2020 we had a sort of satin finish to the model.  The 2022 release (on the right in this picture) is a matte grey.  Instant difference.  Then there is also the fact that the interior section, which also forms the rear bed, is also slightly out too.

Putting the new one next to the 2020 one really shows up how the interiors are coming out differently.  I am good with that.  

So as a reminder (again, as I just did these recently too), 2018 also saw a Battle Damage release of the model.  Same as the debut, but with added mud and claw marks.  

Then for 2019 we saw a pair of new releases.  The singles saw the blue and brown model with grey attachment.  5-packs saw a blue and black with a blue attachment.  

And as I reported before, the 2019 single was also carried forward to the new Dominion series, just like the original 2018 single is.  And this too went from a satin finish to a matte finish.  How cool is that.  Which brings us to the end of the latest batch here.  

But just as I did with the first run down of Dominion models, I am not finishing with the batch of singles. No, I am adding a 5-pack.

But not another Dominion one.  They have also created 2 Legacy 5-packs of older models too.  

The first of which is called Land 'n Sea Squad.  

And on the back, it has a large drawing of the MB1128 '93 Ford Explorer which is included in the pack.  Covered in mud.  Hmm!  

As we know, the Matchbox Jurassic World Dominion 5-packs are actually 4-packs, with an additional dinosaur in lieu of a 5th model.  The Legacy packs are doing the exact same, and this pack comes with a Triceratops.

I admit.  It is cute.  I can't help it.  I do like dinosaurs.  And I feel this is a good choice, as the Triceratops was a significant part of the original film, so fits in well with the legacy feel of the pack.  

Hey, look.  A dive back.  Ha ha!  As you may recall, Blue was included in the first Dominion 5-pack.  I am going to keep all of these dinos.  

But it is time to get into the real meat of the pack.  Vehicles!  That's what we are here for.  The MB1125 Mercedes-Benz ML320 makes a reappearance in this pack.  But this particular one is from a 2018 only release.

Originally a part of the 2018 Legacy Collection, this particular model was exclusive to the 5-pack that year.  

Here's the thing, though.  The regular 2018 Jurassic World stuff was quite short run.  There were multiple batches produced through the year, so each set of standard models was only around for a short period.  But the Legacy stuff?  That was a single batch, and it ran the entire year.  So I noticed that through this pretty long production run, the shade of brown did vary.  

Well, the shade of grey was fairly light.  A little out from the lightest I found back in 2018, but was it really enough to keep it?  Hmm!  

Ooh!  Wait.  The side tampo.  Black and pale grey camouflage, with a darker grey 2018 and lighter grey 2022 release for the third colour.  I'm keeping it.  Because, you know, I am that crazy.  I see it, I am keeping it.  That's the rule.  

The singles in that 2018 Legacy set were the actual film's green look.  First runs came with a really dark green wheel, but this was swiftly changed to the bright green that continued for the year.  Those dark greens are not easy to find.

That too was good for a shade or 2 through the 2018 run.  It was repeated in the 2019 series too, but I found nothing of note between 2018s and 2019s.  

Next up, a model I am actually quite surprised to see in the Legacy pack.  To me, the Legacy Collection was more about classics from the original trilogy.  But the MB1113 Submarine was from the current trilogy.  I mean, it is still from an older film, so I guess technically works.  But I was still a little surprised to see it back.  Again!  

Now, anybody who has seen any Jurassic World Matchbox stuff will know this one.  It has been everywhere.  In 2018, it debuted in the first batch.  The Island Transport Team.  And it was sold both as a single and as a 5-pack.  In 2019, it returned in the final batch of the year in single form, but was also a part of the first batch of Dino Rivals 5-packs in what was again called Island Transport Team. And, it was included in the 2020 5-pack.  So yeah, you name it, this model was a part of it.  So I guess bringing it back again is sort of tradition now. But it has never been the most popular.  So for some, this may not be the most popular returnee.  

Especially as, with all these releases since 2018, I am yet to see a single variance.  Nothing.  The yellow has stayed very consistent through the years.  The window is still the same blue tint.  So for me, the fact that there was the cool Battle Damage release in 2018 that had the "cracked" window is the only other one I own.

And I do love that cracked window look.  But yeah, 5 years later, and I am still standing at 2.  The new one goes in my spares box.  

Jeep 18.  Where have I seen this before?  Oh yeah, everywhere.  This is another of those go-to models.  Although it is a Jeep, so definitely more popular than the sub.  

