Matchbox Monday powers through the Jurassic World

As I have mentioned a few times lately, I noticed I was slipping further behind with things again.  So, in a bid to try to rein it in a little, I decided to go big.  Very big.  So far, with this latest Matchbox Jurassic release, I showcased both of the first 2 batches.  Plus, 2 additional 5-packs, 1 tagged on to each singles batch.  At this rate, and keeping to the same schedule, I would need another 3 articles to finish.  But, no, I am amalgamating it all into one giant article.  So get comfy.  You will be here for a while.  I will work through the singles first.  Batch C is next on the agenda after showing off A & B previously.  So let us begin.

With a huge surprise.  I knew that Matchbox only sprinkled some new items in with the releases, and was expecting items from the 2018 and 2019 runs to return to pad it out.  I was not expecting anything from the initial 2015 Jurassic World releases to re-appear.  The majority of them were quite random.  As they obtained the licence so late in the day, they had no time to tool up anything new to release.  They simply grabbed some random castings that sort of worked with the theme, and covered them with Jurassic World themed side designs.  Most were Matchbox Originals designs.  That included a certain MB989 4x4 Scrambulance.  This was technically the debut look of the altered casting for the model, but in relation to anything else released, this was perhaps the most realistic.  Many were just random designs, sporting dinos and a JW logo.  This actually had the proper Jurassic World logo, and came in a look that actually resembled vehicles being used in the film.  It could almost pass for one.  

Plus, I have to admit, I have always liked this little 4x4 Scrambulance.  I can't explain it.  But the minute I saw the first one, I thought it was a cute little casting, and have thoroughly enjoyed collecting it.  So I was very happy to see this surprise re-appearance.  

So was it a cool re-appearance?  I think so.  I noticed instantly that it was going to be different from how it was when first produced in 2015.  So let's bring in that for a side by side.

This is how it originally arrived.  I remember I was in the USA when the batch first appeared, and remember seeing this altered casting, and trying to take rough photos on the hotel bed in semi-darkness.  Ah, memories.

Ah.  I am digressing.  Side by side.  The new run is on the left, with the original from 7 years prior on the right.  The instant variation is the wheels.  They were originally in dark blue, but are now a chrome blue style.  A sort of recurring theme with a lot of Jurassic stuff. You might also notice the red in the tampo is a little darker, too.  It is quite surprising how close most of the colours were.   Slight nuances more than anything.  

Although, with this model sporting a zamac base which was left unpainted, we do get the hot vs. cold look as I call it.  The new one is cold, and has a blueish tint to it.  The other being hot, and has a more burnt look to it. These appear on all productions.  I am sure it is something to do with the manufacturing process that simply leaves them like this.  

But as I have the Scrambulances out, and because I like the casting, I am going to dive back.  Originally, this was MB845.  It debuted as MB109 in the 2012 basic range in yellow.  Of course, this sported a really cool variation straight away.  The gorilla on the side is either a light or dark blue.  

It moved to MB73 in 2013, and this was a white model with an MBX Emergency Services design.  

In 2014, the model moved to the MB39 slot in red.  It also served double duty as it was a part of the Rescue Duty 5-pack too.  This proved to be the final release for the original casting, as it was altered for 2015.

The 2015 MB98 actually appeared after the Jurassic issue.  As noted, the Jurassic release was the official debut of the casting.  

For 2016, the model was included in the basic range as one of Michael Heralda's Club 5000 models.  This was part of a small selection celebrating that he had passed 5,000 unique designs for Mattel.  It was MB81 that year.

It then took 2017 off, before returning for what was, until now, the last time the casting had been used.  It was MB76 in the basic range, and featured a carry forward design from 2013.  

However, this was an easy variation, as this was the newer casting style, and the original one was the older design, which had a slot in the rear (switched to drop design) and a pair of skylights instead of the current sky strip.  

Next up, as I am simply doing these alphabetically due to having no numbering system, is the MB924 '14 Chevy Silverado 1500.  A rather surprising addition to the series.  This is an all-new design for the model.  

Having seen the film, I can honestly say I don't recall seeing this.  But, this looks fantastic.  Black, with a Triceratops Farms side design, and plastered in mud.  And scratches/claw marks. The muddy wheels.  The mud up the front.  This looks absolutely amazing.  

It even sports a rear tampo print too.  This is quite the undertaking, for what is essentially a core range vehicle.  And I have to admit, I love it!  This is definitely one of the nicest looks for this casting.

My hypothesis is that this is sort of a nod to the illegal farm in the film, that was shown right at the start.  Claire Dearing, Zia Rodriguez and Franklin Webb had just rescued a juvenile nasutoceratops from the Saw Ridge Cattle Co in Nevada. A ceratopsian farm that had been discovered illegally breeding them, along with triceratops and sinoceratops.  As they were making their getaway, they crashed through a fence and entered a field with the trio of ceratops, and were being chased by 2 pickups.  It was dark, and it is tough to make them out, but one was believed to be a Chevy Silverado.  Possibly a 2003?  As I said, it was shot in the dark, and it is not easy to make them all out.  It was tipped over by a nasutoceratops, allowing the van to get away.  I am not going to do a dive back on this casting, as if I do it for all of them, this article may never end.

So, how about this for a new casting.  The MB1275 '86 Ford F-150. This is a beautiful new casting.  

This vehicle was in the film.  It was in the opening monologue, and was seen again as they kidnapped Maisie Lockwood when she had sneaked away from the cabin, and also Beta.  So it is a significant vehicle, even though it had a short cameo.  

The Matchbox casting is absolutely fantastic.  If you had read my Top 10 list of 2022, you would already know that.  It made the Top 10 new castings.  It looks absolutely fantastic, and the detailing is just as we would expect from Matchbox.  The debut look in red with a tan side stripe, as well as a detailed chrome front end, really just make this about perfect.  

