Matchbox Monday goes 2022 promotion loopy

So I arrive back in the UK. It has been an amazing 2 weeks in USA. I attended the latest Matchbox Gathering in Albuquerque and definitely made up for lost time by buying everything. Well okay, maybe not everything. I didn’t win the lottery. I wasn’t in Illinois during my time there and didn’t get that winning $1.34billion ticket. But I did get a lot more this trip than I had in a long time. I think I was making up for lost time after missing the last 2 years due to restrictions. I had to purchase a new suitcase to bring everything back I picked up so much. And as happens at this time of year, we get our first look at some beautiful promotional models that Matchbox make. With so few done each year nowadays, these really do stand out. The first major release is in July, with a few more coming later around Leipzig and the Toy Fair. Maybe a random other one appears (thinking SEMA or something) although I haven’t heard of one for this year. But I am getting ahead of myself. Let’s do a breakdown of what we had in July.

The first one we got was the dinner model, handed out for people attending the Saturday evening festivities. This year saw the model chosen as the MB1221 ’20 Chevy Corvette C8. It came in a plexicase.

The top of the case tells us the model, what it was for, and had the 20th Anniversary logo designed by Michael Heralda for the event.

Of course I am not going to leave it in a plexicase. So off comes the lid.

And after unscrewing from the base, the model is free. It comes in white with blue sections. The 20th Anniversary logo is on the roof, and the front and sides feature an 02 First Event logo, because the first event was in 2002. A little black and gold detailing apply too.

The model was also designed by Michael Heralda, and he did a lovely job with it. I love it. We get the dates on the top around the logo, and the Matchbox logo on the rear too.

There are little Easter Eggs all over. The sides have Lugo-Adlar58-Jimmy G along the lower edge. This is Abe Lugo (who runs the Matchbox team), Michael Heralda (who I mentioned designed it) and Jim Gallegos (who runs the convention). The wheels are also matching with white and gold edging to the hubs on the real riders.

As with any promotional model nowadays, the standard detailing will also apply. The Corvette logo, a license plate etc .

I really like this one. One of the best dinner models I have seen.

But of course I was a part of the early birds. The first 75 people who paid up for the event (and believe me that will go in seconds of the application process going live) received a unique 1 of 75 green variant.

The vehicle is identical to the regular issue, except what was blue is now green. It comes in the same plexicase. The only indicator was the outer white box having either a green or blue label to signify which was which.

This metallic shiny look really does stand out, and I admit to prefering the green over the blue. So very happy being an early bird too.

I took a few more shots of this one to show it off. As I said, it is the same except green instead of blue. But for me, I think the details seem to pop even better on this colour.

This was a great way to start off the event.

Placing the green and blue together so you really see how different the colours are.

So with the Corvette being around a few years now, I can do a little dive back

As the casting did debut in the 2020 basic range as MB47 in blue. During production the shade of blue did vary a little.

However, the shades are nothing like the blue used on the dinner model this year. This is almost like a spectraflame look it is so shiny.

For 2021 the model moved to MB40 and turned red.

And also saw a premium look as the first Matchbox Super Chase. As you can see, the wheels are a different style to the ones used in the promo this year.

And so far in 2022 we have seen a black issue in the basic range as MB20 before this pair of promotions.

So (not including the shade which is a me thing) we have 3 regular core looks and 3 premium guises for the model to date.

But of course that was not all. Sadly, there was a small shipping issue. The dinner models managed to arrive in time for the convention, but everything else was still in transit. This meant that Jim had a small dilemma for the dealers for the Sunday toy show. He had no choice but to take everybody’s details ready to ship out once models arrived. They finally made it to Albuquerque the following week. So they are all in transit now being shipped out to their various destinations. Dealers should be getting them any time soon. This year the model was the MB1184 ’65 Land Rover Gen II safari in a shiny mint green.

The slightly taller plexicase had the same detailing to the top of it, this time telling us it was the dealer model and what it was.

The theme for this is based on the ongoing National Parks theme. But with a small twist. An enhanced logo specifying New Mexico and enhanced detailing alongside a shinier mint green paint job.

The model also came on real riders too and featured a chrome base.

The 20th logo this time was on the hood (or bonnet).

