There has been a lot of frustrating things about Matchbox the last few years. One of the most annoying is how short-lived each premium series they do seems to be.
Just look at the list. After the 1-75 New Superfast lines in 2004 to 2007, we got a 20-car Superfast line, which lasted one year. After that, Best of British, International, and Muscle. BoB lasted two, while International and Muscle was one. Then we had the Lesney line, each with a metal chassis, which looked promising until the 20-car line was cut to much less and cancelled after one year. Then the 60th Anniversary models. While you can only celebrate an anniversary for one year, we didn’t see anything like it the next. Lastly, the Supreme Heroes, which was severely cut and cancelled.
The leads us to the Best of the World. It seems the approach to this line has been better than the last few. Premium packaging with a box and blister, 2-piece wheels (even with a tread that might be a little too off-road for some models), and nice graphics. Plus, only models, which means a good chance the whole line is released, which it was.
So far, the response seems to be great. Sellers I talk to like A&J Toys and Wheel Collectors said they have sold very well, in fact better than they projected. For the most part, the stores that carry them have sold them, save for a couple of pegwarmers, the BMW Motorcycle, and surprisingly, the Routemaster Bus.
It has been cool to see. Best of World peg finds are posted in Instagram, the Defender, Foxbody, A100 and BMW 1M seem to be high on collector’s want lists, and collectors tell me they like the line.
So, the big question now becomes, will we see the continuation of the line in 2017? I sure as hell hope so. Hopefully there is some patience from Mattel and retailers, and they see that this line can be a staple for many years. There are quite a few Matchbox models that would be great premium models, and that would be gobbled up by collectors.
Off the top of my head, new models like the Tesla Model S, Jag F-Type, BMW M5 Police, Nissan Skyline, and Mazda Miata would look great in premium garb, as would somewhat older models like the Audi RS6, Ford GT, Cadillac CTS Wagon, Porsche 911 GT3, and maybe even the return of the Mercedes SLR McLaren. Think of classic car castings as well like the Toyota Land Cruiser, Lamborghini Miura, and Lotus Europa. I could go on and on, and I am sure you readers have some ideas as well.
So Mattel, if you are reading this, consider this a request from collectors to keep the Best of World line going. I know I speak for a lot of collectors when I say we promise to keep buying. As long as there are no more motorcycles.
I did get a Best of case myself, and I opened it here. Hopefully I get to do it again. Enjoy:
Until the Matchbox Marketing team can get Maomart and Target on-board, these will all fail. I don't expect a second series. If I am proved wrong, great.
I don't care for matchbox anymore. It's such pain to find these that collecting is no longer fun. I'll be spending my money on real cars instead. I truly think they should fire everyone related to marketing and distribution at matchbox. The only reason Lamely is still in this game is because he has hookups and can get his hands on whatever is new. As for me, the interest has died. My time is not worth wasting going store to store hoping to find these.
I imported a case from the states and had enjoyable moments DLM-ing 😉
This comment has been removed by the author.
I wish they would use some of the old 70s Superfast castings, I would love to see a new color of he old F100 Kennel Truck the Dragon Wheels VW, Opal Diplomat, and others
I don
Please continue! Hopefully distribution improves, but if it doesn't I will still order online!