The tan interior (which does extend out the rear, in typical Matchbox style) is a great match for the side stripe, and suits it perfectly.  I couldn't tell for sure if the one in the film had a tan interior.  They didn't give us a good look.  But I don't care.  It suits the model.  

I love the detailed Ford rear end.  After seeing the Silverado in the same batch, there is a small part of me that is sad it didn't get any detailing.  But we really can't expect it on all the core range models.  The casting shows through well here anyway.

This is definitely one of the stars of the latest series.  But I am also extremely optimistic that this is not a casting that will stay as a Jurassic vehicle.  I did notice the one in the film (the bridge scene showed it best) had a few additional parts on the front, which the Matchbox one doesn't.  They have left it completely stock, allowing it to seamlessly move into other ranges.  

I cannot wait to see more of this one, but I have a feeling that it will be tough to beat the debut Jurassic one.  

Well, this is a new casting.  So I include the obligatory base shot.  

Next up is the MB1120 Humvee.  This model was seen before, back in 2019 when it debuted in that year's range.  The casting was based on an earlier MB522 casting, but with added bull bars fitted to the front.  

It returns for 2022 in this batch, in the same green with InGen design and mud splatter.  

The bull bars on the front is the most significant part to the casting, being the part that was added for MB1120, and also being the part that shows the biggest change.

The original from 2019 arrives here.

The new run is a mildly darker shade of green on the body, but the bull bars do stick out a little more.  

Being a part of the base section, this is now a much more pronounced green.  In comparison, the earlier one has a slight yellowish hue to it.  Definitely a notable difference.  Enough for me, anyway.  

This batch has quite a range of new castings.  In fact, out of 6, 3 were brand new.  This is the MB1276 Rapid Rescue Copter.  

Now, this was created especially for the film, so in essence there was no official licence to obtain.  In real life, the makers of the film took a Eurocopter EC135 as a starting point, then took it to BGI Supplies Ltd, who created the large side wings and fans for the final look.  

So Matchbox created a similar looking vehicle, tweaked just enough to make it a Matchbox Originals casting, and released it under their own name.  

The casting features a triple blade on the top that spins around, with a lower black metal section attached to an upper white metal section, with a middle plastic part that covers the side wings/fans, and a smoke window piece.  

Tampo printing is quite minimal.  The rear around the rotor is painted black, and the Biosyn logo was added to the cockpit window section.  

The casting is quite small.  But then, it is almost as wide as it is long, so it is a good job it isn't too long.  There is, perhaps, a wonder why this was not used as a Skybusters casting.  But the scene I pictured above pretty much covers all the flying vehicles used in the film.  I think there was one more.  There just wasn't enough to warrant a Skybusters range.  Not like with the Top Gun: Maverick range.  So, it is logical that they made this a miniature instead.  We have had flying vehicles in miniature before, so this is not anything new.  

It's not a bad little model, but I do wonder if we will see much more of it.  Unlike the Ford F-150, this doesn't really have much in the way of crossover capabilities.  

Being a new casting, I do show off what little there is of the base.  Not a lot to put on there, as there was precious little room to add much in the way of information.

Finally, in this batch, we get another new Matchbox Originals casting.  The MB1274 Speed Striker.  

This was clearly based on a motorbike the Owen Grady used after arriving in Malta.  While trying to find Maisie, he took a Montesa 4Ride while being chased by a pair of atrociraptors.  Montesa is a subsidiary of Honda, with manufacturing for their range of bicycles and motorbikes in Barcelona.  

However, Matchbox did not pursue a licence (or maybe they did but were denied, we don't know), and created their own casting, that was a pretty good facsimile of the real thing.  In fact, I think this is good enough for them to feel very proud to have saved some money on licencing fees.

The model comes in red and black, much like Owen's bike in the film, and sports a bag section on the rear.  Something which the Montesa had in the film too.  

I was curious, and started to tug at the bag area.  It may come off with enough pressure, but I didn't want to press the issue.  I didn't want to find out one way or the other and accidentally damage the model.  

Rather unusually, the engine was only detailed on one side. I am not quite sure why.  That did seem a little odd.  This is also the first time I remember these bike wheels being hot foil printed.  

That is a pretty well detailed front end, isn't it.  You can clearly make out the wing mirrors, levers and lights.  The main headlight on the front is tampo printed, but that looks amazing.  It almost looks like a real plastic light piece in there.  Exceptional work overall.  Sure, this was not a licenced vehicle through Montesa, but it was very well done.  

Base shot.  Yeah, there was nothing there.  No details at all.  We got the details of the vehicle's name from the packaging, but when it comes to the MAN number, I did have to get this from Mattel.  

With that, I have finished batch C.  But as I said, I am going all out and doing everything left from Jurassic World: Dominion.  So that means that batch D is upon us too.  

Batch D begins, again as I am doing this alphabetically, with the MB1108 "Wrecked" '93 Ford Explorer #4.  

Everybody knows this one.  It was the 11th of June 1993.  Tour vehicles 04 and 05 were sent out to give the children a tour, when due to a power failure, they stopped outside the T-rex enclosure.  The T-rex had escaped its confines, and in the melee, had pushed 04 over the cliff, where it landed in a tree, with Tim Murphy stuck inside.  Eventually, the branches gave way and it fell to the ground, landing on its roof and narrowly avoiding crushing both Tim and Dr Alan Grant, who had gone to rescue him.  It stayed there until 2018, when during the events of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, it was ultimately destroyed once and for all by lava flow from the erupting volcano.  

