Greetings folks...
Now it being April 1st, I must admit to thinking through several scenarios to celebrate the occasion. A little trickery in the weekly reports would not be a bad thing, right? So I thought through a whole write-up on how Matchbox was switching entirely to plastic, or how Hero City would be brought back in full force, complete with whistles and police hats with wheels. But I don't want anyone jumping off cliffs or anything like that, so I will refrain. Some of you old-school collectors seem to have lost your sense of enjoyment when it comes to collecting based on your mildly entertaining diatribes on the state of Matchbox, so I don't think I should rock the boat.
What I should do is show some more sneaks. I am currently enjoying a little vacation in Durango, Colorado (Bill B., are you in town?), and it is late Sunday night after an exhausting weekend, so I will get to them and get some needed sleep...
As always, these images are posted here with permission from Mattel.
This week we will focus on more upcoming 60th Anniversary models. We have two newer castings and one older one in this batch of sneaks. We will start with the new. Both castings have been introduced in the last few months among a lot of discussion.
Starting with the Ford Explorer. We have seen two versions of the Explorer so far, and in the 60th lineup it comes in a "Construction Security" livery. One of the great things about the 60th lineup is we can see castings realizing their full potential, so to speak, and that is definitely the case with the Explorer. The cog wheels work better, as does the deco, and my personal hope is that all future versions get the black or grey wheel well trim in in place of the green or red we have seen on the first two basic versions. Oh, and you can't argue with the front and rear tampos. I think a lot will agree with me that this is the best version of the Explorer so far, by a long shot:
Next up is another new model that debuted to a mixed response. The International Scout was a highly anticipated model that ended up being a little different than what collectors expected. Instead of a more stock look, the model is a modified off-roader, and the proportions left a little to be desired for a lot of collectors.
Like is the case with the Explorer, the 60th Anniversary Scout looks a lot better with a little extra detail. Of course the main complaints of collectors, its size and style, don't change, but the model does look nice fully detailed:
Finally, for the third 60th sneak, we have a look at the London Taxi. We have seen the Taxi in standard black a few times, including in 2012. The model stays black, but this time sports a side deco that to me resembles a tourist-aimed vehicle. I will admit that my knowledge of London Taxi's is not at a presentable level, so we will have to rely on our British friends to let us in on whether this type of livery can be seen around London's streets:
Lastly, a bonus sneak. We should see this GMC Tree-Trimming Truck appear in stores soon. It was meant to be a 2012 model but hits in 2013. Where? I don't know, but as soon as I do I will report it:
That is it for now. There is much more to come, including info on an upcoming double-diecast (diecast body, diecast chassis) model to be released as part of the 60th Anniversary celebration. So stay tuned.
Until then...
