Featured first, is a 1968 Ford Mustang GT CS that has some nice design aspects. For this Mustang, the Matchbox team decided to use metallic purple for it's exterior. I used to not like purple as much, but as time went on, the color has grown on me. I now like it almost as much as I like blue. And I have to admit, that I was stunned at how good this model looked with this paint.
This model also features some subtle, but nice looking stripes. A white stripe runs along the top half of it's sides. A red stripe, starts on the fenders, and then runs along the sides until it get to the side scoops. It then runs down and around the side scoops. I have honestly never though about how a purple car would look with red stripes. The color scheme might not be for everyone, but I have personally come to like it. There are two additional details on this model's fenders. The first one, is a Mustang decal in white, and the second one is a red horse.
The top of this Mustang has some stripes as well. Unlike the sides that have white stripes, the top only has red stripes. These stripe were only given to the hood, which is fine by me. The wheels are one of the other aspects that I found interesting with this Matchbox Mustang. For this release's wheels, the Matchbox team decided to make them black and gold, instead of chrome. To be honest, this color choice is actually pretty cool, and gold does combine well with purple.
The next car is a Mercedes-Benz S 123 Station Wagon. I'm glad Mattel and it's diecast brands have gotten the license to use Mercedes again. This has allowed them to give us car collectors some great looking models like this one. This release doesn't feature any flashy designs, but it was given a nice color. For this release, the Matchbox team decided on a fantastic shade of orange. In fact, this is the reason that I like this release better than the first one.
Despite not having a flashy design, this release does feature front and rear tampo details. The front was given headlights, which is always a welcomed sight. My favorite details though, are the ones that were applied to the rear end of this release. Aside from the would-be chrome features like the Mercedes badge, and the taillights, this model also features California's blue and yellow license plate. As you might know, I love when 1:64 scale diecast cars feature license plates.
The last aspect that I like about this release, are it's wheels, which are same ones that were used on the first release of this casting. Out of all the basic wheels that Matchbox has at it's disposal, these are the best ones for this casting. These wheels have a somewhat similar appearance to the wheels used on the real car. As such, they give this model a period correct look.
Up next, is the 1989 Chevy Blazer 4X4. This one has some interesting design choices, which by all means, aren't that bad. But before I get to those, let me start with the paint, which is the main reason that I got this release. For this Blazer, Matchbox gave it a marvelous shade of gloss purple. With the wheels, I like how Matchbox decided to make them black with a chrome lip. Even though all chrome wheels would've worked on this release too.
Now then... as far as the overall design goes, there are multiple themes going on. It's doors feature a orange rectangle with a somewhat wide black outline. Within this rectangle, are three black squares that have orange squares within them. These orange squares are offset to the side a little. Over the rear wheel arch, is a orange rectangle. It's hood also features multiple themes. The driver side of the hood, has a red stripe with a white number 90 over it. The passenger side of the hood, has a black stripe with multiple designs within it.
The next car that I got from this set, is the 1966 Lamborghini Miura P 400. This Lamborghini is still one of my personal favorites. I mean... you know how I feel, nothing beats the timeless look of classic sports cars. One reason that I wanted this release, was due to me having only one Matchbox Miura in my garage. You can never have too many versions of this awesome car, and it's too bad they don't use it more often. The last time this casting was used, was back in the 2017 Best of Matchbox set.
This Miura release, has a couple of features that I feel, make it a cool model to have. Like the other cars in this set, the exterior color is the first of those features. This Miura's exterior was finished in a fantastic mint green. Now I may be wrong, but as far as I know, no actual Miuras were painted with this color. This is why I feel the way I do about diecast brands like Mattel's. Because of these brands, we get to see how our favorite cars would look, with colors that weren't used on the real life counterpart.
Out of all the releases of this casting, this is the first to feature a design, and I like that it isn't too wild. The design applied to this model sides is rather simple. It consist of two thin lime green stripes, with one wide white stripe in-between them. This model also features a white racing number, within a lime green circle. Next to the racing number circle, is a decal version of the Miura's badge. With the white stripe, it was designed to have a section that wasn't filled in. This section, is what created the decal.
Aside from this being the first one with a design, it is also the first one to feature Matchbox's disk wheels. Unlike my first one, this one wasn't given any rear tampo details. It does however, have the front end details, which includes the headlight section, Lamborghini badge, and the hood vents.
The last vehicle that I got from this set, is the Jeep 4X4. I really like this lifted Jeep casting. There is one reason that I feel this release special. This release, is basically a replication of a 1997 mainline release. As such, I feel that it is right at home, in a retro themed assortment like this.
Like that release, this too features a great shade of blue, as well as the ''COOL MUD'' decal. There is one detail that I feel makes this one better though. Just like the original, this one also has a black design along it's sides. This modern version's design, has more of a mud splatter look. The way it was designed is very fitting, especially when you consider the ''COOL MUD'' decal.
The rear end is another thing that's different from the 1997 mainline release. Back then, this casting had a longer rear bumper. This version of the bumper, featured an antenna on the driver side. This modern version however, lacks this detail. As far as the wheels go, the current ones used for this casting in my opinion, are much better than the ones used back in '97.
Based on these first vehicles, this set looks like it's going to be a cool one to have. I can't wait to see what the next six vehicles are, and I hope they're as good as these ones. So racers, how do you feel about this set so far? Did you get all of them? Or did you do like me, and only get the ones you wanted? Feel free to let me know all this down in the comments section. Okay everyone, back to racing! Until next time, thanks for reading and happy collecting!
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