Hello, and welcome to a new edition of My Want List. So why did I title this post the way I did? Well, in case you missed it, last month I was able to get all of the releases I wanted from this year's Hot Wheels case A. And thankfully, it's the same story with this year's first Matchbox mix. Like most of collectors, I'm usually not able to get everything I want from one store. In fact, there's been times where it took a whole month before I was able complete a case specific want list. Last year's case Q is a perfect example of that. Anyway, today is all about the releases I wanted from this year's first Matchbox mainline mix. So let's get this post started!
Do you consider a car to be rare because it's from a bygone era, or do you consider it to be rare because there weren't that many made? No matter what your answer is, it's no lie that the first release for today's post is rare because it's from a bygone era and there weren't that many made. So what's this rare car I'm talking about? Well, it's the 1949 Kurtis Sports Car, and it's a brand-new Matchbox casting.
I know I can't be the only one that didn't know about this car, right? Okay... since I can only hear crickets, that means I'm the only one. Well, I have no issue admitting when I have to do some homework on a vehicle. And this release caused me to once again turn to various sites like Wikipedia. The last time Matchbox made me do that was two years ago when they gave us the 1956 Powell Sport Pickup.
Despite not knowing anything about this car, it instantly made it to my want list because of its sporty appearance. Like I always used to say, I love the timeless look of these cars. Now, I honestly thought this car was from another country based on the design of its body. But what I didn't know was that this car is American. In fact, according to what I read, this car is regarded as the first "true American sports car."
As for how I feel about the casting, I think it came out great. In my opinion, it's a perfect 1:64 scale replica. And that's why I hope it gets many more releases than the Powell Sport Pickup, which has so far only had one release. I, for one, would love to see them use all of the colors they used for their other classic car castings. So that's colors like dark green, light blue, and cream yellow.
Mitsubishi is one manufacturer that's starting to show up more when you go down the diecast row. Not too long ago, Hot Wheels gave us two new premium castings. And now, Matchbox has given us another one. Making its debut is the 1994 Mitsubishi 3000GT.
This is actually not the first 3000GT from Matchbox. Back in the '90s, Matchbox gave collectors the Spyder version of this car. And if they wanted to, they could have simply made an updated version of it. But I feel it was a much better idea to make this version, and I definitely appreciate how they chose to make it for their mainline. Since premiums from Hot Wheels are difficult to find, I can honestly say that I more interested in this casting's future. I mean, I'll get the Hot Wheels VR-4 whenever I can find it. But this 1994 3000GT is the one I'll be looking forward to each year.
I'm sure many of you were unable to add the Hot Wheels 3000GT to your collection due to it being near impossible to find premiums at any retail store. So hopefully being in the mainline will give more of you the chance to have at least one 3000GT in your collection. I know its exterior is slightly different, but at the end of the day it's still a 3000GT.
Zooming off of the pegs, and into my garage is the next release of the '15 Mazda MX-5 Miata. In an older post (I don't remember which one), I made mention of how I love Matchbox because they give us plain versions of cars. And that's the reason why I would look forward to a release of this casting from Matchbox. After all, Hot Wheels has yet to give us a plain release of their '15 Miata, and they probably never will. And that's fine by me, since I have the Matchbox ones. Anyway, for this year's release of the '15 Miata, the Matchbox designers chose to switch things up by applying a design to it.
Although I look forward to plain releases of this Miata, I will have no issue if this is the direction they choose to go going forward. After all, doing something different does keep things fresh, and it's not like they haven't already given us a few plain releases. But this is Matchbox after all, so the next release will most likely be plain.
A few years ago, there were certain vehicles I would have never added to my want list. Back then, I was mostly interested in collecting cars. But things are a whole lot different now, which is why the new 2018 Dodge Durango is the next release I checked off of my want list. Even though Hot Wheels also makes SUVs, Matchbox is the brand I'll look to first whenever I want a nice 1:64 scale replica of one. And I happen to think this is a really nice replica. That's why its future releases will be on my want list.
Although I think this is a nice replica, I'm sure some of you won't like it as much due to the fact that it has a black window piece. Having this piece instead of a clear one, means they most likely didn't create an interior for this casting. And I will admit that diecast models look better when they have a visible interior. So I can completely understand why some of you won't like it. I, for one, am just glad they gave us a new SUV to collect, which is why I can ignore this section of it.