What I love about the model is that the wheels are not straight, but if you were to tip it up, you can balance it on the front end.  The initial "fallen out of the tree" look.  They think of everything, don't they.  Of course, in the film, the T-rex had ripped one of the tyres off, but to be honest, that would actually lose play value if they did that in miniature.  So I don't mind that oversight.  

Originally, this was released in the 2019 singles set, so I wonder how it stacks up with the original.  

So time for the original to pop up for a comparison.  

I did say stack, didn't I.  So, let's stack these 2 up.  You can clearly see how the new one on top has a much darker yellow side area.  It also doesn't seem to stretch as high up, compared to the original run.  

And yes, that is on both sides.  

We also saw a Land Action Squad Dino Rivals 5-pack release with an exclusive muddy version too, back in 2019.  This was not an easy pack to obtain.  The 5-pack model featured muddy brown wheels in place of the regular black ones.

And the wonky base was also brown.  I am sure many were hoping it was the Dino Rivals model that re-appeared, as it was definitely the tougher one to obtain 3 years ago.  

Next up is a new look for the MB444 Ford Panel Van.  What may appear to be a rather random choice actually is not far off.

Remember that scene I mentioned near the start of the film, at Saw Ridge Cattle Co, in Nevada? I was talking about it in the Chevy Silverado piece.  Well, this was the van that Claire Dearing was driving, which Zia and Franklin were in the back of, after rescuing a baby nasutoceratops.  Doesn't it look a lot like a Ford Panel Van?  I think it does.  

It has, what I can only imagine being, mud a blood on the sides.  Something I guess is a result of the venture through the fields and possible other events.  

Of course, the model has a light bar on the roof.  The real vehicle in the film did not.  But this was what Matchbox had in their database, as the old smooth roof model was overridden with this a while ago. But that is fine.  Little things like this are not overly important to me.  I like this look for the model. Definitely my new favourite since the re-casting back in 2017.  

Something I will do a short recap on.  Just the re-cast era.  As we know, MB444 was originally the items on roof issue.  MB474 was the original police variant, and MB479 the plain roof issue.  After stopping use of all 3 variants in 2012, for 2017, they retooled into a single issue, but accidentally used the first number for what is essentially the middle one's issue.  It debuted in a Police 5-pack in 2017 in white.  

It then moved to the basic range in 2018 as MB69, where it was now white.  Again.  This time with the Speedy Express side design that has been seen a few times.  

We never saw it in either 2019 or 2020, but in 2021, we had a white one.  This particular white issue was in batch B of the 9-packs, as a semi-exclusive.  It sported an ABQ Rooter side design, designed by Michael Heralda.  

This is the first time we have seen the model in anything but white since the re-tool.  I think this still has a decent life in it.  

Moving from Ford to Jeep.  More classics from the Jurassic Park film.  The MB1105 '93 Jeep Wrangler w/vet bags.  Or #10 as they call it on the package.  

This is another of those castings that did not actually appear until 2019.  

However, we have already seen it in 2022, as it was in the first 5-pack of the year.  Total Terrain Adventurers.  This appears to be a duplicate of that one.  

It is a shame they didn't do the clean version.  That was actually not sold in the Jurassic stuff in 2019, but was a Walmart exclusive that year in their Jeep series.  

Because this has lighter vet bags and interior to that one.  Something which would have made for a cool variation.

As that is the variation this had to the 2019 issue of the muddy version.  It would have been cool to get that on both of them.  

Next up we see another brand-new casting.  The MB1278 '18 Jeep Wrangler JL.  This is a lovely casting, but I have scoured the film and cannot find it anywhere.  I was thoroughly checking out backgrounds just in case.  But it was nowhere to be found.  I wonder if it was in a scene that was ultimately cut from the movie.  These things do happen.  

Not that I mind.  Because I absolutely love this.  Again, this is a completely standard Jeep Wrangler JL.  No additional pieces for the Jurassic licence, so I hope this means it is another that will bounce its way over to regular uses.  

This is a lovely rendition of the 2-door variant of the JL.  This was also a part of my Top 10 countdown of new castings for 2022.  It came in at number 6, and was my highest Jurassic item.  

With all the detailing in the tampo printing for this, I am sure that as part of their deal with Universal Pictures, they would have been sent some pictures of vehicles that were being used in the film.  This is way too detailed to have been made up by the Matchbox guys, in my opinion.  The final film was just under 2 and a half hours long.  But, as with all films, they likely had filmed a lot more than that.  I would not be surprised if at least an hour had been cut out, and the Jeep could have been seen in that.  It could have been seen multiple times in that.  Who knows.  Does anybody have Colin Trevorrow's phone number, for me to ask?  Ha ha!

The model has been created specifically with a spare wheel that is the same as ones actually used on the model.  As such, they do have Matchbox cast into them.  This leads me to believe this will be seen elsewhere too.

Which I would cherish.  As I said, I love this look.  Mind you, we already had a 4-door variant in the database.  

So after this base shot (because it is a new casting) I think I should bring in the 4-door variant for some comparisons.  

This is the MB1182 '18 Jeep Wrangler JL 4-door. It first arrived in the 2009 basic range as MB62 in green.  Pretty much the same casting, but this is longer, with 4 doors instead of 2.  But how closely did they match the 2 up?

At a quick glance, I have to admit, this does look like it would in real life.  2 doors or 4?  That's your choice, and knowing how they recently adjusted the '69 Chevy Camaro Convertible casting to better match a hardtop, I can imagine this is also being crafted very similarly.  

From the front, you can see how these have been made almost identical.  The only differences that I see between the 2 are that the slats in the grill on the new one have a patterned look, which is also on th bumper too.  The 2 models are the same width and same height.  They do appear to have used the original as a template for crafting this new one.  That is very good.  

