276°
Posted 20 hours ago

Matchbox 5-Pack of 1:64 Scale Vehicles, 5 Toy Car Collection of Real-World Replicas for Kids 3 Years Old & Up, C1817

£40.995£81.99Clearance
ZTS2023's avatar
Shared by
ZTS2023
Joined in 2023
82
63

About this deal

It was also added to the 2008 Best of British series too also in red as red was its most logical colour, they were going with variations on a red theme. Mind you I couldn’t help but notice how different the shade of brown was too. I don’t think there is a crossover, as these were 2 entirely different runs in different years. In 2017 it nudged up to MB62 in an El Segundo Fire Dept theme. They even managed to sneak in a third tampo print to a basic range release, which these days is not easy to do. Each 1:64 scale vehicle is highly detailed from bumper to fender with realistic accents like rolling wheels and lifelike decos.

Now I rarely do code 2 models, but once in a while something appeals to me because of who has made it. In this case, Keith had a special run made of the MB1087 ’33 Plymouth PC Sedan. Being friends, I was interested in acquiring one of the 30 that were made through Color Comp. They took the original 2018 debut version of the Plymouth which sported a Police side design. The MB55-B Mercury Commuter Police Car. Inspired by the Ford Interceptor Utility as I do SUVs as being somewhat closely linked to wagons (albeit taller) and this one was also in white just the like the new SUV is.But it was not just a US exclusive. In 2000 Mattel were going nuts with the basic range, creating 5 different series. The US would see a set of 100 models, where the ROW range would see 75. But the ROW market had some exclusive not in the US range, the US had 25 additional exclusives not in the ROW range, but the ROW range also split further. With the UK, German and Australian markets being their strongest markets at the time, each one of these saw a set of 10 from the 75 being exclusive to their market. The UK saw the Ambulance as MB38. This was in a Metropolitan Police theme. Box is gone. Recue/Rescue, it makes no difference to me. I am all about these 5 really cool little models. They are all based on vehicles that are in the Boone County vehicle pool. There were 7 models in this set including 5 miniatures, 1 Working Rig and this Skybuster. It is pretty rare for me to show Skybusters as I don’t collect them, but this is the SB86 Airblade.

This is a really impressive set, and I can imagine that Keith, and those he works with, are extremely happy with the way it all came out. I just wanted to share some pictures of the Thank You Heroes set that was released at the start of the year. I have shown 2 of them in this report, which should have been after showing these pictures, but as I was delayed in showing these I will just show them again. But it is really nice seeing the new Ambulance casting getting more use. Plus being a real one is always nice too. Again, this is a nice colour scheme, and a white ambulance always works week with a real license. And as well as this one, we have also seen this is in the Thank You Heroes set at the start of the year.But you know what I am like. I did some older models inspired by vehicles from this set too. So first up…. In 2000 this model did see a release in the “other” ROW markets, as MB15. This meant the UK, German and Australian markets did not get it, as well as the US market which had a distinctly different range. The added play value with the side that extends out and stairs that lead down from it are just the icing on the cake for this model. Great work on this one. Or with the base. This came with an all-new base stating it was the police car, but could have quite easily used the base for the MB59 Fire Chief/MB73 Commuter as they were using the same base as each other.

Next up is the MB1178 International TerraStar Ambulance. This is sporting the Boone County Fire District Emergency Medical Services livery. Or MCI vehicle as it is often referred to, standing for Mass Casualty Incident vehicle. You might notice on the door it states MCI 514. Picture courtesy of Keith Hoskins Again a very nice design. These models all look to have been very tastefully and respectfully created honouring those who just kept on going during the most difficult of times. In 1998 Mattel was still in the midst of sorting out all that they had now accumulated from the Tyco takoever and as such they did a few things. They changed the way the basic range was numbered, adopting a pattern as used by the brand they already owned, which meant the Ambulance moved to the MB25 slot for 1998 whereas until 1997 models would run for years as the same number. Although they took over the brand in late 1996, 1997 was already set up and ready to go (they do work in advance), and with a changeover in progress work on the 1998 range was a little slow. New castings were the priority, but a lot of designs were simply carried forward in alternate colours, and the Ambulance was one of them. Same tampo design, but now it was yellow and red. It was something that Tyco often did anyway, create alternate colours for models using the same design, so why not just carry it on. For 2000 it continued on as a US exclusive, this time as MB87 in silver with an EMT design on the side. Being in the US series in 2000 meant a Matchbox 2000 logo appearing somewhere. For this model it was in the side window in the rear unit on the first 10,000 examples before being dropped for the rest of production. We get the MB1091 eStar Electric Van in white. This is done as a thank you to all those key workers who stayed in stores to allow us to go out and buy what we needed, or those who spent all day driving around delivering our essentials to keep us going.

Next up we get the MB817 Ford F-550 Super Duty in white and yellow. This is based on a real vehicle. Picture courtesy of Keith Hoskins A nice blue and really funny design. To me it looks like they are throwing a box at your home. Ha ha! We then get the MB1179 2016 Ford Interceptor Utility in white. Again based on one of the real vehicles they use. Picture courtesy of Keith Hoskins After the first year, they had exhausted what was left of the original label and came up with a new Police label which saw the model through to the end of production in 1974. It was made in silver with a nod to the news teams who spend countless hours reporting on all of the events of the last year and a half, never stopping in their quest to give us all the latest news.

I tried taking a photo viewing inside the roof. But you need to do a proper close up with a light that shines inside to show off the 2 interiors. Next up after seeing the first use of a casting, we now saw the last use of a casting. The MB877 International Pumper had been going since 1999 and saw a change in 2012 to incorporate the lighter bar into the window section. This particular MAN number only saw 3 uses, and Boone County happened to be the last one. It was in the 2015 Supreme Heroes series. This was the first year that proper premium products returned to the Matchbox brand after Lesney Edition was dropped in 2011. Boone County was in the last year of premium (the Ambulance) and the first year of the rebirth. Boone County is quite the significant license isn’t it. There are 5 segments for the 2023 1-100 Series: MBX Metro, MBX Roadtrip, MBX Adventure, MBX Showcase and MBX 70 Years Special Edition. It is a very good casting with lots of play features, and for this release was given a Mobile Hospital themed outing. Very VERY important during the last year, that care was given to those who needed it. Again this is a real livery, and this time it is spot on. No slight tweaks or anything. It even has MCI 514 on the door. Well actually, just in front this time. Of course the actual model is not of the real one that Boone County use, but Matchbox has already done one with the tooling that is closest to it. You may notice the star of life is not there. There are issues as it is its own mini-license and does require additional verifications before production. So they simply left it off this time.

Hazard Squad. Yes this is a Matchbox originals design, but can you tell what the real one is? Picture courtesy of Keith Hoskins After 2001 the model was pretty much finished. However, I know I said I wasn’t going to do any of the premium ones, but this was a lovely little model. I couldn’t resist showing off the swansong. It was part of a premium set made in 2002 called True Heroes, containing 4 models all from various walks of life. A police car, a fire unit, a tank and this ambulance. You see this ties in with something I am tagging on to the end of this report. It returned in 2002 in quite a big way for what would be one huge send-off. It was a part of the Across America series in red for Texas. It was also a bonus model for the “Central” part of USA too in bronze, with another Texas themed design.

Asda Great Deal

Free UK shipping. 15 day free returns.
Community Updates
*So you can easily identify outgoing links on our site, we've marked them with an "*" symbol. Links on our site are monetised, but this never affects which deals get posted. Find more info in our FAQs and About Us page.
New Comment