But again, this has had a lot of outings.  It was in the Legacy Collection back in 2018.  Both as a single and as a 5-pack release.  As I had previously mentioned, this meant that it ran the entire year, so there were a lot of them made.  Then, for 2019, this too was given both a single and a 5-pack issue.  2020?  Well, this was the model that was thrown in the basic range as a single to keep the licence active. So yes, 5 different runs already.  But wait?  2022 has also seen this model as a part of the first singles packs.  So this is technically its 7th outing.  Phew!  This is the most commonly run model out of the entire Matchbox Jurassic series.

I had done a great deal of talk in the last batch of Jurassic about this model, so I am not going to bother repeating it all again.  2022s are a little different. There we go.  Next....

The final model in the batch.  Another classic.  The MB1128 '93 Ford Explorer in green, with the number 04 markings.  

But I wonder if people have been paying attention.  This looks rather clean, doesn't it.  

Remember me talking about the model being the package poster child?  And how it was particularly muddy in the picture.  Before/after anyone?  Yes, this is new.  But some people might not have caught it.  

Because back in 2018, when this model first appeared, 05 was the one chosen to be in the Legacy Collection and 04 later appeared in the Land Rescue Convoy assortment, both as a single and 5-pack.  But when it appeared, it was muddy.  

It has never appeared clean before.  

Now, the thing is, 05 has never appeared dirty.  Will that be a future addition?  I doubt it.  But it would be cool.  That was the original Legacy release for 2018.  Both carried forward unchanged into 2019 singles, but 05 was also in one of the Dino Rivals 5-packs as well.  I have found very little variation between any production runs.  How was I to know I was just waiting for them to wash one.  

But that does bring me to the end of another batch of models. That was quite a long run down.  Is it worth doing a dive back?  Hmm!  Ah, screw it, back we go.

Which this week begins with a certain MB21-B Rod Roller.  Part of Lesney's move into creating their own castings.  Considering many were really out there castings, Rod Roller was actually fairly realistic.  It debuted in the 1973 basic range and ran in yellow with a red seat for 5 years.  After 1977 the model was replaced by a Renault 5TL.

This was actually a very clever little casting.  A lot of effort went into making this one.  Because that steering wheel actually turned the front wheel.  Yes, it was cleverly all linked in together.  How cool was that?

But with 5 years of production, you were able to find variations, as things did change over half a decade of builds.

The easiest thing to spot was the rear wheel.  The first production runs were red.  At first metallic, but then non-metallic. After a short while, they decided to stop sticking stickers on those rear wheels and just left them plain.  This continued until the end of production.  

As a rule, the base of this model was green plastic. But, if you were to check, you might find some with black bases.

But for the last year, they did make some alterations to the casting.  The pointed, triangular endings to the steering wheel were rounded out.  These were phased in initially before the second alteration.

The square that surrounded the front wheel was a complete circuit for most of the model's run, but in 1977, shortly after altering the steering wheel, the other end of that piece was opened up to make an incomplete circuit. And just as an FYI, a black base was somewhere during the middle of the model's life.  These changes were both made during the final year, so as such will only appear with a green base.  And obviously on black wheels, as the red stickers were phased out within a year of the model debuting.  

Of course, there is also the "totally random it can appear at any time" variation.  This was Lesney.  They were sticking stickers on models before they got their first tampo machine, and continued with many for quite a long time after.  This model was given the same star and flames label that was being used on a Vauxhall Guildsman.  It ran the entire 5-year production run.  But there were times when they either ran out of labels, or just forgot to stick them on.  Therefore, these could feasibly appear at any time through production, although as far as I know, nobody has found one on a really early run with red rear wheels. After the model was replaced, it was never used again.  Although it is known to have been sent to Brazil in the mid 1970s for local production too.  Funnily enough, in the same look, albeit with a darker yellow paint job.  

Sit back.  This is a biggie.  Am I really going to tackle a large run model like this on a long week?  Sure.  Why not?  The MB102 4x4 Chevy Van.  Created as an offshoot to the older MB068, the model debuted exclusively in the US basic range in 1982 and MB44-D.  That debut year was green with a "Ridin' High" side design, I guess inspired by the fact that they had just upped the model from a regular look to a taller one with large 4x4 wheels on it.  

But this was still Lesney.  Just!  1982, and production was in the England factory.  Therefore, that green varied, a massive amount!  It went from a really dark to a really light shade of green, with shades in between.  

As a rule, the front tampo design has 4x4 written in white, flanked by a pair of black horseshoes. But there was a small run reversed.  Those are not the easiest to find.