At the rear, we see much of the same again.  Even down to the hinges.  I point that out because the hinges should be just on the one side.  Not on both.  The only 2 minor changes made are that they have fixed the Matchbox writing on the spare wheels.  It was originally a mirror image, and now has been corrected.  However, the concave look to the rear lights have been blanked out for the new casting.  Fix one thing, unfix another. Leave the hinges.  

From above, it just looks like a shorter version.  And to me, this is just about perfect, as this represents the 2 different JLs perfectly.  It makes them so believable as a pair, when they look just the4 same like this.  The team have done a great job overall in making the shorter version.

I hope this does not mean the 4-door is going to get overlooked. It never saw a lot of love, which is a huge shame to me.  This is one of my all-time favourite Jeep castings, and after the debut, we also saw a Jeep set issue in 2019 in dark charcoal with a Skyjacker side design.  

After that? Just the 1 basic range issue, as in 2020 it was MB64 in white.  

And after seeing no action at all in 2021, it popped up as an exclusive in the first batch of 2022 9-packs. This was in red.  

Which means that casting has only seen 4 issues. 2 basics, a 9-pack and a Walmart exclusive in the USA Jeep set (was found in other countries too).  Okay, I am going to admit it.  I prefer the 2-door.  I do.  It just looks so much nicer being shorter.  But I still love the 4-door, so am honestly wanting both to keep being used for the foreseeable future.  

The 5th model in the batch is the MB1111 Mercedes-Benz Unimog U5023.  This was originally the 2018 All Terrain Fleet batch release, but only in single packs.  It sees a return here, 4 years later.

Which I am very happy to see again, because I love his casting.  I say that a lot, don't I.  But I do.  I mean, this is part of the reason why I stick purely with the Matchbox brand.  They make some awesome stuff, and many MANY castings that I just love.  Why would I be so passionate about them if I didn't like them?

This does mean that we have seen this olive look previously, with the grey canopy.  

A canopy that does pop off.  It means this casting does push the limits in the parts for core models that Mattel are able to give on Matchbox vehicles. Usually there is a 4-part maximum (not including wheels).  Body, base, interior and window are the norm, although some vehicles have a blacked out window to leave the interior piece off, reducing to 3.  But this has all 4, and that canopy on top makes 5.  It is so cool.  But is it different in any of those ways to the 2018 run?

So, I bring in the 2018 run model to compare.  First off, the olive paint and grey canopy do appear almost identical.  

But there are subtle differences.  For starters, when originally released in 2018, the model had a single pass under the tampo machine.  The result?  The Mercedes-Benz tri-star highlighted.  Something they have not bothered with this time.  

The other small difference I see is with the interior piece.  It is a darker grey now than when it was first produced.  

Which means those seats in the rear bed are also darker too.  Aside from this, I see no other differences between the 2.  But that is more than enough for me.  

As I said, this olive model was originally from the single releases of the All Terrain Fleet batch.  When the model was in a 5-pack, it was in a matte dark charcoal with a green canopy. And still featured the Mercedes-Benz tri-star on the front.  

For 2019, they switched to a new look in black with a light grey canopy.  It still had that tri-star detailed.  

Then, as we saw, earlier this year, the casting was given an outing outside the Jurassic series.  It was in the Best of Germany series in silver, with a Polizei design on the model.  This model saw a side design and Polizei across the front, but no Mercedes-Benz tri-star.  It was left blank. It must be a 2022 thing.  Not that I am complaining.  I added another to my collection.  The more, the merrier.  

I will not grow tired of this casting, and am seriously hoping for more outings in the future, too.  It is too cool to leave.  

Talking of cool, castings, another one from the original 2018 series returns for 2022.  The last model in the batch is the MB1106 '10 Textron Tiger.  I loved this casting (yes I know) when it debuted, and the original cream got a battle damage release, and a later matte green also saw a battle damage.  This is a carry forward to the original pale grey look.  Which is a shame for me.  Because, with this, and the fact that it was chosen to carry forward to both 2019 singles and 5-packs, I could not see a single difference between this new run and the originals.  It is a shame they didn't carry forward the green, or one of the battle damage ones. For something a little different.  Although, personally....

Back when the last film appeared, we had the pale grey and green looks for the Jurassic World series.  But Mattel also released this R/C vehicle in a much larger scale.  It looked so nice in this blue look, and I was, and am still, wishing this had been replicated in miniature too.  It would have been fantastic to have seen it finally see the light of day as a Matchbox model.  But, it wasn't to be.  

Just in case people were wondering, the Jeep is more of an off-white, compared to the pale grey of the Textron.  So, I didn't get my blue one.  I still wish for the Textron Tiger to see outings outside the Jurassic licence.  Honestly, the only real change to a standard Tiger is the bull bar on the front.  But that still works, if the model was to be given a Police or SWAT outing.  It has potential.  I hope it doesn't get ignored.  

Well, that is it for singles.  There was officially a 5th batch.  But this was a sort of "best of" batch, containing 12 vehicles that had already been released, just run again.  All 6 of the new castings, as well as Jeep 10, Jeep 18, Jeep Wagoneer, Ford Explorer 05, Gyroshpere and the new for 2022 tan Mercedes-Benz G-Class.  There is a small possibility for a shade or 2, but I couldn't justify trying to get a whole batch just in case.  So, time to move on.  Because I said I was going nuts.  

Because alongside singles, Matchbox also released a series of 5-packs.  In total, there were 4 different Dominion 5-packs, and in addition, there were 2 Legacy 5-packs.  The Dominion: Total Terrain Adventures pack and Legacy: Land 'n Sea Squad packs have been covered already, tagged on to the first 2 batches I showcased before.  But I am going to run through all the rest now.  I just felt it was best to finish off the Jurassic stuff in one go.  Hence, the extremely long article.  Sorry.

