#lamleydaily – July 7, 2017
Model: Matchbox Skyjacker ’17 Ford F-350 Super Duty
Line: 2016 SEMA Exclusive (Given out to attendees at the Skyjacker booth)
Where to get it: Not available, but a similar release is coming soon.
Why it’s in the collection: I said the Lamley Daily models would be random, and this one certainly is. As I was gathering a few to shoot a few days ago, I grabbed this one and put it in the pile, not really intending to post here. But since I haven’t been near my studio the last few days, and this being the only other model I shot, I am posting it.
This Matchbox Ford F-350 is 1 of 100, given out at the Skyjacker booth at last year’s SEMA Convention in Las Vegas. This specific one pictured is the model shown by Gerry Cody in the video we posted on Facebook Live from SEMA:
There is a story behind this one. Skyjacker, Ford, and Matchbox put this together quickly leading up the SEMA Convention. That Matchbox was able to get the casting together in time for the event was a miracle in and of itself, but they did. The opportunity arose, and Matchbox pounced.
There were no plans to do an F-350 Pickup, let along a Ford Police Truck, so making this casting ends up being a bonus for us. The body and base were fabricated at the factory, and the model was essentially assembled by hand at the Mattel Design Center. The tool for mainline release is now done (it is slightly different than the SEMA model to comply with mainline model part limitations), and the model will enter the Matchbox basic range in late 2017, early 2018. And yes, the debut will also have the Skyjacker Peacemaker livery.
So, while this special version came and went, it did create a bonus model for collectors. I am looking forward to seeing the finished product.
I was able to get one of these. I am happy to add it to my emergency model collection ( I am a MB completist on emergency models). But I have to say I was shocked and disappointed to see how small this model is. It is barely 1/87 scale. But I guess it is part of the ever shrinking models lately.
It is a well done model. I will put it next to the Superlift SEMA truck in my collection. I just wonder how the size will be received by collectors and casual buyers. I know when my son was little and we bought him MB, we wouldn’t get or give him the smaller models. If this was the size of the recent Sonora Shredder, Dodge Ram, etc I think it would be even better.
Yeah, the size differential is really a shame…all in the name of cost-cutting, which I understand, but it’s still too bad. The Matchbox F-550 Pumper (and plenty of others) suffer the same problem. They’re okay if you display them in isolation, but next to virtually any other model, it’s really glaring. I had one of my F-550s sitting next to the new Impreza Police, and it was just horrifying. The story’s the same with pretty much any of Matchbox’s fire engines.
Cool model…it’ll be interesting to see how the mainline version stacks up.