When Universal took over the company, they decided that in 1983, the model would go worldwide.  But just as they had done with a certain Pontiac Firebird and Chevy Corvette, a US only spin off from 1982 as an additional model for the US range became a replacement for the ROW range in 1983.  So the original MB068 was dropped from ROW markets, and a new MB68 4x4 Chevy Van was the new norm.  Both Chevy Vans continued in the US market.  But with this now being worldwide, production moved to Macau.  And with it, a brand-new look.  Matchbox Racing was the look, and this ran for 6 years.  However, the last 3 of those were only for the US market, as the ROW market dropped it after 1985.  The design is so cool, the current team decided to pay tribute to it last year.

Of course, there were some promotional items.  I am only showing 1 here from the early days.  This Castrol GTX liveried model was sold as a promotional item in Australia.  The other is actually a large giftset from Japan.  Also, from 1984, the Tokyo Giants set featured 8 of the Chevy Van, each with the same Tokyo Giants design on one side, but on the other, each of the 8 models featured a different name/number for a person in the team.  I am yet to obtain a full set at a decent price.  

Now as a US exclusive model, the model was finally given a new look for 1989.  Another cool design, that the current Matchbox team have started recurring on new models.  Things get a little complicated here. After 1989 the US range also decided to drop the model from the range.  For 1990 it was replaced by a 1921 Ford Model T.  But the Ford, as I have often mentioned before, was not sold as of January 1 1990.  Models would debut throughout the year, as they have always done, but in pre-Mattel days, the entire range could be requested as a single unit.  So if stores wanted more US MB44s, they would simply put in a request for more MB44s.  Until the Ford was ready, during 1990 they requested MB44s and the Chevy would turn up.  During the year, Macau were busy cost reducing.  As such, they switched the base from metal to plastic.  But this was literally the final production run, because as soon as they had done that, the Ford was ready, and the Chevy was dropped. Finding a late run plastic base Macau is not easy.  

But a Thailand made plastic base model is easy.  Wait?  What? The model had been dropped.  Yes.  It was.  Universal decided that was a bad decision and put it back in the range in 1991.  But because the ford was continuing, they threw it back in an available MB26 slot.  And as I said, it was easy to find, because it ran for 2 more years like that.

Base shot of the metal Macau and plastic Thailand issues.

What else was happening then?  Ah yes, Graffic Traffic.  The Chevy Van was one of the casting chosen for the all-white look in 1991.  

After 1992, Matchbox decided to throw back the Chevy Van into the ROW range again.  The second time that a new company has come in, and the following year the van rocks up in the ROW range.  They try!  So the MB44 had become MB26 for the US market after a brief dropout in 1990, and the MB68 becomes MB10 for the ROW market after a lengthier7 year gap.  As part of the plan to bring it back worldwide, it was given a new look again.  Bright yellow, featuring a blue and pink side design.  Over the course of 3 years, the blue really faded down from a dark shade to a much lighter one.  

In addition, for 1993 (which rolled through 1994 too) the Chevy Van was given an alternate black with pink and green design for the "new" unique 5-packs that had been launched in 1993.  Those first 3 packs arrived fairly late in 1993, ran through 1994, and due to success have been going strong ever since.  This was in the Off Road pack.

1995 would see Tyco (who owned them at the time) come up with some all new packs for the year, and thus begin the yearly rollout of new 5-packs. Again, the Chevy Van was a big part of this.  So big that it appeared in 2 of the 8 packs released that year.  A black S.W.A.T. model was a part of the Police pack and a white surfing themed model in the new Off Road pack.

1996 saw the usually yellow Chevy Van turn white for the basic range.  Same side design as had been used on the 1993-95 basic and 1993-94 5-pack model, but now in purple and green.

Again, if you were paying attention, you could find shades.  The purple does vary a little, but so does the green stripe along the top.  

In 1997, the basic range (MB26 US, MB10 ROW) saw a brand-new design.  Red with a Claws and claw mark design.  Wait a sec, was this your doing Blue?  Now I see why I was linking this in with the Jurassic stuff.  

Of course, if you lived in the USA, you would have found some in plain gold due to the Gold Challenge taking place that year in the basic range.

For 1998, the model was again dropped from the basic range.  This time it was worldwide.  All in one swoop.  But we did see something.  Again, it was in a 5-pack.  The Dino Riders pack saw the model with a Stegosaurus skeleton down one side, and over the front.  The other side told us which dinosaur was on there.  

It was during this period that Mattel, who now owned the brand, were moving production out of Thailand and into China.  So you could find the set made in either country.  