Due to the roof sporting a removable canoe on it. Wait a sec, they superglued the canoe in the roof again so it can’t be switched out. You may notice that the canoe was also detailed too.

Again, designed by Michael Heralda, this model sports many nods to Jim and other people. The rear is very highly detailed and also has a National Parks and Lakes reference.

The sides have a simple white stripe and Jimmy G Supervisor in the door. Again a nod to 02, the year the convention started.

But again, this was not all. A special small run was made for those who helped with the convention. I was told there are 35 of these ones in silver instead of mint green.

Again, the outer plexicase is identical. This only has a different colour again.

Now Jim did ask me if there was any way I could keep this one in the plexicase. As always, it fell on deaf ears. I am surprised he still lets me have anything. Now this may just be me, but the door logo really stands out better on the silver background compared to mint, and most of this does, except the white stripe which fades away a little.

These are 2 really nice models. I would say I prefer the silver, but the minty green just has that nostalgia feel to it, so I have to give it the edge.

These are both extremely nice though. Thanks to Jim for passing these on to me to prepare the report.

And having 2 allows me to do this shot. Do you notice that the rear doors have a different logo on them? One one side we get a Mount Aldar58 Lookour Tower and on the other side a noticifcation for Lake Lugo to register for fishing permits. I love the fun little additions that Michael adds to the models.

And for anyone who was curious, the minty green paint for the Land Rover was noticeably lighter than the green used on the Early Bird Corvette.

For those who follow, you will know that this was not the first time the Landie was chosen as an event promotional. Back in 2019 Dirk Schleuer used the model for the Leipzig convention. Again, just as now, the roof items were superglued in to the top, so you cannot mix and match them. The Leipzig show that year had a yellow model made for the Modell-Hobby-Spiel itself.

The dinner model for that event still stands as the only one that did not have a canoe superglued into the roof. The green model for that event (a dark olive green) sported a full suitcase load roof element similar to those seen on many core models.

His early bird registered people saw a white models with canoe.

With a 4th special blue model for the helpers, much in the way the silver one here is for the helpers for the current convention.

So we now have 6 highly detailed promotional models from this casting. Thanks again to Jim for these, and again, a round of applause for Michael on a job very well done. But do you think this is it? Of course not.

Because what we usually get around the same time is another promotional event for Everett Marshall. Usually he would bring them to the convention for people to buy, but sadly, these were in the same delivery as the dealer Land Rover, and as such missed the event. Arriving the following week. This year Everett chose the MB1315 Seagrave Fire Engine as his models. Chatting with Everett, he said he chose it the minute they announced at the 2021 Gathering that the Seagrave was coming for the 2022 Moving Parts series.

Packaging is similar, with models arriving in a plexicase with the name and Everett’s charities logo on the roof, and also depicting it is for the 2022 New Jersey/Florida events.

The model is extremely highly detailed. This one comes in gold over white, with the ladder side panel having Everett Marshall 2022 Gold Tournament on a black banner.

There are 250 of this model created for the Burns Foundation charity and as you can see, there is a plastic piece holding the ladder in place.

And this was the last I saw of that plastic piece. I remember when the Moving Parts model was released how the 2 parts to the ladder were kept seperate, with the plastic piece there holding them together, and we had to construct the ladder afterwards. Glad to see we didn’t have to this time.

Again this is extremely well done, and the gold over white is stunning. This looks so classy. It is number 17 in the list of yearly models.

And I have to say, out of all the promotionals he has done for the Golf Tournaments this is definitely one of the nicest. I love it!

As you can see it makes mention of Florida and New Jersey. The tournament used to just be in New Jersey many years ago when Everett lived there. But when he retired and moved to Florida, the people who used to attend the tournament didn’t really want to travel all that way to attend, so he set up a second tournament too.

So now we have an event in New Jersey and an event in Florida each year.

Which was around the time when we started seeing a second model.

Oh yes, there is a white over pink variant too. This model’s proceeds go to Breast Cancer Research each year, hence them always being in pink. Again 250 models made this way too and they came in the same plexicase.

All 500 models have the same top printing to the plexicase. The only difference is the colour choice for the model.

As with all the other models we have seen in this report.

