Matchbox Monday finishes off 2021 Moving parts

So, things are slowly returning. My friends at Wheel Collectors are slowly building up an inventory of new items which you can go to in a new window if you click their name (which is why it was in bold). The Matchbox items are still few and far between, but the floddgates are just at tipping point now. We could see a whole slew of new items at any moment. I keep checking. I can’t wait for loads of 2022 goodies. The Matchbox team are showcasing a great assortment of new items I can’t wait to obtain. In the meantime though, I had 2 2021 blog reports still to type up. I didn’t want to ignore these models as I felt there are some great releases in them both. So as I get them all I am going to showcase them. These are the final Moving Parts of 2021. Batch D. I am thankful to Dirk Schleuer who runs the Moyshop.de website for helping me out with them. I didn’t want to miss out on these, especially the cool new castings in there. So let’s just get stuck in shall we?

Because up first is a nice new casting. And it is a nice one. The MB1262 ’78 Subaru BRAT. I may be wrong, but I believe this is the first “classic” vehicle in the Mattel era from 1978. We are slowly starting to see more vehicles from the 1970s mixed in the ranges.It takes the number 2 slot in the series of 20 models for 2021.

Of course it doesn’t take me long to rip open the package to admire the model. I have to admit, had I received this model before I did my 2021 Top 10 list, it might have made it. It is a lovely casting. I do find it funny that the BRAT was sold in many places around the world, except Japan! You may be wondering why I keep putting BRAT in capitals. That is because it is an acronym. Bi-drive Recreational All-terrain Transporter. That’s what it stands for. It was requested by Subaru of America as an alternative to the coupe utilities that were being sold there at the time. the advantage of course being the Subaru 4-wheel drive system. It was successful in North America, and so they started selling it in other markets, often under a different name. The UK called it the 284, Australia called it the Brumby. Targa? MV? shifter? Or just simply Pickup? Different markets would use different names for their own sales of the BRAT, although as I said never Japan. As such this is never to be a JDM model. Of course a few grey imports did make their way back to Japan as the vehicle was sold from 1978 until 1994. But this particular one is a USA depiction. Why?

Jumpseats. As I said, Subaru USA requested this, but at the time import duties on pickups were much higher than on passenger cars (25% as opposed to 2.5%). So Subaru sneakily got around it by importing the BRAT to USA and Canada with a pair of jumpseats welded into the cargo area. They had to be welded in to allow the vehicle to officially be imported as a passenger vehicle, not a pickup. The tax is known as the Chicken tax and was introduced in the 1960s by USA due to European countries imposing massive taxes on chickens exported from USA. It still continues to this day. So having the jumpseats signifies that this is indeed a North American BRAT.

It is a fantastic debut look for the model too. A lovely simple red with side stripes with BRAT and 4×4 on it. This is a real stripe that BRATs had, so has been lovingly recreated in miniature.

I love that they managed to get the stripe all around the back too.

Of course this is Moving Parts, and this has an opening hood. When opened you get a lovely detailed look at the engine inside.

I have never seen an engine on a Subaru BRAT, but something tells me they have likely done a fantastic job replicating the real one. It looks extremely believable, and detailed too. That is a phenomenal job. This is a beautiful casting.

As I finish it up I also include the base, due to it being a new casting. I love how it has massive mudguards on there. Great work. Now you see why I didn’t want to miss doing these. A great batch off to a great start.

And as I am doing these in number order, I am straight in with the second new casting. The MB1252 ’63 Honda T360. This takes the number 6 slot in the series. It is so cute!

Again I couldn’t wait to get this one out of the package. It was such a lovely little casting. This is the first 4-wheeled Honda vehicle that Honda ever made. They started this in 1963 and 4 months later launched an S500 sports car as well. It was based on an S360 concept sports car, using the same chassis, but changing it from a sports car into a Kei Truck. The T stands for Truck, and the 360 denoted the engine size, which from 1955 until 1975 had to be under 360cc to be classified as a Kei vehicle. For 1976 they upped to 550cc and in 1990 660cc which is still stands at. This had 356cc and as such could hit a top speed of 62mph. Aw bless!

Now they have started this in the only colour all 108,920 T360s were officially painted in. May Blue. That was it. The real vehicle ran from 1963 until 1967 and they were all originally painted like that. Of course after-market paint jobs were common place, and many non-factory colours exist. So it will be fun to see where Matchbox takes this next.

