Okay collectors, it's once again time to take a look at a full diecast assortment. This time it's from this year's last Matchbox Superfast assortment. This year's Superfast has given us some wonderful models to collect. Earlier in the year, we got models like the '74 Dodge Challenger and a nicely decorated '59 Volkswagen Microbus. Then we got models like the racing themed '71 Nissan Skyline 2000 GTX and a '18 Range Rover Vogue SE that's finished in a nice shade of orange. And now, we got five more models that are all just as nice the first ten models. So without further ado, let's get today's in-depth review started.
The '80 Porsche 911 Turbo is up first. I had to start with this one, as it's one of the cooler models from this assortment. Although this isn't the first one to feature a design, it is the first one to feature a racing theme. Now before I get to the design, I should also mention that I like how they chose to finish this model's exterior in grey. This was the perfect canvas color for the design's colors.
The main colors used for the design, are orange and yellow. Black was utilized for the outlines. Overall, the design itself is somewhat simple. And I do mean simple in a good way. The design on the sides was designed to match the shape of this Porsche's fender and quarter panel. Designs that are shaped to match a vehicles body, are actually really cool in my opinion. The design applied to the top of this model was done in a similar fashion. It matches the shape of the hood as well as the roof.
As I've already mentioned, this release has a racing theme. As such, it was given a racing number circle with the number 2. It was also applied to the hood. This is something that I like to see. Being placed on top of the model makes the racing theme look more complete. One of the design aspects that I thought was interesting, was how the decision was made to make the side racing number small and place it on the quarter panel. I'm used to seeing a detail like this placed on the doors. So for me, this is one of the things that makes this model neat.
Sadly, this Porsche wasn't given any of the decals that I like to see on race themed models. It was however, given a few like "Porsche" that was applied to the sides as well as the roof and "Matchbox" which was only applied to the roof. The hood was given "Superfast" as well as the other Matchbox fantasy decals that were placed on the sides of this model.
Like the first Superfast release of this Porsche, this too was given the lace wheels. These wheels will always work on a racing themed car. In fact, if I'm honest, these type of wheels would look great on any Porsche. Now with the ones on this model, I really like how the decision was made to make them bronze with a chrome lip. For me, this was an excellent color choice as it goes so well with the color scheme featured on the exterior of this model.
Up next, is the 2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor. This release was given some great looking design aspects, and being finished in white helped to make it all possible. After all, white makes it so a design can feature a wider variety of colors. The overall design utilizes black, red, and yellow. The main section of it, is a cool looking pattern done in black that spans the entire length of the sides. Two red slanted stripes are featured over the front wheel arch. Personally, stripes placed over a pattern is a neat little idea.
The designer of this release also decided to give the sides of this model a black stripe with a thinner yellow stripe within it. This stripe also created a great space for the decals to be placed. Now the decals featured on this model are all fantasy ones, but the designers that work for Mattel's diecast brands do a good job at making realistic looking ones. The SVT Raptor logo applied to this model, is nicely sized and was placed in a slanted position. Aside from the size and position of it, I also like how the decision was made to make it yellow with a red outline. The back half of this model's sides were given a red number box with the number 8 and another fantasy decal. This section was also given this tail light details.
The theme on the sides is continued on the front and rear ends of this model. Like the sides, the front was given red stripes. This pickup truck's grill letters were done in red, which looks cool over the grill details. And of course, the front was also given detailed headlights. The red stripes were also applied to the tailgate. A black tampo was also placed on the center section of the tailgate. Within it, are the Matchbox and SVT Raptor logos.
One of the other things that I like about this release, is how it was given a red base. In my eyes, this complements the theme featured on this model nicely.
The wheels given to this release appear to be the RRDragS from Mattel's Hot Wheels brand. I must say, these wheels look really good on this particular model. I do have one small gripe though, and it's with the tire choice. Racing slick styled tires don't go with the off-road theme in my opinion. So for me, I feel the tires should have been ones with tread. Now I'm not entirely sure, but there is a possibility that those kind of tires wouldn't have fit this casting's wheel wells. So the tires are ultimately something I can ignore.
The '68 Dodge D200 Pickup 4X4 is the next vehicle from this assortment. This is third release of this casting, and it is the first one to feature a design. It was also given a nice color scheme. Like white, black is another great exterior color for a design that features multiple colors. Applied to this release, is a nice custom Skyjaker Suspension livery that utilizes orange, white, and grey. The design that was created looks fantastic. What I like, is how it was made using of stripes and tear style graphics.
