Ambassador’s Report February 10th, 2015
By: Larry Scaduto
INTRODUCTION
Hope everyone’s day is going well. It’s time to publish my next report. Hope you like the articles I’ve included this time around. The new releases start out with the modified Cadillac Ambulance and then we got a new batch of questions that have been kindly answered by the Matchbox Team. I have also included the next installment of the Sea Kings story in pictures. Enjoy…
NEW RELEASES
’63 Cadillac Ambulance
International CXT VA
Ground Breaker
Sahara Survivor
All images and articles are presented here with the consent and permission of Mattel and the Matchbox Team.
If you have a question or just need to reach me, send an e-mail to:
QUESTIONS
- Are there any plans to do the new Bentley Continental or bring back the old casting? The old casting may appear in the future.
- Do you have the MAN # for the Jaguar F-Type? Yes, it is MB975.
- Is the Nissan GT-R being considered for a future release? No.
- Is there going to be a Sports Car/ Modern Rides type 5-Pack for 2015? No, but there will be a Classic Rides 5-pack instead.
- Can the 5-Pack names for 2015 be released as of yet? Yes, they are as follows:
City Adventure
Military Mission
Police Squad
Classic Rides
Construction
Fire
EMT
City Works
Farm
- Will the BMW M5 Police have a separate light bar or will it be a part of the windows? It will be part of the windows.
- What model is MB869? It is the 2008 Garbage Truck formerly MB742.
- Will future releases be limited to 4-parts or will there be exceptions to the rule? No exceptions.
- Are any of the tools given to Bulgaria still available? This is unknown since this was before the Mattel acquisition of Matchbox.
- When will the Crop Master be released? The Crop Master will appear in the Farm 5-Pack in the spring.
- How many Mission Force sets will be out for 2015? There will be 3 new packs & 4 carry forward packs.
- Any plans on introducing more new wheels designs? More will be introduced in the future.
- How many assortments will the Supreme Heroes come in? One in the spring & one in the fall.
- How many Sky Busters for 2015? There will be 30.
PREPRODUCTIONS FROM MY COLLECTION
Since early last week we had 19 inches of snow fall in 24 hour time period, I thought it was time to break out the Snow Plows!! The preproduction variety that is…… I’m starting out with a collector’s favorite and it is certainly one of mine: The Unimog! This version is in green with a gray Lesney England base and features an incomplete year of release.
Here is the Unimog in yellow with a black Lesney England base with a finished date of 1989.
Now we have the Highway Maintenance Truck in red with Aspen Snow Removal tampo.
And finally I’m showing the best PrePro of the bunch…A Peterbilt Dump w/Blade in black with a transparent white dump, interior and a 1998 Mattel China base.
These have nothing to do with the weather, but I thought you might like to see the NASA vehicles that were never made. No.60 Transporter Vehicle with a chrome rocket and No.27 Swing Wing. Both of these would have been well received in the regular lineup or a gift set.
HISTORY
Battle Cruizers
Above: Battleship & Convoy Escort / Below: Guided Missile Destroyer & Anti-Aircraft Cruiser
I’m not 100% sure, but I believe this series came after SUTC. Another company decided to release the Sea Kings once again and this time they were even better than the any other sets that were released up to this point. These ships were called Battle Cruizers. The detailing on this series was exceptional. If you notice in the lower corner of the boxes there are 3 different companies that released this series. I’m wondering if full sets exist with each distributor’s name. Closer pictures of each logo are at the end of this section.
Above: Aircraft Carrier & Submarine Chaser / Below: Helicopter Carrier & Submarine
Ships of the Fleet
Now with Ships of the Fleet we see 4 of the 8 Battle Cruizers released in different packaging all together. But the ships are exactly the same and the distributor is now BMC Toys out of New Jersey here in the states. If you notice the date, it says 2001; almost 22 years after Lesney stopped making this series. These ships come in a stand up blister card that pops open quite easily. I’ve opened them for a closer look. (Sorry Mr. Tilley….I put them back in) Now you can appreciate the quality of the tampo printing. Maybe Mattel should see if these molds are still available. I would love to see this series again!!!