Of course this is the best part. No this is not an engine. The engine for this was underneath the seat. You literally had to pull the seat out and open a hatch to get to it. But at the front, you lifted the panel to find the spare wheel and a few other bits and pieces. But, as they detailed it underneath the panel too, you might notice the headlights were not a part of the lift up panel. They were created like that so they did not move when you had to lift it. This attention to detail is just incredible. I know I rave a lot about Matchbox stuff, but this is the sort of vehicle that proves my point. It is brilliant! I think this could have ended up in my Top 10 list had I received it before writing that list too.

It is a very cute little model. Solid B-pillars too. The attention to details is seen all over.

The rear saw a simple tampo detail to go with the front over and under the canopy getting detailed as well.

Base shot. New casting and all.

Now I was a little curious. This is the second Kei Truck we have seen from Matchbox recently, after the MB1188 ’14 Subaru Sambar. I grabbed the last one of those, the 2021 MB57 in black to see how they look side by side.

It turns out the new Honda is slightly larger than the Subaru was. Not by an awful lot, but with the longer wheelbase it does show.

And yes it was a little wider too. So the Subaru still stands as the smallest, but not by far.

But I am definitely looking forward to seeing plenty more of the T360 over coming years. I can see the Matchbox team having a lot of fun with this, as they are likely to get quite creative with some of the designs. It’s funny. Two brand new castings for the batch, both are Japanese. However, one was made intentionally for the Japanese market and rarely seen outside of it. The other was purely for the export market and rarely seen in Japan. Bot have a front opening part, but both are opening for entirely different reasons. Both are pickup style vehicles, yet are about as different (and unique) as a pickup could be. Anyway, enough about the 2 new ones, what else was in the batch?

Well as I am doing these in number order, next up will be number 8. The MB1143 ’63 Chevy C10. Wait? This looks familiar. Yes, that’s right, it’s a second outing for this model. it was a part of batch B, and a tan version appeared in batch C, and now the green one has come back again for a second run. Well, me being me, I had to get it again as I wanted to know whether they were being consistent.

Well let’s just say, the model is out. You know it didn’t stay the same.

I had a good feeling. Greens are often good for shades, and I felt this particular green would be no exception.

So time to check out the one I showcased when I was talking about batch B.

It turns out the new production run is in a darker shade of green to the original. Yes, I live for stuff like this. Seriously! I have no life!

N52 and P28. Those were the production dates. Very easy to figure out the weeks there, as N52 was the last week of 2020, and P28 was the 28th week of 2021. So 28 weeks different. Or 6 and a half months. Plenty of time to forget what the shade was supposed to be.

So now let’s move on to something a little exciting. A New York City taxicab. Am I right in saying this is the first time Matchbox have actually sold a New York City taxicab? I am so hoping that this NYC Taxi license can be used elsewhere too. More taxis please!!!! Bring back the Checker Cab. But anyway, this is the MB1140 ’06 Ford Crown Victoria taking the number 19 slot.

As I have already said, the NYC livery adorns this model in a traditional dark yellow scheme synonymous with NYC. I also notice they managed to squeeze in a little front grille detailing too.

Plus they also managed to eke out a little rear light detailing too. I notice when they can somehow eke out the limits of what they are able to do on occasion. It deserves noting and applauding. They could have just left it with the sides detailed. Obviously the doors are done separately so that would already get them up to 4 passes. Something you don’t think of too much when it comes to Moving Parts. They are a core range, just like basics, but due to the extra pieces they do get a slight additional allowance of passes through a tampo machine.

Now talking of the doors, I can’t help but notice they came out very dark. This is one of the issues in having a metal and a plastic part that you are trying to match up. It is not too easy to get a seamless job. White tends to work well. Black also a good one for blending effortlessly. But a dark yellow is not so easy to do. So they came out much darker in shade. Which is about the only thing I can say bad about the model. I love it. Best livery yet for a taxi.

When you open the doors you don’t notice it too much.

I also believe this is the first time a Crown Vic taxi has ever had a front grille detailed.

And I love bumper stickers. Even if they are not quite on the bumper. NYC “hearts” Matchbox. Love it!

I was not going to miss out on this pairing was I. The NYPD and NYC Taxi both on a Ford Crown Victoria. There is just one left to do. FDNY! If you were to Google FDNY Crown Vic you would find loads of pictures of them. It’s a given. They have to do it. Of course it has a white roof and red body, so may be a little tougher in core form. Dare I say make a Collector one for 2023 with full detailing for the FDNY? I would be all over it!

