For today's post, I had to start with the car that I wanted the most. The car in question, is the 1971 MGB Coupe, which is debuting this year. Not to bash on Mattel's Hot Wheels brand, but I'm personally glad that Matchbox was the brand to release this classic. Had it been released by Hot Wheels, then it's body might've took on more of a racing appearance. The Fairlady 2000 Hot Wheels casting is a perfect example of this. Now... there's nothing wrong with cars from Hot Wheels being designed that way, it's just great to see a stock looking version of this car.
Though blue is my favorite color, I really like their choice to finish this first release in red. Like a few other colors, red is one of those colors that just works on classics sports cars. Especially when it's the shade of red that was used for this release. I should also mention, that British racing green, and cream are among some of the other colors that I feel, would also make this model look great. As such, I hope to see many more releases of this casting with the aforementioned colors.
Now then, like I mentioned, this releases has a stock appearance, so that means that it doesn't feature any designs. It was however, given front and rear tampo details. The front, was given grill details as well as the MG badge. The front was also given bumper details. The only details missing from the front are head lights, which is fine by me of course. Unlike the front end, the rear of this model was given tail lights. But that's not all! The rear end also features a United Kingdom license plate. I love this detail a lot, as it gives the model an authentic international look. Also applied to the rear are the would-be badges. Those include the MG and B GT badges.
I also like the smaller details that were given to the rear. One of those details, is basically a silver dot, which is the gas cap on the real car. In all honesty they could've left this detail out, but I'm glad they didn't. It's little details like this, that further compete the model for me.
Up next, is the 2015 Jaguar F-Type Coupe. I'm glad Matchbox has this casting in their roster. If not for this one, then the only F-Type from Mattel, would be the Project 7 from their Hot Wheels brand. Don't get me wrong, that casting is great in it's own right, it's just nice to have a coupe version of the F-Type. So far, this is the fourth release of this casting, and it's the second one in my collection. This casting made it's debut back in 2015, which was one year before I decided to start looking at this brand. And I'm glad I did, because if not, I would've been missing out on all kinds of great diecast models like this one.
Though I missed out on the first release, which was black, I am happy with the two that I have. The first one in my collection, is the orange one, which was the second release. The third release, which was a great looking dark green, was sadly only released in the 9 packs. I typically don't get those by the way. Thankfully though, this fourth release was given a fantastic color, which is the main aspect that I like about this release. For this release, the Matchbox team decided to finish it in a fantastic shade of dark blue. The wheels given to it, are the same ones that were used on the last three releases. That isn't a bad thing, as these wheels don't look too bad on this casting, although I do hope they eventually get a new wheel for their basic releases.
As far as details go, this release was given the same details that were applied to the first three releases of this casting. So the front features head lights, while the rear features tail lights and the would-be badges. Also like the first three, this too was given a black tampo coating over the hood vents. This ultimately gives them a somewhat realistic appearance in my opinion.
The next car for today's feature, is the 2018 Dodge Charger. This casting made it's Matchbox debut last year, and I'm happy to see it being used again. In fact, I personally like this second release much better than the first one. And it all has to do with the color. The Matchbox team decided to finish this release's exterior in a beautiful shade of blue. In fact it's color, is what made this the first car that caught my attention on the pegs. Even if you don't typically like blue, you have to admit that this shade of blue made this an excellent model.
Like the first release, this too was given the Matchbox 5 spoke wheels finished in silver. Like I mentioned with the Jaguar, I do think it's time for Matchbox to make a new basic wheel. Look at Hot Wheels for example, in the last few years, they have made a few new basic and premium wheels. Despite how I feel though, and since Matchbox has a limited amount of basic wheels, I don't have a issue with the wheels that are currently being used for this casting.
The front and rear of this model feature some great details that help to liven up this release. The front details include lights, which are always a welcomed sight on any 1:64 scale model. Like the front, the rear also features light details. I also like how the rear features this car's badges. Another cool detail on the rear is the license plate. Looking at it's design, it appears to be based off of Michigan's plate. Though hard to see in my picture, the top section of the plate says Matchbox instead of Michigan.