Submarine
Guided Missile Destroyer
Battleship
Aircraft Carrier
WHAT’S NEW
Land & Air 2-Packs and gift set pics sent to me from: Mavanerick
Mission: Flame Smashers
Mission: Mars Explorers
Close up of the ATV 6×6 found in the Mars Explorers gift set. Available at Toys-R-Us
2015 Batch B releases…..
1st model shown above: No.29 2014 Chevy Silverado 1500
No.107 Dune Dog No.26 Mountain Mover
No.44 Sowing Machine No.9 Food Truck
No.65 S.W.A.T. Truck No.87 Snow Ripper
I found this 1971 Matchbox Commercial on YouTube. Thought you would like to see it
No.88 Chevy K1500 No.113 Ford Bronco 4×4
No.69 International Workstar Brush Fire Truck No.98 Terrain Trouncer
MODELS WE WOULD LOVE TO SEE MADE
1959 Aston-Martin DB4
2014 BMW I 3
2014 Porsche 918 Spyder
1973 Lamborghini Jarama
1990 Scania G93M Fire Engine
2011 Opel Insignia opc Unlimited
2012 Volkswagen Up
2014 Jaguar xfr-s Sportbrake
MISCELLANEOUS
Matchbox Seaport Playmat
After some digging I found my Sea Kings Seaport Playmat. It is a rolled vinyl diorama of a naval shipyard that is quite large. I forgot to measure it. It was a nice play environment for the ships.
Hi Larry,
Just to let you know that our 3rd European Matchbox Meeting is only couple of month away – check attachment.
The above information was sent to me from Dirk Schleuer
Anyone interested in attending this event can reach Dirk at:
Interesting, they won't make a GT-R, I mean why would you make a model of the most popular car with kids. I know Hot Wheels makes one but they don't use it (I know of the F&F, but that wasn't available world wide).
This was a much better report than the last one. I like the first two models shown. The Cadillac looks sharp and bright in those colors although a little creativity with the livery wouldn't hurt (I can live with that, though). The CXT looks very nice in that white so I may pick that one as well.
Moving on, I am quite happy that 5 out of 14 questions answered are mine! Some are a revelation but some are disappointing. I hope the Continental makes a return sooner rather than later. I really want it back badly. Now that the F-Type's MAN# has been revealed, let's hope the full casting is also revealed soon. Very excited about it as I really like the F-Type. However, I am disappointed that Matchbox won't make a GT-R because its a very popular car and I was really hoping they would do one of the newer versions (Black Edition for example). On the plus side, I am pleasantly surprised to know that there will be a Classic Rides 5-pack, although I would prefer a Sports Cars pack instead. Sports cars are the game right now and Matchbox isn't doing much about it (lots of potential being lost). Still, I am excited to know what models will be in the pack. As for the M5, I am disappointed again. No separate light bar means no way to remove the bar and the livery to convert it into a street version. Something I was looking forward to do as I always wanted a Matchbox M5 in signature Blue, but they have hit the nail on that. HARD.
Getting to the 'Models We would Love to see Made' section, I am happy again that many of my models made it! I spent quite a lot of time carefully selecting the models so they would fit into the current Matchbox line-up. Its just cars that will make the kids happy without disrupting the company strategy.
That's all. Good report and waiting for the next one!
I asked that question and I am furious about the answer. I wanted them to make the Black Edition so badly!
I actually really like the livery on the ambulance. I don't think I can support the re-tool, but at least the body still appears to be metal. Kudos on the clear window plastic, too.
The Sahara Survivor paint job looks great, too. If that truck were still metal I'd buy several of that paint job. Similarly, I'm glad to note the return of the 2008 Garbage Truck, but the new MB number makes me a little apprehensive as to what's been done to it.
Glad to see the list of 5-Packs. I'm excited about the Classic Rides pack; it should be fun. I can see the Farm 5-pack being a good fit, too, with the new farming implements that have come out in the last year or so. I'd say the Acre Maker, Rain Maker, and Sowing Machine would be a good lineup together (with coordinated paint jobs, please?). The Crop Master is already in the pack (hooray!); combine that with a pickup truck (hopefully the '56 Ford or the '57 GMC Stepside) or a good trailer and I'm sold.
I like the orange on the Terrain Trouncer. There's a good chance I'll be picking one of those up.
As far as the “Models We Would Love To See Made,” I like the look of the Lamborghini Jarama. The Jaguar Sportbrake looks pretty sweet, too. I'm curious to see what the new wagon will be that was announced for 2016, because there are a lot of good wagons waiting to be made.
Look for the majorette model