Of course if they do, hopefully they will not make the same mistake as they did with the NYPD one and use the taxi window piece instead of the police window piece. They have 2 elements coming up out of the roof.

When they did the Boone County one in 2019 it also saw the wrong element used, but when they brought it back for another go in 2020 they made sure to use the right element for the roof. So I think I am due a dive back. 2 brand new castings and a repeat, this is the first time I can really get stuck in.

I know I did it before, but I always like going through things again for those who either didn’t read an older report, or like me can’t remember half of what they read. So this originally debuted in 2006 as a police car, but when they got to 2009 and decided to create a taxi version, they still used the same MAN number, MB689, but simply extended it to either have a LoPro roof light or a taxi sign element attached to the roof. The first “taxi” model was the 2009 MB51. However, it was not sold where I live. In the ROW market. Was that going to stop me going nuts over this Spot On Taxi? Definitely not.

I still managed to obtain lighter and darker shades of yellow.

Throw on some 6-spoke wheels on a batch while the tri-spokes were temporarily out of stock at the factory? Not going to stop me.

Get shades on that one too? I will find a way.

So yes, I may not have been anywhere close to where they were being sold, but I still managed to get 4 of them.

In 2010 they made it a little easier for me. It was the LAAM market that did not see MB68 that year. So I was not surprised to easily find a nice shade of green to that Unified Cab Services one.

It was also in an Action 10-pack that year too in silver. This had a Z to A Cab Co design.

2011 finally saw a worldwide basic range release of MB68 in blue with an On Time Taxi design. Shades! I found shades.

And they also gave it a second version later in the year too. This Gold Rush model was also good for shades.

And that was the last we saw of it in the basic range. For 2012 we had one more outing before the model was altered, as it appeared in the Airport Ground Crew 5-pack in green with an Eleven Star side design. And yes, I found shades again. In fact, every single outing of the MB689 taxi I had shades on except that one 10-pack issue.

Oh no wait, there was one more. 2013 and the Airport 5-pack. Surprisingly I didn’t find a shade to that too. That’s 2 without shades. Doh!

We then saw the model get altered. Gone was the large taxi sign that was in addition to the parts already in use, and a cost reduction to 4-parts with the roof element now a part of the window piece. It was given a new MAN number, MB901 and debuted in the City Adventure 5-pack in 2015. I didn’t find a shade to this Neon Cab Company liveried model, but it was sporting either disk wheels or tri-spokes during production.

Shades are back! It was in a City 5-pack for 2016 in blue with a simple green Taxi side design. I found some decent shading to that one.

And in 2016, we also saw a licensed 5-pack for Monster Week released, with the model in red with the Jersey Devil on the side.

In 2018 it was in a Metro Transit 5-pack in yellow with a City Cab design. Again I found some shading to that one.

Before 2020 saw a Target Retro release of the Crown Vic in a livery first used for the debut.

Of course that one was a much paler yellow than the original, was on the new casting MAN number, and also sported a yellow base and plain wheels.

And then earlier in 2021 we saw the first Moving Parts release for the Crown Vic Taxi, as it was number 3 in the series of 20, with the new release being number 19. Again I found a shade to it. As I said, I hope we get to see an FDNY release at some point. We need that to finish an NYC trio.

Ah nuts! Did I rip a model out of the blisterpack before taking a photo of said blisterpack? I believe I did. I do that occasionally. It is still not something I am very used to. So this is number 20 in the series. The MB1223 Lamborghini Centenario.

It comes in a very nice matte black design with a blue base and details over the top and rear.

And I have to admit, these dark colours are very good at giving us a great match between metal body and plastic scissor doors. I am still very impressed by this casting, and the new one looks just as stunning as the 2 that preceded it.

You know the ones. The 2020 Moving Parts debut in a dark charcoal with a yellow base.

And the 2021 Collector model in a glass black with a red base. The fact is, I think this is about the most impressive of the 3.

Because as the debut was following the original show model’s look, the Collector introduced us to the strip going over the top, and this has continued with the Moving Parts model. Now I have to say, these are all very dark colour schemes. Will we see a bright colour next? There is a bright green one out in the real world, as well as yellow, purple etc.

Or will we see more dark issues but moving from primary colour bases to secondary colour bases? I actually think it is pretty cool how we have a set of primary base colours for this. I am excited to see what they think of next for this. So, this was number 20 of 20, but I haven’t shown all the batch yet.