I will begin with the second of the Legacy packs.  Called Ground Travelers, this pack contained an exclusive MB1125 Mercedes-Benz ML320 AAV.  This is a new look for 2022, and I am so excited to finally get this one.  A matte brownish grey with a light grey, dark grey and black camouflage pattern on the side.  

Officially, this was not the look from the original Jurassic Park film.  That was green.  But this is significant for the model collectors.  Especially those like me who like these patterns.

Because, this model was a 2019 singles debut, and came in the official Jurassic look.  I am very happy to get a second release (always hate just having one of something), but this also finishes a quartet.  

Because of the earlier MB1125. The AAV is known as Santana in Jurassic circles, with the other sporting a spare wheel on the roof was Montana.  Matchbox never made a casting of Fontana for this series.  Which is a bit of a shame, but we have 2 of them.  Montana first debuted in 2018 in the Legacy Collection, and the very first run of singles sported a dark green wheel.

Deeming it too dark, this was quickly given a running change to a light green, which ran through the rest of production.  Plus the 2019 carry forward.  This, just like the earlier Santana, was in the correct Jurassic Park look of green with camouflage.  

But, as is common with a lot of the Jurassic World 5-packs, but not all, the 5-pack Legacy Collection sported an exclusive model.  In this case, Montana was changed to brownish grey.  

So now getting Santana in a matching look is just brilliant.  I had been waiting for it since the 2019 series had finished.  I am so happy they did it.  I do notice the wheels have a different colour on the new Santana.  They are almost like a bronzed look, compared to grey from the older Montana.  But the rest is pretty much identical.  

So, as I said, I now finish the quartet.  Fantastic!  Now, can we talk about the lack of Fontana.... Ha ha!

Also included in the pack is a carry forward of MB1122.  This was Jeep 12, which is the one with the canopy on it. As we know, this was the vehicle that Denis Nedry commandeered for this attempted escape from the park in the original film, until being thwarted by a dilophosaurus.  Remember that....

Jeep 12 was originally seen in the 2018 Legacy Collection.  However, the collection at the time consisted of 6 vehicles.  Only 5 were also added to the 5-pack, of which Montana (just shown) was altered for it).  The 6th model sold as a single only?  However, it was clean at that time.  For 2019, as a single issue release, the model was muddied up, and this is the one carried forward to here.  

But, we have 3 years between production runs, so I wonder if there is a variation.  

Time to bring in the 2019 single issue for a little comparison.  

The one thing immediately apparent is the wheels.  The new one is a much brighter red than it was back in 2019.  

You might notice, though, the body colour is much more grey than it was back in 2019.  That has a sort of yellowish hue to it in comparison.  So a double variation.  

So it has done better than the 2018.  That was carried forward to a 2019 5-pack, but I could see no difference on those ones.  

We also get the MB1124 Fleetwood Southwind Storm returning.  This model was the 2019 singles release, which sort of flips colours between the initial look for it with the Mercedes-Benz ML320s.  Not quite an exact switch, but I see how they got their inspiration for it.  

It comes in green with a camouflage side.  That was only seen in the 1 batch of 2019 singles, so I guess we will get something different between them.  

So in comes the 2019 run model for a little comparison.

This was where I expected the variation to be.  The side tampo comes in 3 camouflage shades, and the lightest one is the one that comes up with the biggest change in shade.  It is a bit of a yellowish green compared to the light green it was in 2019.

The roof is fractionally darker.  I can just about see it, but even I have limits to how much of a shade constitutes a shade I keep.  Had it not been for the side difference, I might not have kept this one.  

As I said, I was expecting this to be the variation, as the original 2018 Legacy Collection model had the same variation.  Some came in a light blue, while others had a bit of a purplish hue to them.  They were both 2018s, although this model did roll over into a 2019 5-pack too.  So it is good to have the same variation on both releases.  

Sadly, they added in another MB1112 Gyrosphere.  I swear, this was everywhere.  2018?  Single and 5-pack.  2019?  Single and 5-pack.  2020?  No.  Okay, it got a doubnle 2018 offering, and double 2019 offering.  However, it was also in the first batch of singles for 2022, so it is release number 6, and still is basically the same.  I found a slight shade to the side in the singles this year, but this still continues that.  I didn't show it again, so I move on to the final model.  Oh wait, this is the Jurassic 5-packs in 2022.  The 5th model wasn't a model.  It was a dino.  This one?  The dilophosaurus.  

This was the most perfect and logical choice to add in to this pack.  As I mentioned, Denis Nedry fans look away....

Note to self: Don't try and obtain illegal dinosaur DNA and try to make an escape on a rainy night with lack of power.    Oh yes, this was easily the best choice for a dinosaur inclusion.  

So I move over to the Dominion 5-packs.  I honestly am not sure how they split the models.  The Gyrosphere wasn't a Legacy vehicle.  But this one is.  So shouldn't this have been in the Legacy pack and not the Terra Travel pack?  

It is the MB983 Humvee. It is actually a casting dating back to 1994. Originally released as the MB256 Hummer, and originally sported an opening rear, and a gun mounted on the roof.  Later in the decade, they renamed it Humvee, which is now what it was known as.  In 2001, an offshoot of the MB256 Humvee losing the roof gun was created, and given the MAN number MB522.  This was then altered again into MB983 in 2015, as they decided to seal up the opening rear. But as Humvees were used in early Jurassic Park films, most notable in "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" where InGen were using them.  Which is what this represents.  It was used in the 2018 range, as a single and a 5-pack release of the Land Rescue Convoy batch.  But this one is definitely different.  

