All the new Mattel stuff is coming in hot and heavy. HW Modern Classics last week, HW 2018 A cases to hobby dealers this week, HW P cases to Walmart and Target this week, and now Matchbox L and M.
And most of it landed in Wheel Collectors lap yesterday. We already did the HW 2018 A Case Report, and now it is time to go orange. L Case now, M Case in a bit. All of it is available right now at Wheel Collectors:
2017 Matchbox at Wheel Collectors
So let’s get to the L Case. These models have been hitting stores too, and there is a lot to like. Thankfully the multiples in this 24-count case will surely be the most popular.
So, here it is, the 2017 Matchbox L Case, opened 3-by-3 by Wheel Collectors. Enjoy:
(Click on the image for a larger look.)
Nice to see the 510 Rally, Nissan Junior, Firebird, and Viper getting the multiple treatment. Scout too. That makes it a nice case to be sure.
It is interesting to see the 6-spoke wheels on the 510. The plan was for the hubs, but so far all 6-spoke. I have a hub wheel release, but its production code is actually BEFORE the 6-spoke, so now I am wondering if and when we will see the hob wheels. More on that on the next video.
But no matter what the wheel, this is a fantastic release, part of a very nice case.
Does that Baja Bandit have YOKOHAMA livery on it’s side?
The Datsun 510 has those multi-spoke wheels, but it’ll eventually change over to the dog dish caps, right?
Some good stuff in here. The Datsun and Nissan are the obvious highlights, but the Firebird looks great too. That is one God-Awful deco on the Avalanche though…
The Duk-Duk looks awesome!
Funny that the Baja Bullet is packaged as the Baja Bandit. Wonder if they’ll fix that on later packaging. I just found it at my local Walmart; the base still says Baja Bullet.
Ok the RV is awesome! Looks to be based on am f-series ford truck/van. I doubt.ill have much competition at the legs for that one which is fine by me.
I just cracked open the DUKW. It’s better in person than in pictures, and I liked the pictures. It’s far heavier than I expected, and the ribbed hull has a really nice feel. If this ever gets released in an olive drab or army green, then I’m buying a fleet of them. My only beef: this is the first vehicle which I wish had been done plastic top and metal base rather than the other way around. I would love to use the boat-shaped base for other amphibious vehicle builds (or even just remove the roof, military style). I would love working with a metal base on those projects.
I am also happy to see the dark green paint on the Sahara Survivor again…or at least I wish it was paint. One of my top three favorite castings until it switched to plastic top and metal base. The old version had axle mounts that allowed just a little bit of suspension flex, but that’s all gone.The deco still looks great, but the steering wheel and the hood really took a hit in the metal/plastic switch. I’m still hoping this one switches back.
I stand corrected. While the new Sahara Survivor suspension doesn’t flex, per se, the axles are mounted so that they are able to wiggle quite a bit. I still prefer the old, but I’m glad that was incorporated.
And there’s another great shout-out for the DUKW: the middle axle is installed with a lot of travel available, which makes it much easier for all six wheels to be on the ground at once. Awesome design feature to incorporate. Great work, Matchbox!
Nice to see the old ‘Faun’ dump truck from the ’70s is still going strong…case looks great, hope it eventually shows up somewhere in the UK…
Thanks for sharing the pics. It was a pleasant surprise stock update at the Walmart near my place after several months of seeing those empty pegs and a few filled with the Jeep Hurricane concepts. The Meter Maid sporting the same Police livery as the Ford Explorer (the dark metallic blue version) was something very cool.