January 8th Matchbox Ambassador Report, by Larry Scaduto

Welcome one and all to my first report of 2015. It is hard to believe but I am almost half way through my ambassadorship!!! And I have hundreds of PrePro’s I have not shown yet. I guess I’m going to have to pick up the pace somewhat!!! I have a special PrePro section coming soon that will feature a really cool series that Matchbox never released, but got darn close to doing so. I am once again calling on the expertise of our 6^th Ambassador, Chuck Wiersma to come up with a more indebt report on these items. (Oh….and you’re going have to wait till next month to find out what’s coming!) If you recall he did a fantastic review of the Morphed Viper and Dodge Stealth some issues back. His attention to detail is what sets him apart from others in this wonderful hobby. Well, we are getting close to the middle of January and the Supreme Heroes Series is due very soon for release. Don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to have these in my collection. I do have a personal view on the wheels. I’ve mentioned to one collector who wrote me and asked for my opinion. All I said to him is that my personal feelings should not be a factor in anyone’s decision to purchase or not to purchase this series or anything Matchbox makes. But I will say the wheels do not detract away from what is an outstanding job with the decos. Yes, there are more appropriate wheels that could have been developed for the fire trucks, but as a whole the wheels are universally acceptable and the series is very collectable. 

First up is the basic core 2015 release: the MB818 Dune Dog in red.

Next is another basic core 2015 release:  MB838 Land Rover Defender 110 in light beige. 

 2015 National Parks series: MB864 International Scout 4×4 (9/10 Pack exclusive)

2015 Basic Core release: MB954 Highway Maintenance Truck in orange.

2015 Sky Busters release: SB104 Flight Strike 

MB541 Rescue Helicopter will be in the Police 5-Pack

I decided to do a little review of the Supreme Heroes Series. I’ve pictured all of them over the last 4 reports, but here I have them all together. I must say these models are awesome!!!! Can’t wait to collect them all! These will not only be purchased by us collectors, but I see these going to Fire and Police collectors as well. With that in mind, these models will open up to a different collector’s market….people that don’t collect Matchbox but love these types of vehicles. At this point I do not know which stores have decided to carry the series. My guess is not very many and this series should be showing up by mid-January. The Supreme Heroes are worth collecting and with only 10 models available; it’s not going to be a huge investment either!! 

I am featuring the models from the Champion promotion that never made it to production. The set featured 4 models all from the regular line. The only difference was the added printed hood logo. I’ve seen one model here and there, but rarely do you see all of them together.

Ford Escort Cabriolet

1984 Dodge Caravan

Ford Sierra XR4i

Jeep Cherokee 

All images and articles are presented here with the consent and permission of Mattel and the Matchbox Team.

In this week’s History Section we take a look at the Matchbox Sea Kings, originally introduced in 1976 with 8 ships. Pictured above are 2 pages from the 1978 Dealers catalogue where 2 more ships were added to the line. Pictured below are all 10 ships in their original packaging. When you get to the K-304 Aircraft Carrier you will see a rarer version with red deck labels. To my knowledge the only way this model was packaged, was in a plain box which the ship is sitting on. To obtain this version you had to order through either the JC Penny or Sears Christmas Wish Catalogue. I have a real big fondness for this series. I was all about the ships when I was a teenager. This series lasted till 1981 with no changes. But in reality the series wasn’t gone for good. When SUTC (Shanghai Universal Toy Company) took over there was to be several more releases which were better than the original releases. But I’ll save this for my next report.

Check out my next report for more pictures of Sea Kings…. Post Lesney releases 

MB11 Checker Cab

MB7 Runway Wrangler

MBX 2014 Collection Crime Crusher 4×4 Police & Fire vehicles

1958 Ford Edsel Corsair

1960 Chevy El Camino 

1992 Aston Martin Vantage

2016 Ford Bronco

1963 Ford Thunderbird

Volkswagen Tristar

Sea Ray Cabin Cruiser

If you remember a few issues ago I pictured the Graffic Traffic series. I had all the different sets that I was aware of. I knew about the Monster Trucks, but did not pick them up because I decided not to collect these as well as the Racing Specials in white. I saw these 4 sets online as a Buy-it-Now and placed an offer that was accepted. So here they are… above is the Chevy Van.

Pictured here is the Chevy Blazer.

Next is the Peterbilt Tow Truck

And finally we have the Ford F-150 Flareside. I believe this to be the complete set, if there are more feel free to let me know.