For 1999, the US range saw the casting pop back in briefly. It wasn't originally planned like that, though.  In 1998, Mattel had launched the Light & Sound series, featuring a number of new castings with no interiors and in their place a unit that would speak various phrases to you in either English or Spanish.  These castings were then going to be modified into regular basic range ones and added to the regular issues.  However, only the UFO and Missile Launcher castings made the transition.  None of the other ended up making it, and officially MB386 does not exist in miniature, although some people refer to the Real Talking 1998 model as an MB386. Which technically it is not.  The Real Talking models were not officially given MAN numbers.  But when they realized it was not easy to switch to a regular issue, they dropped the casting, and threw the Chevy Van in its place.  Hence, the rather unusual Ice Cream theme to it.  Had it been the snack truck, the theme would have made a lot more sense.  

Also that year, guess where we saw another 4x4 Chevy Van?  That's right, a 5-pack. With Mattel having a Coca-Cola licence, they released a lot of Matchbox items with Coke themed designs.  I used to really enjoy those. The pack ran through into early 2000 too and while being produced, we did notice quite a shade to the red of the model.  

There is a very good reason for that.  If you flip the models over, you will notice that early runs were made at the BJ factory in China, whereas later runs were made in the EA factory.  Same country, but still a different factory.  So being a different place, the models were coming out a little different.

We didn't officially see the van in 2000.  The Coke one was still in production for a while, but nothing new emerged.  The next new look was in 2001, and (checking notes), yes in a 5-pack.  This one was called S.O.S. However, a few notes with this blue model.  It didn't appear in all the sets.  Some saw a Ford Transit with the same design as an alternative.  Plus, there were some markets that called it Survival instead of S.O.S.  

There was some fun though.  2001 saw Mattel issue a series of Coke models in single window boxes. Many of them were repeats of the earlier 5-pack models, and as such were not seeing much in the way of variations.  But as the series rolled through into 2002, the Chevy Van switched the wheels to the newer oval ones.  So early batches of these singles did still see the old Maltese cross ones.  But most were with the ovals.  

Talking of 2002, we had another 5-pack issue. This was in a Snow Cappers set, with the model in blue featuring a large snowflake on the side.  There was also a blank issued in 2002, for companies like ASAP and Color Comp, but I do not have one.  It looks the same as the Graffic Traffic one, except is made in China.  It might have a silver base, though.  I don't have one.   So can't be sure.  

5-packs.  The Chevy's home. 2003 saw Snow Cappers continue for a second year.  However, this time the models all saw new colours.  The blue Chevy turned green for 2003.

Whoa!  Not a 5-pack.  For 2004, the Chevy Van was part of a Coca-Cola Football Town USA promotion in the USA.  There were 9 models in the series, officially sold through the Matchbox Collectibles line.  I was luckily in the country when they appeared, and remember finding the entire set in a pharmacy.  Don't ask me the name of the pharmacy.  But I do know it was in Piscataway, in New Jersey.  

2005 and back to the 5-packs.  This time it was one of the licensed 5-packs for the year.  It was a tie in to the Robots film that had been released that year. It was yellow and featured Diesel Springer (blue) and Lug (green) on the side.  

For 2006, they threw the model back in the basic range for another outing.  It was sold as MB39 and came in white, with a classic looking side design.  Sadly, the original plan was actually having Lesney on the side logo, but then they realized they didn't have the rights to put the name on there.  So they started to legally chase after getting it again. But this did mean that a change to the Matchbox logo was required for production.  Obviously they got the Lesney name after a few years again, and started using it for a few things.  

But 2006 proved to be a seriously big year for the casting.  As well as the basic range issue, we saw this brown muddy model in the Off Road 5-pack again.  What's that? Third Off Road 5-pack with this casting in it?

We also had a licensed 5-pack issue too, with Manny the Mammoth on this blue issue from the Ica Age 2 pack.

Still in 2006.  Target stores in the USA were requesting something unique from Mattel, and Matchbox complied with a Monsters series.  A series of single packs of vehicles, each one with an added monster included.  I think this speaks for itself.  

And it was also added to the Superfast series, part of the debut of a new type of 4x4 wheel too.  Number 53 in the series was given a grey and black look with the Matchbox design incorporated into it.  We have since seen this repeated on a Vantom, and I am waiting on a third model to officially refer to it as a recurring theme.  

However, after 2006, Matchbox sat down and re-tooled the casting into MB709. The larger 4x4 wheels went, the base was returned to a regular height, and an interior was added.  With the launch of the new casting, the 4x4 one finally saw the end of its life with this final 2007 licensed 5-pack release for a Scooby Doo set.  I did notice the yellow side design to their take on the Mystery Machine was good for a shade or 2.  But with the new tooling in place, this one finally retired.