Okay, well this is a bit of a cheat.  The first batch produced was not what they were looking for.  It was a nice shiny gunmetal grey with a grey window component.  It was very short run, and quickly changed by a corrected model.  

It was switched to a matte charcoal and came with a black window.  I have not heard of a crossover.  I believe both changes occurred simultaneously.  But with a longer production run, I did notice this later matte charcoal did vary in shade.  

Although, I was not prepared for it to be this much darker.  It is so dark compared to the darkest shade I ever found of the 2018 run.  

With no carry forward outing until now, this is the first we have seen of this particular Humvee since that fun little 2018 run.  And does this model not disappoint?  More fun.  Well, for me anyway.  

Putting the initial run next to the new one really shows how much this one evolved during the production process.

Next up in this 5-pack is another Legacy model.  Yeah, I really don't know why that Gyrosphere was in the Legacy pack. Being in Jurassic World, it wasn't far enough back for me.  Jurassic Park stuff.  That is Legacy material. Like this. The MB1123 '97 Mercedes-Benz Unimog U1300.  Another Mog!  This was a vehicle used in The Lost World film by the InGen hunters that had arrived at the island to capture various dinosaurs.  

Originally this debuted as a 2019 single issue, but was also carried forward to a 2020 5-pack too.  The random 2020 5-pack and single issue were made to keep the Jurassic World licence active by Mattel, and as such nothing new appeared.  Just a few carry forwards, with a view that this 2022 run was going to occur in 2021.  However, with the pandemic delaying the film, they had to push their stuff back a year.  Universal allowed the licence to roll over in 2021 too, without the need to put anything Jurassic World related out.  Although I think Mattel as a whole did release a few things.  Mainly around the Camp Cretaceous TV show.  It was a shame we never saw any Matchbox Camp Cretaceous stuff.  I would have loved a Mercedes-Benz G63 6x6. Anyway, I digress.  The Mog!

It came with a detachable rear cage.  Something that was a little important between the first 2 releases.  

But no as much with this one.  This is the original 2019 run of the U1300.  Dark green with a light yellowish green cage.

When it was carried forward to the 2020 5-pack, the green cage was more, well, green.  

This new run?  Wow!  Is this dark or what.  I am enjoying this pack.  This is a significant shade variation to the 2019 & 2020s.  

The cage?  Well, it is back to the more yellowish hue look to the green.  I am very happy with these 3.  

Although I think I just jinxed it by saying I am enjoying this pack.  2 significantly darker shades to the Humvee and Unimog, and the pack also came with an MB1104 Armored Action Transporter and MB1127 Jeep Wrangler w/roll bar (of Jeep 18). Both were a part of the first singles batch of 2022, and both were identical to how they were for that batch.  Which means I just have the pyroraptor.  This was a new dinosaur for the Jurassic World: Dominion film, and one was seen chasing Owen Grady and Kayla Watts after they were trying to cross the ice into the dam.  

I don't think the pyroraptor really interacted with any vehicles during the film, so in this case, I see it as a simple addition to the pack.  A cool little dinosaur to include.  

I still have 2 more packs to go. We had 4 regular Dominion packs released throughout the year. 2 Legacy, 4 Dominion, 4 batches of singles (well a 5th, but that was just a best of).

The third pack released was the Land 'n Air Team pack.  The MB1276 Rapid Rescue Copter I showcased as a single already was also added to the pack.  It was identical.  So I won't bother with that one, because the rest of the pack was lots of fun.  Because we also had the new MB1273 MBX Capture Action Truck from batch B of the singles added too.  

But this looked a little different.  This is more sandy brown colour compared to how it debuted in batch B.  

As you can see, that was more of a khaki colour.  It sports the exact same tampo design, but these are now in alternate colours too.  

The interior section is now brown on the new run, compared to grey on the original one.  You may also note that the wheels are not just a different hot foil print.  They are different wheels.  It now sports the ringed 8-spoke wheel, whereas originally the first one had dual ringed 8-dot wheels.  

I am not sure if we will see this appear outside the Jurassic licence, and I am not sure how much longer Mattel will keep a licence going.  Or whether we will see more Matchbox for 2023 or beyond.  As a general overview, I can see dinosaurs themselves being continued for a while.  But this particular subset of the licence I can't see continuing.  There was no mention of any more Matchbox Jurassic stuff arriving in 2023.  If we did see anything at all, I could see it being more of a best of what came before.  Nothing new.  So I don't see us seeing much more of this casting.  So, I am happy to have 2 of them.  As I already said, I don't like just having one of a model.  

Which, to be honest, I wonder if this could also fall into the same category.  The MB1272 '19 Jeep Gladiator.  Again, just like the last model, this debuted as a new casting in batch B of the basics.  We get a second appearance here, and this is also in a different colour.  

Which I actually think looks nicer than the debut.  However, as we know, the debut was the correct look for the model as it appeared in the Jurassic World: Dominion film. A light tan look. But as this casting has been made as a replica of the one modified for the film, I am not sure if they are going to be able to utilize it elsewhere.  I would like to see them try.  Because I do like this casting.  Especially in this taupe colour scheme.  I think it highlights the extra pieces, like fire extinguishers etc, better than the debut did.  

That was a nice debut.  I just think the yellow highlights look better on taupe than on tan.  But that is just me.  

This time the wheels stayed the same.  I think the chrome ring looks better than the red ring too.  It suits the model better.  

So, as I said, these could end up being the only 2 releases of the casting.  Which would be a real shame, as it is a great little casting.  But I do wonder how they can utilize it outside the Jurassic licence.  Some sort of off-road adventure theme maybe? I would like to see it again.  Mind you, I am a Jeep fan, so am a little biased.  