The 2019 Audi TT RS Coupe is the next release I'm going to talk about, and let me start by saying that I'm a little bit disappointed with the color they chose for it. Lately, it seems like red and blue are the go-to colors for a new casting. So if they start with blue, then the next release will be red. And if they start with red, then the next one will be blue. The C8 and the 2020 Jeep Gladiator are a perfect example of that. Now, don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with a red TT RS Coupe. So don't think I hate this release. After all, I did add it to my want list, and I would have eventually wanted a red one. It's just I would have given collectors something a little different. You know, something to make everyone say wow!
There are many colors they could have picked to make this one really stand out from the debut release. After all, they don't have to make every release look like what you'd expect to see sitting at a dealership. So what they could have done was make this release purple with black wheels, or they could have made it yellow. I'm sure you all have your own opinion on what color they could have used, but those are just two of the options I instantly thought of.
Okay, I'm not going to complain about this release too much, and like I said, there's nothing wrong with a red TT RS Coupe. And I'm sure a lot of you were hoping they'd release one finished in red. So this release is sure to please many in the diecast community.
The 2019 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible is the next release checked off of my want list, and I happen to like this release just a tad bit more than the previous releases of it. Although... there is one design choice I don't like, but I'll get to that in a second. First, I'd like to put the spotlight on its exterior color, which is a marvelous metallic orange.
This is what I mean when I said something to make everyone say wow! And that was definitely my reaction when I first laid eyes on this release. They truly made this third release stand out from the previous ones by finishing it in this color. Of course, that's just my own opinion, and you might still think the debut release's color was the best. But if I wanted to be the center of attention on the road, then this is the color I'd pick for a convertible Beetle.
Now I'm going to talk about the wheels, since they are the one thing I don't like. Personally, they are not the right type of wheel for a modern car. And I will forever be critical about certain wheels being used for certain cars. The debut release of the DBR1 in another example of what I mean. Even though I have one on display, I still don't like how it looks with the five spoke wheels. That is why I feel it's time for Matchbox to have more basic wheels at their disposal. Anyway, as for this release of the Beetle Convertible, I would have considered either giving it the six spoke wheels or the ten spoke wheels. So despite liking this one just a tad bit more, I will admit that the wheels are the one thing the debut release has over it.
The weather is once again perfect at the BLVD, which means it's a great day to take the latest release of the '20 jeep Gladiator out for a spin. As you all know, this casting made its debut two years ago. And one of the things I said in the post I published, was that I hope the next release of this casting is finished in a color that hasn't already been used for the Hot Wheels version. I also said, as cool as it is to have matching releases, it's also nice to have some variety among them as well. Unfortunately, that has yet to happen. However, there is a reason why I don't mind them using a similar color for this release.
As you know, Hot Wheels also gave collectors a bright green Gladiator, and I didn't end up liking it due to how visible the decal on the door became. In my opinion, the decal on the door wasn't really necessary, and I feel the stripe would have been good enough. Anyway, since this release is plain, I feel it's a great alternative to that one. So that's why I don't mind them used a similar color this time around.
The last release I got is the 2011 Mini Countryman. Overall, this casting has had some nice releases, and this latest one is just as nice. In fact, due to a specific design choice, this release currently stands out from the other ones. And no, I'm not talking about the blue they used for its exterior.
As you can see, this release was given the split ten spoke wheels. Now, in case you haven't noticed, all of the previous releases of this casting were given the five spoke wheels. Obviously there's nothing wrong with that, but it is refreshing to see one that's a little different.
This truly is a nice release, but I have to say, a license plate would have made it look even better. I mean... why not create one for a release of this casting? So far, the license plate section on each release has featured "COOPER S." In my opinion, it would have been awesome if they gave this release a European style plate like Hot Wheels has done with some of their releases.
Okay, those are all eight of the releases I got from this year's mix one. Now, it is worth mentioning that my mix one want list initially had nine releases on it, but I chose to remove the ninth one once I saw it on the pegs. The release in question is the Nissan Harbody (D21), and I chose to leave it behind because it's basically a recolor of the one from the Truck Series. And that release is basically a recolor of the debut one. So I didn't feel the need to have a third one with the same side design.
Besides that one release, I feel Matchbox has started the year off right. And I can't wait to see what else they have planned for us.
So how do you feel about this first mix? Go ahead and let me know down in the comments section. Alright, that's all for this edition of My Want List. Till next time, thanks of reading, and happy collecting. And remember, these are just toys.
