Lamley Daily: MBX Cycle Trailer

Model: Matchbox MB1215 MBX Cycle Trailer

Release: 2020 MB99

eBay link:

Why is it in the collection: Wheel Collectors know what I am like.

I am a bit of a fan of Matchbox. I don’t think anyone who has read my blog reports on here will think anything else. They are the only brand of model cars that I collect. To be honest, I rarely even glance at other brands in stores. As such I am a huge fan of so many of the things that the Matchbox team do with their castings. I love finding a variation or 2 (or 20) of a model, but in recent years the Matchbox guys really know how to give us an automatic chase.

We have seen a number of castings recently sport some sort of variation. Many cars that do, have been with interiors (Nissan Skyline, Golf GTi Mk 1, VW Golf Country). There have been pick-up trucks with rear beds being either empty of full (VW Transporter Crew Cab, GMC Pick-up – color change edition). We have even had something with vans too (Chevy Van with different rears, DIVCO with or without crates). As these start to appear I like to try and find both variants for my collection. The latest is the new MB1215 MBX Cycle Trailer casting. Unfortunately, being in the UK, we only have Tesco stocking Matchbox, which is not great. Not that I don’t like Tesco or anything. It’s my local store, so for me very easy to get to. Tesco themselves are likely the best to stock, as they have the most outlets to put them in too. But this is about being a sole distributor. If they over-order a batch, it will clog up the shelves for a while and we get nothing. Case in point, as they only sell singles, 5-packs and 9-packs, the singles released batch A of 2020 in October last year. Yeah, a whole year ago. We only moved on to batch B a few months back and are still there. With other countries having multiple stockists, if one clogs up, another steps up with newer stuff. So you would get a case of back and forth between stores. I used to find that too, as Tesco would get a new batch, then Morrisons would be first with the next, then Toys R Us, then Asda. That was half the fun, trying to work out which store chain would be the one that would get a new batch first. With multiple stores ordering, stock would be coming in to the country on a regular basis. But I always worry that Tesco might skip a batch or 2 in their eagerness to move forward again, which is why I am really thankful to be getting a helping hand by Wheel Collectors in USA. They are guaranteeing that I will keep up with all the newer batches, plus it helps me to keep showcasing new stuff on the blog as and when it comes in. It turns out, I was right this time as Tesco jumped from batch C to F and missed this batch out.

When Wheel Collectors got the first assortment in of these, they were only in grab boxes. They sent me an example for my batch E blog reports. but it was just one. Later on, they received a stock of blister carded batch E.

Without even asking, they threw one of each into a box to send my way. They knew what I wanted. It’s things like this I am always grateful for. They are really thoughtful guys, and do a lot to help me out.

So now I have the alternate version of the new casting too. I am not the best with bikes, but I am calling them the Scrambler (my original one a few pics back solo) and Chopper (the latter directly above) variants. If anybody has better names for them please let me know.

I have to say that the attention to detail on these 2 bikes is extraordinary. They are not just generic lumps on the back, they really look the part. Plus I do enjoy seeing more trailer units in the range. I am still hoping that one day we will see a proper return for twin packs. I would love to see a Matchbox twin pack range again.

So I just wanted to say thanks for making sure that these were not missed by me guys. Especially as without them I would have not been able to get it, as I said, batch E basics have been skipped in the UK. I know I often do older vehicles for my Matchbox dailies, but I thought I can do a modern one too, if there is a story behind it.