Oh, is this the MB1128 '93 Ford Explorer 04 again?  Although this time, it is in one piece.  Yeah, if you remember, I did show the wrecked one a while ago on this report.

This has had a short little life.  It debuted in 2018 as a part of the Land Rescue Convoy series.  It was in both single and 5-pack.  It was then rolled forward to the 2019 singles series.  And then popped back up here.  It does feel like it had more of a life.  But when you add in Explorer 05, wrecked Explorer 04 and muddy wrecked Explorer 04, and then finally seeing a clean 04 this year, you do realize that it was a general Explorer feeling, rather than this specific version.  

I never found any variation between the 2018 and 2019 runs of the model, so this is the original 2018 run that pops in for a comparison.  

Well, this was sort of expected.  If you remember (it seems like ages ago by now) that the wrecked Explorer production run in 2022 saw a much deeper yellow side tampo print.  Of course, this also occurs with the muddy, non-wrecked one.  It has a much darker yellow print.  

I am noticing the red is a little brighter, but only on the roof.  The sides seem to match up quite well.  But, this had already had me with the yellow.  So I am good.

So apart from the Copter, the other 3 vehicles in the pack were added to the collection.  Of course, we also get a dinosaur too.  In this case, a Pteranadon.  One was seen in the Dominion film as Alan Grant and Ellie Satler were in the Copter flying over a lake.  It flew off from the back of a Dreadnoughtus. So it is very logical that this was placed in a pack where the Copter was also included. 

It is an extremely wide bird.  

And is on a par with the Copter.  They do make for a good match.  So again, this was quite the logical dino inclusion.  

One more 5-pack to go.  The Transport Trackers pack.  This one begins with the MB1122 Jeep Wrangler with Canopy.  But not Denis Nedry's 12.  This was a later issue that saw a more modern looking tampo design, as used in the World trilogy, rather than Park trilogy.

It was first released in 2018.  It was in the second batch of the year, known as the All Terrain Fleet.  It came in a single pack, and as a part of the larger 5-pack.  

This is actually the first time the model has been carried forward, as it was not seen in the 2019 series.  So let's bring in the 2018 one to see how a 4-year gap changes things.

The new run is a slightly darker silver.  Not a lot, but it is noticeable to me.  

The grey base is slightly different, although I am struggling to come up with shade names for this.  The original one being slightly more blueish?  

The interior is easy.  Significantly darker now.  And of course it does include the spare wheel which is outside the canopy, but I decided to pop off the canopies anyway.  Just to show it off even better.  

So I now have 3 of this modern looking Jeep, as later in the 2018 year, they released a Battle Damage version of it, with added mud and claw marks.  

The Jeep Wrangler with canopy has had a few outings over the years, and with Denis Nedry getting a dilophosaurus attacking Jeep 12, should Blue attack the newer one?  Well, I have to have fun with these things, don't I.

Then we get this model again.  The new casting of the MB1275 '86 Ford F-150 in red.  

Another one that debuted in batch C of the singles, now makes its way over to 5-packs as well.  Unchanged.  Or is it?

If you are me, then yes, it is different.  If you are not like me, it was a duplicate.  

Because look how different the shade of red is.  I was not expecting that.  I am extremely happy with it.  It is just so much darker.  

There was only a 7-week gap between them.  But that was plenty of time to get a variation in for the nutty folk.  

The MB1274 Speed Striker, the third new casting from batch C singles, also appears again. But this one is new.  

It now appears in an olive look with a brown bag section at the rear, and regular black wheels.  Again, though, one side gets a detailed engine, but the other doesn't.

Bringing in the single release for a side by side, we see that was red with a grey bag rear.  It also sported a chromed wheel.  

So it is nice that we have 2 of them.  I don't know if we will ever see this casting again.  So they got some uses out of it while they could.  

The 4th vehicle in this pack is the MB1114 Armored Action Truck.  This is a model that just went nuts.  Considering this is a Jurassic World exclusive, never been used outside of it, it has the most variations of the castings they made for the series.  

Because this blue, battle damaged looking model, is all new for this pack too.  I think I need a dive back to cross-reference all that came before.  

Because this casting first debuted in the very first batch of Jurassic World items in 2018.  It was in the Island Transport Team set, and after an initial run in a pale matte blue, switched to pale grey for the remainder of the run.  

However, this was the model that was in an exclusive alternate colour for the 5-pack.  For this, it was in a shiny charcoal look.  

When it was later re-run as a battle damaged model, it was a part of the entire first batch that was re-run.  But unlike any of the others, this was not in a standard look with added mud and/or claw marks.  This one switched to a green look.  And yes, I found a shade to the green.  

You might also notice that the number on the side has vanished too.  Singles were sporting an 05 in the side tampo, and multipacks a 12 in the side tampo.  But this one has nothing.  Just mud and claw marks.  

For 2019, the multipack issue was brought forward to both single and 5-pack release this time.  However, for 2019, the wheels switched from a dark blue to a nice bright shiny chrome.  

For 2020, the Battle Damage model was brought forward to the random 5-pack that was issued to keep the licence active. This new run was a darker green than either of the 2018s I had found.  

Then, earlier this year, the 2018 multipack issue of the Truck came back for a third outing.  Still sporting shiny wheels, it was now a much darker charcoal.  And for some reason, the 12 grew on the side.  So this has seen a lot of action, and many variants over the years.  It also means I'm keeping all 4 of the vehicles included in this set.  Woohoo!  Bonus!  

Talking of bonuses, as with all the other Jurassic 5-packs this year, we get a dinosaur in lieu of a 5th vehicle.  This time it is an atrociraptor.  