Well, this is because of this. The MB1225 ’19 Ford Ranger in charcoal with a Skyjacker design. It doesn’t show a number on the packaging. That means it is not a 2021 release. Them’s the rules.

Yes, this is a carry forward of the debut look of the model from the 2020 Moving Parts series. Which to me is actually quite surprising. Not that I am complaining. As people know, I do enjoy a carry forward.

And this was a pretty decent debut. Plus I love having real licensed liveries used too. I still can’t believe they have both an opening hood and a rear hatch to it too.

So obviously I bring in the 2020 release of this to compare.

It turns out the new model is quite a darker shade of charcoal compared to how they first did it. The tampo design is almost the same, just a slight nuance to the tampo shades if anything. But that darker charcoal was enough for me to be more than happy to have this again.

Being an early 2020 batch and a late 2021 batch means quite a difference in production times. M47 through to P28. 1 year, 7 months and 2 weeks, to be exact. I’m a nerd!

But I am also slightly disappointed they did not do this one again. It is still my favourite Ranger, and was an earlier 2021 issue. Like the Chevy C10 was above. But overall, a pretty impressive mix of all new (2 models), new looks (2 models) and carry forwards (2 models).

I was a little slow in getting these, but I think it was worth the wait, and thanks again Dirk for sending them over from Germany for me. So, I guess this means I am due a dive back?

So let’s start with a classic. The Lesney MB25-A Ford Cortina Mk II. Originally this casting debuted in 1968 in brown in the regular wheels era, running for 2 years unchanged. Although it was also added to a G-4 Race & Rally set sporting a yellow roof rack clipped on top. In 1970 it made the transition to Superfast wheels where the intention was to turn it blue. But things never go smoothly in the Lesney era do they? As it transitioned, it was still the original brown of the regular wheel version.

These are some of the rarer transitional models from the crossover to Superfast from the regular wheel era. Although the Cortina is far from the rarest one out there.

Of course it wasn’t long before it finally got its blue makeover. It ran for 2 years in blue before a Mod Tractor took over the MB25 slot in 1972.

Which meant plenty of time for it to sport some lovely shade variations. It ranges quite a lot from a bright blue to a pretty dark shade of blue.

But this was far from the end of the Cortina’s journey. After Universal took over the company, they received a request from Bulgaria to allow them to make Matchbox models in their own country for local sales. Bulgarian import laws were quite strict at the time, and so Universal loaned them toolings for 5 castings in late 1983 of older vehicles that were no longer in use, and they went nuts creating as many as they could of them for a little under a year. The agreement was that 1 year from the day Universal shipped the toolings out, they had to be back with Universal. Late 1984 and the toolings were back with Universal again. Due to the success, a second batch of tools were sent out in early 1985 for the same period of time. One of this second batch of 7 castings was the Cortina. They produced as much as they could in a wide variety of colours. Of course blue was chosen again.

Universal had retooled the base ready for them to use with updated details and location of production.

They would produce a variety of blue shades.

As well as greens.

Red, gold. Well you get the picture. The majority were to be found with silver bases, although some came with black base, and a few were found with gold ones. interiors tended to be either red or black, but a few yellows were found too. By early 1986 the toolings were back at Universal HQ. But that still wasn’t the end of it.

Because in 1987 Hungary made a request to do the same. Universal granted, altered the base again to have Made in Hungary on it, and shipped the tooling over there. Hungary only did the one batch.

They did the same sort of thing. Loads of colours, although white was a new one.

Blue (again), silver, there was a lot of variety. Black bases or dark silver bases were both about as common as each other, and this time the black and red interiors were pretty much equally joined by yellow interiors.

The Hungary sent over their set of toolings at the start of 1988, the Cortina was finally laid to rest.

You know what? Why not dig out something I haven’t looked at in a while. The S2 Jet. It was released as MB2-D in 1981 alongside the Swing Wing Jet (which I recently featured in a Top Gun Maverick post). I remember as a kid at the time thinking why? They have a whole Skybusters series, why are they putting planes in the basic range too? I hadn’t collected Skybusters as I was uninterested in them. So it took a bit for me to really get into these either. I didn’t actually have one of these as a kid. I had a Swing Wing, which I ended up upgrading (and adding to) as an adult. But the S2 was a model I only ever built a small collection of as an adult.

