Today On The Boulevard: 2022 Matchbox Mix 4 - The Longest Quest Ever

Hello, and welcome to another edition of Today On The Boulevard. There has been a few rare occasions where I'm able to find everything I want in one trip to the store. However, most of the times it can take me anywhere between a few weeks to a month just to find specific releases. But there has never been a time where it has taken me over two months to find two releases. That's right! It took two whole months of searching just to find two releases from Matchbox. In case you didn't know, I was never actually finished with my 2022 mix four want list. Not too long after I found mix four, mix five showed up, and it showed up way more times than mix four. So after two months of not seeing anything more from mix four, I decided that it was about time to give up. I usually don't like to, but sometimes there is just no finding a certain release. But right when I was about to move on, I chanced upon a full Matchbox peg, and it was everything from this year's mix four. So with that being said, let's go over what took me so long to find.

One of the releases I wanted was a JDM, so I already knew it was going to be a little tricky to find. That's why I didn't lose too much sleep over it. The other release was  the '18 Dodge Charger, and I didn't think it was going to be as popular as it was. In fact, I though it was going to be one of the releases that I saw hanging on the pegs for many weeks. But I should have know that wasn't going to be the case because Dodge Chargers have recently become a little more popular in my area.

This casting's popularity might not have been the reason why everyone wanted it, though. For all I know, everyone could have wanted it because its finished in purple. And it's supposed to be Dodge's "Plum Crazy," which does seem to be liked by many automotive enthusiast. So if that's the reason, then I can completely understand why it never stayed on the pegs. After all, its exterior color is the only reason why I wanted it.

There's one other design choice that I like besides the exterior color, and it's the license plate. Now, I know it's nothing special, since all of this casting's releases have had one. But instead saying "DODGE" or "CHARGER," this release's plate references its exterior color, and I think it was a nice touch. Alright, let's move on to the JDM release that I wanted.

Like Hot Wheels, Matchbox also sometimes uses their older castings again, and it's a decision I'm always pleased with. Back in the day, I used to ignore Matchbox completely, so I ended up missing out on way more matchbox releases than I did Hot Wheels releases. That's why I try really hard to find castings like the 2003 Nissan 350Z when they are released. Now, I did get the 2021 release, but I definitely wanted to have more examples of the casting. And you never know when it will disappear again, so that's why I hesitated giving up on looking for it.

I do think it would have been nice to see a plain release, but I'm not disappointed with the design choices that were made for this one. Lately, Matchbox has started to give collectors more releases that are decorated, and I think it's refreshing to see. Sure, I like their plain releases, but I feel they are able to rival Hot Wheels when it comes to decorating a release. So I don't know about you, but I would definitely love to see more releases like this.

Although I like the overall design they created, I do have to admit that I have a small issue with it, and it has to do with the decal they put on its door. If it was up to me, I would have made it way smaller. I also would have either placed it above or below the Falken decal. Another great spot would have been underneath the AEM decal on its quarter panel.

I also think Matchbox's design team should consider decorating the hood when they choose to do a release like this. I know it's not that big of a deal, but some additional tears on the hood would have been a nice touch. I mean, why not go all-out and decorate the top of a release as well? At the end of the day though, this is still a terrific example of this casting. 

Well, those are the last two mix four releases I had on my want list. I guess I need to have even more patience than I already do because this could happen again in the future. In other words, it could take me many months just to find a release or two. So instead of giving up after a set amount of time, I just need to just keep an eye out for a release without getting too stressed out. 

So how do you feel about these two releases? Go ahead and let me know your thoughts down in the comments section. Alright, that's all for this edition of Today On The Boulevard. Until next time, thanks for reading, and happy collecting.