The sides of this release were given two additional details. They are "Zoltan Racing" and "MBX Off Road." Now yes, their designers are great at making fantasy decals, but for a model that cost $5, you would expect to at least see some additional real-life aftermarket decals as well. But at the end of the day, a decal is better than no decal. Completing the sides of this model, is this pickup's fender emblem.
This release's hood was given the livery as well. The Skyjacker logo was placed in a slanted position over a orange tear design that's on the passenger side of the hood. With the logo, I think it was a great idea to make it big enough to span across most of the hood.
Only the rear of this release was given details, which is fine by me. The white and orange stripe that runs along the top of this model's sides, is continued on the rear with the Skyjacker logo placed over it. The lower half of the tailgate was given a thin orange pinstripe that outlines the section of the tailgate with the raised letters. This additional pinstripe was a nice touch in my opinion. Smaller details like this, can go a long way when it comes to the overall appearance of a model. The rear was also given tail lights. What's interesting about them, is that the detail appears to be an outline of lights. Personally, this gives the model the look of having custom tail lights. It really doesn't look too bad regardless of whether or not they were trying to go for that look.
The wheels chosen for this release, appear to be the RRPrf from Mattel's Hot Wheels brand. Personally, it was a great idea to make them orange. Being this color helps to further liven up this model. Now unlike the SVT Raptor, this D200 was given off-road tires. For this model, I couldn't have asked for a better wheel and tire combination than this.
One of the other things that I like about this release, is how it was given a chrome plastic base. As you know, the two mainline releases were given a grey plastic one. I feel a chrome one looks better on a casting like this where the base is also the bumpers.
The '62 Jeep Willys Wagon is the fourth vehicle from this assortment. This is the first Superfast release of this casting, and it looks slightly cooler than the first two. Now this has nothing to do with it being blue. Although... it is a cool shade of dark blue. The design applied to this release is what I think makes this one cooler. This release's designer, chose to give this model the appearance of being a woody. From what I found out, this was something that was sometimes done to this model's real-life counterpart. And even if it wasn't, I'd still think it was a neat idea for this model.
Although it was given woody details, there are specific sections that were left blue. A pattern that consist of triangles was applied to the section that's underneath the rear windows. This pattern was a nice touch and it complements the overall appearance of this release.
No details were applied to the front of this release, which is something I can look past since the woody theme was also applied to the rear. That even includes the sections that were left blue as well as the pattern that's featured on the sides. The rear end was also given some additional design aspects that further add to the coolness of this release.
For this release's wheels, the decision was made to use the six spoke ones that Matchbox uses for these kind of models. The only bad thing about these, is that they have the same spoke count as the basic wheels that were used for this model's Moving Parts releases. Since Matchbox does appears to be able to use some of the wheels from Hot Wheels, I feel this release should have been given a Real Rider wheel. Some of the wheels that come to mind, are the Hot Wheels RRS or SRRs. As you all know, the 2019 release of the Matchbox '32 Ford Pickup had the RRS wheels, so Matchbox should have been able to use those.
Similar to the D200, this is also the first release of this casting with
a chrome base. And chrome is a much better look for this model's front and rear bumpers.
The last vehicle from this assortment, is the '64 Pontiac Grand Prix. This is the third release of this casting, and it is also the first Superfast release of it. Like the first two releases, this one was also just given a nice shade of red. In my opinion, this is one of those classic cars that does not ever need a design to be cool.
The next two aspects that make this a great looking model to have, are the interior color and base. The decision was made to once again use a tan interior for this model. This is fine by me since it helps to liven things up a little. And red cars do look okay with tan interiors. Like the D200 and Willys Wagon, this is the first release of this casting to feature a chrome plastic base. There are some diecast models that simply look more realistic with a chrome base, and this is one of them.
One of the things that makes this one a little better than the first two, are it's front and rear details. The ones featured on this model, are lights and the year 1964 placed over black square on the license place section. I'm not quite sure if this detail is supposed to be a license plate, as it doesn't have some of the other aspects that would be present on a plate. The details applied to the sides of this release, are the same ones that were applied to the first two releases.
The wheels given to this release, are the Hot Wheels RRLW5s. I think we can all agree that these wheels look fantastic on this model.
Okay collectors, so that's all five of the vehicles from this Superfast assortment. This year's set has turned out great, and I really hope the Matchbox team decides to continue this line for many years to come.
Now I don't have a specific favorite among these five models, as I like each one of theme equally. But if you do, go ahead and let me know down in the comments section.Well that's all for this edition of Looking at. Until next time, thanks for reading and happy collecting.
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