Beach day: the Maisto Fresh Metal Ford Bronco meets the Matchbox Ford F-150 & Ford Bronco Sport

(Find the Maisto Ford Bronco on Ebay here, the Matchbox Ford Bronco Sport here, and the Ford F-150 here)

It’s been a while since the weather has released it’s miserable grip on my hometown long enough for me to venture out and enjoy taking pictures of my diecast in the great outdoors. I’m blessed enough to live in an area that can provide some fabulous landscapes; from beach to moorland, from industrial settings to fields, woodland and streams. But I also live nearby the wettest area of the UK and being by the coast means constant unpredictable weather. Finally however we are having settled, longer days. And these three made for great company on a recent stroll to the beach.

As it would take a bit too long to wade into the history of all three vehicles, I’m going to eschew from my normal writing style today and skip straight to looking at the castings themselves, starting with the Maisto Ford Bronco.

On paper the Maisto Fresh Metal line looks the total opposite of what the majority of us look for on diecast: simply detailed with blacked out plastic windows, no interior and a construction comprised more of plastic than diecast, the line is aimed purely at kids. But as I wrote back in August 2022, there are an increasing number of Fresh Metal castings that have been finding favour with serious collectors. And the Bronco is one of them.

I admire the simplicity of the Fresh Metal cars and there’s no doubting this is a pretty neat little casting. A great colour scheme combined with some crisp details makes it worth a second glance, and the high ground clearance and skinny wheels look great.

Of course there is no doubting it is purely a toy, but it’s one that’s definitely made a number of collectors and customisers think twice about their usual buying habits. And it looked relatively at home next to the two Matchbox, especially the Bronco Sport.

I’m very partial to any form of new Bronco. Matchbox’s non-Sport Bronco made my top 10 of 2021 and the Bronco Sport got a mention in my best of 2023. With retro looks that hark back to the first generation model, the design is one of my favourites of the modern era. So it made perfect sense to add the Matchbox Sport to my hoard, with a big dose of help from Lamley brother and dear friend Graham Heeps, who located one for me after all my searches came to nought.

The decal work is superb and the colour choice offset with the black wheels makes for a perfect combination. I’m a big fan of this.

And I’m also a fan of the new F-150 pickup that has arrived in the Matchbox line. Old pickups are cool, and the orange brand have picked a great subject in the 7th generation version.

I love the two tone paintjob and the pale blue and white exterior works perfectly with the tan interior and load bed. During my trip to the US last year these things were almost omnipresent in Arizona and Nevada and I managed to hook this one at duty free at Harry Reid International, making the perfect souvenir!