I realized, with the Chevy going so far, I was almost not doing anything from the 1990s. But I decided to sneak one in.  Short and sweet.  Which is a huge shame.  

This is the MB199 Ford Courier Combi.  It debuted in 1991 as a promotional issue to coincide with the launch of the real Courier in Europe.  It was in combination with an MB198 Van, as they were created as an offshoot of the Mark III Ford Fiesta, which had debuted 2 years earlier.  As Ford had released the European Courier as both van and Combi versions, so did Matchbox.  

Both castings debuted with the same base on them, and both had Limited Edition written on them.  The van went on to make a few appearances elsewhere, but sadly this Combi never saw any further outings.  It was literally just used for this promotional issue and left to fade away into nothing.  Which was a real shame as this was such a lovely little casting.  

So now I do move into the 2000s.  With another lovely little casting.  The MB754 Morgan Aeromax.  It debuted as a part of the 2008 basic range as MB12 in blue.

And as I always do, I went nuts finding shades.  In fact, I found 3 of them for this one.  

For 2009, the model was dropped from the LAAM range, but was still a part of the US and ROW ranges.  It was sold as MB24 this year and came in a very dark blue.

The model was also a part of the Best of British series in burgundy too.

It was also a part of the Superfast range too in silver.  

In 2010 it was back to where it started.  MB12.  And it was back to being a worldwide issue. This time it was in dark green, which I did notice got really dark at times.  

And in 2011, the model saw another blue release.  This time it had the Union Flag incorporated into the design as MB11.  But this proved to be the final outing for the model in the basic range.  

But we did see one more outing.  After staying quiet for a few years, the model was one of the exclusives in the 2014 10-packs.  And again, this model was in blue.  Another shade of blue, but blue none-the-less. Sadly, we have not seen it since, and no more signs of any Morgans in the range.  

Time for the final model in the dive back.  The MB834 Crop Master.  It debuted in the 2012 range as MB62.  Now, we did have to go by the packaging to get the name.  

Because the base had such little space, that they couldn't fit it all in.  So they omitted the name.  

But that was not all for the year.  Because it was given a version 2.  This time it was in yellow, and featured the MBK (the factory in Thailand's nickname) design on the side.  

After that, it was immediately dropped from the basic range.  That was quick.  However, for 2013, they did include it in the 60th Anniversary series in orange.  This was a mid-point series, not core, but not full-blown premium.  I did notice the orange was good for shades too.

It seemed to get even quieter after that.  We did not get to see it all in 2014.  For 2015 it did pop up in a 5-pack. The pack was simply called Farm, and we saw it in green with a Lopez and a chicken.  

Again it took time off.  2016 saw nothing.  But then, 5 years after first debuting, it was back in the basic range as MB40.  This time it was in dark green with a Canon Construction theme on it.  I have 2.  Do you see why?

It was simply a zamac base, and what I have often noticed, some come out with a sort of burnt look (giving a brown hue) and some with a cold look (giving a blue hue). So quite often I will end up getting one of each.  I am crazy like that.

And then, rather shockingly, it continued in the basic range for another year.  And it was still MB40 for 2018.  This one was in a recurring theme.  The blue INC design.  There is actually a small run where the front wheels were the alternate 6-spokes.  The ones with large spokes and a thin "tyre" section surrounding them.  I could not find them, not for want of trying.  

After that, the model was again dropped from basic range again.  In fact, it has almost dropped entirely.  We have only had the 1 outing since.  But for 2020, it popped back in the basic range for one more outing.  Again it was red, just like the debut release.  But this one was quite significant.  Because this one actually sees the model's name incorporated into the design of the model.  We have not see the casting since.  

Which means I am again at the end of a report.  One that was concentrating on the second round of Jurassic World Dominion items.  Ones that were a little Jeep-heavy.

But did also see some other iconic models from the franchise, both Park and World.

As well as other Matchbox originals inspired, or based on, vehicles from the films too.  

Seeing some first time outings as well.  I always like how they can still get us with more new stuff.  From the latest film is logical, but digging into the past and still coming up with something new is even cooler.  

And that brings me to the end of the first report, shown exclusively on the Wheel Collectors site.  I hope you all enjoyed it, and will continue to pop over and read them here.  As I said, I will still link to them on Lamley each week.  And there will still be the odd Lamley item I post.  There will be something this year for sure. Next week I know what I am still waiting to finish off.  So will get to it.  Until then, have a safe and happy week, and catch you for more Matchbox goodies next week.