The real plane is a Blackburn Buccaneer. It was designed in the late 1950s in the UK and went into service in 1962 just as Blackburn Aircraft Ltd was being bought out by Hawker Siddeley. Even though it was officially a Hawker Siddeley Buccaneer from 1963 until they stopped making them in 1994, most people would still refer to it as a Blackburn. The original S1 was not the most balanced for take-off and landing and they quickly came up with the S2 to replace it. One of the novel parts of the aircraft was the fold up wings. They were designed to allow for more to be lined up on an aircraft carrier. Wings up for taxiing, wings down for take-off, flight and landing. Of course this was perfect for Lesney to integrate into the design of the model too. That way the model would fit nicely in a box or blister. It debuted in 1981 and for the first year was black over yellow with yellow wings.

The main variation came from the cockpit window ranging from quite a light amber to a very dark amber.

Although if you hunted hard enough, you might actually find one in red.

For 1982 they changed the look to blue over white.

Of course, this was Lesney and the metallic blue was good for shades, but the wings became the main point of focus.

Normally they would have Viper on them, but some were left blank.

And then you might find one with wings in grey instead. Again, this can be found without the Viper tampo print, but that is the toughest one to find, and I am still looking.

The model stayed in the range like that until 1985, and therefore production moved to Macau in 1983. However, there is a note that some were found made in Hong Kong. I have never seen one though. Macau S2 Jets were a brighter blue, and the wings a more creamy looking shade. The Viper print stayed pretty much constantly, although early ones were applied by labels before they started tampo printing them.

A base shot showing the England and Macau production. A late run was made in China and placed in a multipack in 1986, but again I am yet to see one of those.

After this the model only ever saw one further issue. In 1989 it was a part of the Commando series, on the Strike team. It only came in one variation, made in Macau. After this release the casting was retired. No more MB002. So with production between 1981 ans 1989, this really was a casting of the ’80s.

So now I move on to the 1990s, and I thought is this the perfect time to showcase this? The 2022 Indy season started this last weekend in Florida, so why not show the one and only Matchbox Indy car. This was the MB247 Indy Racer. It was actually just a modification to the MB228 Grand Prix Racing Car now with a small front and small rear wing. That itself had been a modified MB203 Grand Prix Racing Car that had had started with all large wings, with the MB228 shrinking the rear and now MB247 shrinking the front. It debuted in the 1995 Racing 5-pack in green and white with a number 4 and criss-cross racing pattern.

Due to the 3 different castings all using the same base, the names were actually left off. Normally they would be tampo printed on, but the Indy Racer wasn’t. We were just told by Tyco at the time that this was what they were calling it.

In 1996 the Racing 5-pack continued for a second year, and although all of the other 4 vehicles were entirely different, the Indy Racer was used for a second year with just a switch from green to orange at the front.

In 1997 they went and did another Racing 5-pack, and yet again the Indy Racer was included in it. However, this time they decided to give it an all new design. Purple and fluorescent yellow with a Matchbox and 20 livery.

And well, that was it. Mattel had taken over the brand in late 1996, too late to do anything about 1997. But one of the first things they did was to start removing any racing vehicles from the Matchbox range. This one was dropped immediately, and although we did see a few racing vehicles in the 1998 basic range as a few stragglers managed to get in, by 1999 all racing style vehicles had either been removed, or tampo printed in a way that did not make them feel like a racing car.

So now I move into the 21st century and a look at the MB552 VW Microbus. First debuting in the 2002 basic range, the model was based on the concept vehicle, which Matchbox jumped on thinking it was going into production. Sadly, after many delays, VW canceled it. Matchbox later on in the early 2010s were close to doing the Bulli too, as VW had previewed a concept and had plans for production. But being a little more cautious they held back and when VW canceled that too, they didn’t bother wit it. However, with the VW ID Buzz going into production I hope that one is on the agenda.

But back to the Microbus. It came out in a silver over blue design as MB72 in the basic range, and being a 2002 release, the first 10,000 models saw a black 50 logo on the back of the model. But this was not all.

An extra set of models was also produced for a New York Convention that year as a dealer model. These all sported a 50 logo on the rear, that was not part of the 10,000 piece run. These were yellow, not black. Plus they all sported a set of real riders, or 2-part rubber wheels as I often call them. But the dealer set was actually a set of 8 models, all slightly different in 3 areas.

Half of the models sported a black base, the other half a grey base.

Half the models sported a smoke tinted window, the other half a clear window.

And half of the models sported a grey interior, the other half a tan interior.