Atrociraptors never appeared in the films before the Dominion one, so these are some of the newest dinsaurs we have seen.  A set of 4 were bred, supposedly from modified velociraptors in the film.  They were named Ghost, Red, Tiger and Panthera.  Ghost was an off-white, but the other 3 were sort of fairly close to this look.  But none really match up.  But we only saw the 1 set of 4.  There were supposedly others.  These were just the ones that were intercepted in Malta and chased after the heroes of the film.  So this look could be a facsimile of any other type of atrociraptor look.  

But because in the film, these were supposedly bred from modified velociraptors, you can see how Mattel used the same cast pieces to build the atrociraptor as they did for Blue.  But I have to admit, the lack of an eye detail is a bit of a let-down.  It really needed to have eyes tampo printed on.  Which is weird, as they were printing loads of little dots over the body.  They could have quite easily made a large black blob to depict the eye.  

And that brings me to the e.... No, wait, I am still not finished.  Because during 2022, Mattel released a number of Mattel Creations models.  I showcased 2 of them just recently, but this is the last of the 2022 Creations.  A Jurassic Park themed set.  

I don't think I have ever shown this before, but on the Mattel Creations models, when you first take them out of the boxes, they are wrapped in tissue paper.  Rip, tear, yes I can be a dinosaur.  

What we have here is a very highly detailed rendering of the MB1128 '93 Ford Explorer 04. Being the one of the 2 in the film that really took all the pounding, especially as the T-rex went nuts with it, I understand why they went with 04 and not 05. You might notice the background in the package depicts the fencing it was driving by.  

As is usual with Mattel Creations items, this did get a little write-up on the rear.  

When you open the model up, you can see how they marked up the track on the base section that the vehicles were travelling on.  These were automated vehicles at the end of the day.  It's the little attention to detail that I admire.  

Now, this is a much shiner model than the real ones were.  It has been blinged up a little for the Mattel Creations release.  

Which means this gets a full tampo treatment.  Ford badge and headlights on the front.  

Along with a fully detailed rear end. This is definitely a big difference to the regular issue(s).  

It even saw the window area all blacked out around the edges.  Little things. Because, if you were to look at the real ones, they were detailed around the windows in black.  

Now sadly, I do not own one, as only a few were ever made, but I think this blinged up look is reminiscent of the original pitch that Mattel made to Universal for obtaining the licence.  They took the MB860 Ford Explorer casting, blinged it up in a look reminiscent of this one, and presented it to Universal to show what they could do.  A handful exist. I have seen one, but do not own one.  I do think this is also paying homage to that model in a way, as a mark of resect in helping to obtain the licence in the first place.  But how does this compare to the regular issue(s)?

Well, the standard "clean" model only arrived this year.  Hard to believe, but we never had a clean 04 until 2022, and by the end of the year had 2 of them.  It was a part of the Legacy Land 'n Sea Squad 5-pack earlier in 2022.  

As you can see, the tampo printing used on the new model was not taken from the earlier one.  The red stripes are all different.  The 04 is a different font.  The roof is completely red, not having more of the stripes on it.  If you were to compare it to the real ones from the film, I would say, apart from being a shinty red/green/yellow, the design itself is a more accurate representation of the ones from the film.  The number does look thinner like that.  The red tiger stripes going over the front and sides do seem to match better.  As I said, black around the windows is correct, as well as a full red roof section.  Yes, the wheels are totally blinged up.  But Matchbox doesn't have any in their toolbank that look anything like the real ones.  I think it is a very good rendering.  I am bringing in the rest, aren't I.

The one that has been seen since 2018, the muddied up version.  

After the T-rex was finished with it.  Wrecked!  This was in 2019 singles and in 2022 singles.  

And then the 2019 5-pack exclusive with the muddy wheels/base too.  

So there we have it.  04, the full range.  Showroom fresh.  On the track.  Muddied up.  Wrecked.  Wrecked and muddy.  The 5 different looks. Hmm!  5!  I should bring in the 05s too, just to finish off.  

Yeah, that's it.  On the track.  Well, it was not taken off the track.  Not muddied up or wrecked.  So we only have the clean 05.  And with that, I do believe, yes this is it. Jurassic is done.  The second trilogy, and the Matchbox items.  

Over the course of 2022, I added 6 dinosaurs to my "extras" collection.  I do tend to keep accessories that come with Matchbox items, just in case.  I liked these.  Furthermore, I admit, I pondered getting some more from Mattel in the little boxes.  I didn't but I pondered it.  

The 2022 series gave us 6 brand-new castings to add to the collection, including 2 Jeeps.  

Three of which ended up in 2 versions by the end of the series.  

And a 4th had a cool shade variation.  So for me, 4 of the castings debuting for 2022 added 2 to my collection.  

We also saw a number of really cool new looks for castings, including a number not originally from the Jurassic series.

Although some clearly were.  

It has been quite the journey with the 2018, 2019 and now 2022 series of Jurassic stuff.  What? Did I ignore 2015?  They were sort of just thrown together last minute.  2018 was where this journey really started.  It finishes where Jurassic Park began, with a Ford Explorer.  

So that is it.  Time to go their separate ways.  I will be very surprised if I see any new Matchbox 2023 Jurassic stuff.  There may be some repeat stuff, or there may not.  I don't know.  And with the second trilogy now over, this is it for the Jurassic Park/World adventure.  For the time being.  I know the producers have left a few doors open for potential new ideas at some point in the future.  But nothing has been decided, and nothing is likely to happen for many years.  But you know what toy companies are like.  Happy to milk things as long as there is still a market for it.  And that is it for this report.  I hope you haven't all fallen asleep.  Next week will be a more regular looking report.  I will be doing a few double ups in the near future as I catch up, but I try to mix things up and not do them all in one go.  Until then, I hope everybody has a good week.