Yeah same piece if plastic holding the ladder in place. Bye bye piece of plastic.

Because that ladder needs to stretch out.

I do enjoy seeing all the July promotional releases each year, and this year has not disappointed.

Now of course you are currently able to get these Seagraves. But you had better be quick. As I mentioned there are 2 golf tournaments taking place in New Jersey and Florida. Attendees to the golf tournaments will be receiving one of these. But Everett will have some spares which he is willing to part with for the right price. That price is of course a minimum of $50 a model. It may seem high, but remember these are charity models. That is why it is a minimum donation. If you pay at least $50 for the gold over white model, that $50+ will all be going to the Burns Foundation. If you pay at least $50 for the white over pink model, that $50+ will all be going to Breast Cancer Research. And yes, I have sent Everett a triple digit payment for both.

Now because he does want all the $50+ money to go direct to the charities, please keep this in mind when asking for one or both. He will need to ship them out. If you live in USA please add an additional $5 for shipping costs. If you live outside of USA, please add an additional $20 for shipping costs. You can contact him at mbroad@aol.com to request them. Please make sure to let him know which model you are after, or if you want both. Ensure you have at least a minimum donation of $50 for each, plus the 1-off shipping fee (regardless of one or both, although if you want multiples beyond the 2 you may want to double check in case shipping will need to be increased). Also, make sure to pass on your full delivery address so he knows where to ship. And if you are using PayPal can we ask that you use the friends and family option as again, this is charity stuff. If you don’t the charity loses out, so please choose that option. Thank you.

So these 2 charity models are now added to the one release so far of the Seagrave, where it debuted a short time ago as number 9 in the Moving Parts range.

These 2 really showcase how cool the casting is, with all the bells and whistles detailed. Great stuff from Matchbox again.

So we are already up to 3 releases on this new casting. I love it.

So is this it for this report? Sad to say, I have not had the time to go and do a dive back into my collection for a second half. Those will return next week when I am back to my usual routine. Having spent the last 2 weeks in USA, I am amazed I have managed to get this out. Still suffering with jet lag. If there are spelling mistakes I apologise. But I do have one more thing.

Some people may have seen some pictures on Instagram of the 2022 Toy Fair MB1227 Honda E. A few have finally started to surface. The Gathering saw Ezra win one in a special mystery box, and a few other pictures have appeared too. Yes, these were done last year. You see 2022, it is 2022, you think it is current. But no, toy fair models appear later in the year before the year they state. The annual toy fair was scheduled to be in September 2021, but with the 2021 Toy Fair taking place in September 2020 being completely canceled due to Covid, they were hopeful for the 2022 fair in September 2021. But no, in the end it was held virtually. No fair took place. Therefore, the Honda that was produced for it was never shipped out. Only now are the first few now finally popping up.

Which is a real shame because this is such a lovely little model. As has been the case with recent toy fairs, it comes in a plastic pack attached to a black box.

As with most years since the mid 2010s (apart from the 2020 fair where the Alfa Romeo was red) the model sported the same bronze look that has epitomized the Matchbox brand each year.

And choosing the Honda E was a deliberate choice as you may have seen the push that Matchbox is having nowadays on green items. More and more electric and hybrid vehicles are being added to the range. They are looking at moving to more sustainable materials, with plenty of recycled parts in production and packaging moving more towards biodegradable sources.

And this was the perfect little vehicle to showcase this. It’s such a shame the event never took place for a second year.

I love this continuing theme, and all of the Honda details are there too. Great work on this model.

I wanted to give it a moment to shine. Hopefully all being well, there will not be any issues with the 2023 Toy Fair. It is due to take place in a few months and currently is looking at in-person attendees again. So fingers crossed the 2023 model will pop up a lot quicker.

These last 2 have likely been the toughest 2 to get. The MB1243 MBX Field Car from the 2021 Toy Fair which didn’t take place at all in September 2020 has rarely appeared anywhere. I have a feeling the Honda will be just the same.

I can imagine the 2023 Toy Fair model continuing this recurring theme.

And on that bombshell, I am finishing for now. As I said, no dive back this week as I need to catch up with so much first.

But I hope you enjoed what I did manage to put together at short notice. Have a safe week. I am going to sleep. Most of it….