I do need to mention that I'm not going to like every single release from each assortment. Did you see any of the ones from last year's final assortment featured here? No, you didn't. And if you've seen all of my older Retro Series post, then you already know how there's sometimes one or two I'll choose not to get from each assortment. So why did I bring this up? Well, it's because the pegs had everything from this year's first assortment, and there were two I didn't get. That's why you're seeing a Today On The Boulevard post instead of a Looking At post. So the two releases I left were the 1971 Chevy El Camino and the Willys Jeep. The Jeep isn't bad, and I might consider getting it if I see it again. As for the El Camino, well... I have no interest in one with a spider theme on it. Alright, now that I got that out of the way, it's time for me to go over the ones I got.
The first one I'm going to talk about is the 1984 Toyota MR2. So far, its only had one mainline release, so I wasn't expecting them to use it in a special series so soon. Ultimately, I'm just happy I was able to find the next release of it. And as usual, it has nothing to do with it being a car from a Japanese manufacturer.
Casting variations are one of the neat things about Matchbox, and the MR2 is one of their castings with a variant. In fact, there are four different variations of it. Now, normally I wouldn't care too much about the different versions of a casting. But with this particular casting, I do because its variations are noteworthy.
Last year, I was fortunate enough to find the debut release hanging on the pegs, and it was the version I wanted the most. But I was never able to find any more after that, and it was a little disappointing because I wanted to have at least one example of the other versions. At the end of the day though, I was just glad to have one. However, I kept my fingers crossed that I'd be able to get one of the other versions when they released it again. Well, I had a bit more luck this time around because there were two on the pegs, and both of them were versions I didn't have.
The one with the headlights up is left-hand drive (which makes it a US MR2), while the other one is right-hand drive. So the left-hand drive interior with the headlights down is the only version I'm missing. But to be honest with you, I don't really need it now that I have at least one with the headlights down. Now, I will admit that it'd be cool to have all four versions, but my favorite version is still the one with the headlights up, and that's simply because it highlights the vehicle design styles of the era.
Overall, this second release is quite nice due to it being finished in a cool olive green, and I do like how they chose to not give it any additional stripes. I know, not having any stripes is most likely something I only care about, but you have to admit that it's nice to have a plain model. Of course, I still like how it looked with the stripes that were applied to the debut release. So I currently don't prefer one over the other.
Now, the one thing I don't like is how they once again chose to leave the rear of this casting plain. The front and sides of this release have details, so I don't see why the rear couldn't either. I guess it isn't that big of a deal, but it would have been nice to see one with some rear details. To be fair though, this isn't the only Retro series release without rear details. So I can't really complain.
Like I said at the start of this post, this series gives collectors like me the chance to own a release that's basically a re-release of an older one. With that being said, this first assortment made it so there are two less releases I'd have to get off of the secondary.
The first one is the 1964 Austin Mini Cooper, and it is a re-release of the one from 2010. So it's white with a red interior, and its roof was painted black.
It's so nice to finally have a third one of these in my collection. Prior to last years release, the two Mr. Bean themed ones were all I had. And there is nothing different about them besides the card art. So I never really counted the second one as being another one. I basically got it for the card art. Anyway, I'm thrilled with their decision to use this casting for this series. And I have to say, they chose to re-release a nice one.
The second one is the 1962 Volkswagen Beetle, and it is a re-release of the one from the 2007 Euro Classics 5-pack. Even if I was into Matchbox back then, this would have still been a release I missed due to the fact that I didn't pay attention to 5-packs like I do now.
After pulling up pictures of the Euro Classics 5-pack, I now know all five of the releases it had. And to be honest, I'm not too impressed with it. The Beetle and the Jaguar are the only two I'd actuallywant, so there's no way I would have tried to get that 5-pack off of the secondary. That's why I'm glad I was able to find this one. And it might just be my new favorite release of it due to it being finished in an awesome color.
Alright, those are the four releases I chose to get from this year's first Retro Series assortment. Overall, this first assortment is okay, and I probably would have said it was stellar if I liked all six of the releases. But that's just my personal opinion, and there's a very high chance that you like all six of this year's first Retro Series releases.
Okay, how do you feel about this first assortment? Go ahead and let me know down in the comments section. Well, that's all for this edition of Today On The Boulevard. Till next time, thanks for reading, and happy collecting. And remember, these are just toys.
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