Hello, and welcome to another edition of Today On The Boulevard here on the Star Boulevard of Speed. It feels like it has been forever since I was last able to talk about any of Matchbox's moving parts. It's not like some of them haven't piqued my interest, it's just I haven't really been able to find them like that. Now, even though my chances of finding them are extremely low, I do like to keep a mental note of what's in each assortment. That way I'll know what to keep an eye out for whenever I'm out looking for diecast cars. After all, there's always a small chance you could come across that one elusive release. I mean, just last month I chance upon the AE86 from the Mountain Drifters Car Culture assortment. So that's why I don't completely ignore the Moving Parts series.
Once I got to the pegs, I immediately noticed one that was full. Initially, I though there'd be one or two releases that were missing. But no, the whole assortment was there. After I took some time look at each of the releases, I made the decision to only get certain ones. It's not that they are terrible releases, it's just I didn't feel the need to have them. And I'll briefly talk about why that is at at the end of this post. Now, before I get things started, I'd like to take a moment to apologize for some of the pictures you'll see in this post. I prefer to keep my diecast models sealed, and the Moving Parts releases are not packaged in the best packs ever. Okay, now that I got that out of the way, let's go over what I got.
The release that's considered to be this case's highlight will vary depending on the collector you talk to. But I'm sure many of you will say that that releases is the Henry J. Gasser. And you know what? This time I'm going to agree with the masses.
There were many great castings used for the 2021 Matchbox Collectors Series, and this was one of the ones that left me speechless. Not only did it feature an opening hood and a metal engine, it also featured a very beautiful design, and it was finished in a nice version of orange, too. So I really wasn't expecting too much from its next release. But I have to say, the designers have once again exceeded my expectations.
I knew they'd most likely give the next release a livery, but I didn't think it was going to be one that's based on a real-life aftermarket company's theme. I also didn't think it would feature any additional real-life sponsor decals, either. In my opinion, this release looks like something you'd see from Hot Wheels, and it shows how they are more than capable of rivaling them when it comes to decorating a release. So even though I love this brand for their plain releases, I have to admit that I'd love to see more releases like this from them.
No matter what brand you're into, there is always a car for someone, and that's especially true for people who like vehicles from Porsche. Over the year's, both of Mattel's diecast brands have released many cool 1:64 scale models of the manufacturer's various vehicles. I especially look forward to Porsche releases from Matchbox because they give us castings like the Carrera Cabriolet and non modified versions of Porsches like the 914. But most importantly, they give us the lower trim models, and that's exactly what they gave us in this case.
Now, I'm not Porsche expert, so that's why I took to the internet to see what I could learn about the Carrera. And from what I can gather, the "4S" in this releases name means that it's the turbocharged all-wheel drive version. Furthermore, according to the technical specs I found on Porsche's website, this release has two turbochargers. I also learned that it's a few steps down from the recent 911 GT3 that we got from Hot Wheels.
Although I don't have a huge issue with both brands using the same color, I do have to admit that I'm glad this release wasn't finished in blue like the GT3 from Hot Wheels. I know it could have something to do with the licensing agreements, so I can't really complain about some of the color choices that are made for certain castings. But I do think it's better to do something different. Now, I know for a fact that there's going to eventually be a red Hot Wheels GT3. I mean... why wouldn't there be? I just hope it'll be finished in a slightly different version of red, but I'm sure some of you would welcome a release that matches this one.
Back in 2018, Matchbox put a huge smile on my face with the release of the '16 BMW I8, and I was really hoping to see many basic releases of it going forward. However, things haven't exactly gone the way I wanted them to. So far, there's only been four releases of that casting, and the third one was simply a re-release of the first one. There was a white one, but I have no idea where they sold the series it was in.
One year after the casting was released, Matchbox gave us a different version of the I8 that featured accurately opening doors. Once again, I was in awe, but I still wanted to see more releases of the other casting. Of course, I'd still be happy with an occasional Moving Parts release of the I8, but I thought the basic version was going to be the main one that I added to my collection each year. But to my surprise, the Moving Parts version is the one I have multiple releases of, and now I have third one.
I'm not going to say that I'm mad about them choosing to use this version again, but I do think dark grey would have worked better on the other casting. You won't be able to see it in my pictures, but the door is a slightly different shade of grey, and it's a very noticeable when a light is shined on the area. The previous release also had this issue. That's why I still like the basic version of the I8 more.
I decided to take a picture of the previous release to give you a better example of what I mean. If you take a close look at the door, you'll notice how it is a slightly different version of orange.
Despite my issue with the doors, I still appreciate this release. I mean, they could have stopped using both versions of the I8 all together. And that wouldn't have been good at all. So I'm happy to see a continued use of at least one version of this awesome car.
I actually didn't even know this vehicle existed, which is why I didn't know what to make of it when I first saw pictures of it. After all, it doesn't have the typical Jeep shape that so many of us are familiar with. In my eyes, its grill is the only Jeep-like feature, and its overall cab design reminds me of Ford's C-series trucks. So I had to once again turn to the internet, and sure enough, I found many pictures of Jeep's various Forward Control vehicles. Seeing the actual FCs made me want to have a diecast version, and I'm very pleased with how Matchbox chose to create one with a bed that lifts up.
So what about the design choices that were made for it? Well, as you know, I like plain releases, and I figured this could be one of the only plain ones. I mean, just look at it. A casting like this is bound to have many future shop truck themed releases. Of course, there's nothing with that. After all, I said that I wanted to see more decorated releases from Matchbox.
Okay, those are the four releases I chose to get from this year's Moving Parts case "D." Although I consider the Henry J. to be the highlight of this case, I have to say that all four of these are equally nice. Now I'm going to briefly talk about the two I left behind.
One of the releases in this assortment is a blue C8 Corvette. So why didn't I get it if it's finished in my favorite color? Basically, I didn't feel like adding another blue C8 to my collection. I know it's a different blue, but I feel they should have taken the opportunity to use a different color for it. Especially since it's the first Moving Parts release of the car. Now, I do want to have at least one example of the casting in my collection, but I'm going to wait for a future release.
The second release of the Toyota FJ Cruiser is the other one, and I chose to leave it behind because I was simply not impressed with its color. For this year's release, the designers chose to make it silver with a white roof. It's not a bad looking color scheme, but I just didn't feel the need to have a silver FJ cruiser.
So what is your favorite release from this assortment? Go ahead and let me know down in the comments section. Alright, that's all for this edition of Today On The Boulevard. Till next time, thanks for reading, and happy collecting.
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