And Mattel were very careful to ensure that each variation was made in equal quantities. 2 variations, times 2 variations, times 2 variations gives us 8 variations of the model. This is how many there were, before anybody starts using a “squared” mathematics system. I have had it in the past that people think you square things for each variation, i.e. 2, 4, 16. It is not. 3 parts in 2 versions gives us a 2x2x2 system.

For 2003 the model became a US exclusive for the basic range as MB54. This Hero City Elementary themed model sported a Hero City logo over the rear wheel on the first 10,000 produced on what would turn out to be the last logo year.

But the model was seen worldwide in a Cars 5-pack in white with a blue side design. Considering this was during the Hero City era, I did actually think this wasn’t a bad design. I quite liked it, and thought it somewhat suited the model.

Later on in the year it was used as the 2004 Pre-Toy Fair model as a promotional tool, featuring the full Hero City design around the model.

For 2004 it was back to being a worldwide release in the basic range. It was blue again, as MB57, although this time had an X-Treme Park and skateboarding scene side design.

Now this was very Hero City. The Fun Park 5-pack issue in yellow with a sort of circus themed side design. Although as the set was called Fun Park, could it be a traveling circus?

It also saw 2 different licensed 5-pack releases. First off a Nick Jr release in yellow featuring Bue from Blues Clues on the side, and then later on a Hanna Barbera pack in blue with The Jetsons on it.

But we weren’t done with 2004 yet. It saw it’s first outing in the Superfast series too. Silver over red was the number 31 release that year.

And later in the year we saw some cool things coming from Germany. First off it was in the Stars of Cars series, exclusive to the German market in dark charcoal with a simple lights detail.

And it was also given another promotional outing at the 2004 Nürnberg International Toy Fair too.

Basic range time, and yes, for the 4th year in a row, blue seemed to be the prominent colour of the basic range release. Seriously! This year it was MB51, and production began in China but ended up in Thailand for a final run (which I am still to find).

Licensed 5-packs at the time would often spawn a 3-piece single offering in alternate colours a few months later too, and one of the 3 Hanna Barbera models from the late 2004 5-pack was the Jetsons VW, which changed from medium blue to a light silvery metallic blue for a single release. However, as these did not appear until early 2005, they were designated as 2005 releases.

And we also saw another licensed 5-pack release too, this time for Namco, featuring Pac-Man on the side.

Finally, the model saw a second Superfast issue too. As 2004, it was number 31 in the range, but was now being sold worldwide. The US isse was in brownze with a white roof, whereas the ROW was mint green with a white roof. The thing with these is, the ROW release was limited to 7,500 pieces (marked on blisters as “up to” 8,000 to ensure if there was a small mis-count nobody could sue them), but the US release was double the size, as there were 15,000 (again marked as “up to” 15,500 for legal reasons). For this reason, the US production carried on a little longer than the ROW one did.

Which meant that a final production run at the end moved from China to Thailand. The model was therefore a lighter orangey bronze, and the windows were almost black as opposed to the clear windows China made models had.

It’s funny I managed to obtain the rarer Thailand made Superfast issue, but still cannot find a more common basic range Thai made Microbus. However, this proved to be it. The model was literally sent over to Thailand for a single tiny production of Superfast and larger one shot production of basics, and then never used again.

And now I finish be reminding people of a Subaru that I feel just doesn’t get the love it should do. The MB1049 ’15 Subaru WRX STi. It debuted as MB60 in the 2017 basic range in blue with a lovely simply battenberg Police design on the side, and a little additional Police tampo across the front.

We then a second, and to date final basic range outing in the 2018 MB67 in a very Japanese looking Police design, which I thought was fantastic.

I even found a small variation. It is all down to the gold stripe running along the bottom. The one at the top here is a more lime gold than the one at the bottom.

But that was it for the basic range. Since that time there has only been one more offering, when it appeared in the 2020 Off Road Rally series at Walmart in USA. This was in white with a Safety Car design on the side. But that is it for this casting. Unless we see it again, that is not a lot of releases. Such a shame. I know a few people thought it rode too high, but that’s not a reason to leave it. I liked it.

And on that note I guess it is time for me to finish another report. One with only a few carry forwards this week.

As we had some nice new stuff for me to delve into.

Next week I will be doing something 2022 related, but I do have one more 2021 article to showcase, as soon as I get all the models for it. Until then I hope people have enjoyed the read, have a safe week and look forward to my next report.