The next car that I got from this mix, is the 1962 Volkswagen Beetle. Back in 2018 this casting got a retool, and of the retooled models, this is my second one. The first one in my collection was the blue one, which is currently still my favorite. And Although I like that one more than this one, there's no denying how cool this release is. This release is absolutely wild, and I do mean that in a good way. The main aspect that sticks out, is it's exterior color. For this release's exterior, the decision was made to use pink. This color for me, makes this model special in my collection due to the color not being used as much.
Exterior color aside, there is another aspect that further complements it's wild looks. The aspect in question, is the design. For this release's design, I'm going to go ahead and use the phrase ''Two peas in a pod.'' The reason for that, has to do with it being the exact same design that was applied to the recent Matchbox Superfast release of the '59 Volkswagen 23 Microbus. I personally like this because it creates a little two car set. The only thing that's different between the two, is the colors. Sadly, the front and rear of this release weren't given any tampo details.
The last two aspects that I like about this release, are it's wheels and interior color. For the wheels, the Matchbox team decided to use the same disk wheels that were used on the last couple of releases of this casting. This wheel choice is perfectly fine for me. Let's be honest here, when it comes to VW beetles, you can never go wrong with steel wheels. Now then, the reason that I like the interior, is due to it being tan. I don't know about you, but for me, this is a very interesting interior/exterior color scheme. I also feel that it adds to the overall uniqueness of this release.
Then next vehicle from this mix that was checked off my want list, is Jeep Wrangler Rollbar (18#). There is a specific reason that I wanted to get this release. As most of you already know, Matchbox released a variety of Jurassic Park themed vehicles. Sadly... I chose not to get any of them when they were being released. That was a huge mistake, as I ended up regretting that decision. Thankfully though, Matchbox decided to release another Jurassic Park themed Jeep. As such, I decided not to repeat past mistakes.
I must say, that I really like how they were able to re-create this Jeep in 1:64 scale. It's exterior was finished in a tan, that if not exact, is close enough to the one seen in the movie. Now as cool as this release is, there are a few things that I would like to point out. The first of those things, has to do with the design. Since it's been a while since I saw any of these movies, I decided to pull up some pictures to use as a reference. With the red stripes on it's sides, they are supposed to go all the way down. Instead, Matchbox stopped them just before the wheel arches. Another detail that's not quite right, is the size of the number 18. Aside from those two gripes though, all the other details for the most part, are spot on. I also like how this release's sides were given the Jeep logo in yellow, which is accurate to the one seen in the movie.
In terms of front and rear details, this model doesn't feature any. This however is fine by me, as I'm ultimately just happy to finally have a Jurassic Park themed Jeep in my collection. When it comes to the wheels, this model was given their six spokes finished in red. The real Jeep seen in the movies, used five spoke wheels. There is one reason why this isn't a issue for me, and it has to do with the design of this casting. The back half of this casting, was designed to feature a spare wheel. The design of the spare, is the same wheel as the ones used. I will say, that it would've been cool to see a red tampo coating over the spare. However, this is a $1 Matchbox mainline after all, so it's details won't be as good as a slightly more expensive premium.
The last vehicle being featured in this post, is the 2018 Jeep Wrangler JL. This casting made it's debut back in 2019, and so far has had three great releases. One of the three releases, was in a Walmart exclusive Jeep set. When it comes to the two mainline releases, I won't lie when I say that I still like the initial release that most. That's because it was finished in a green, that I'd say is based on Jeep's mojito green. For this second mainline release, the Matchbox team decided to go with metallic white for it's exterior color. Of course there's nothing wrong with white, it's just in my opinion, white seems to be one of the more common colors you see on vehicles today. This is why I like the green release more.
One thing that I like about Matchbox and their stock looking releases, is how they remain consistent with some of the features. And what I mean by that, is the tampo details as well as the wheels. Both of these aspects are the same as the first release. This ultimately makes it so someone could have a variety of stock looking vehicles for a realistic dealership diorama. The one thing that is missing from all three releases, are front end details. Despite being great releases as a whole, I do feel that having head lights, would make this casting's releases look even better. At the end of the day though, this release is a welcomed addition to my collection.
Welp that's a wrap for mix 4. If I had to pick two favorites from this mix, I'd go with the MGB and Jurassic Park Jeep. Nothing beats a classic, and I'm happy that I got a second chance at a Jurassic Park Jeep. So racers, what was your favorite vehicle from this mix? Feel free to let me know down in the comments section. Alright that's all for this edition of Looking at. Thanks for reading, and happy diecast collecting.
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