David Tilley
12-12-2008, 06:41 AM
November running late...
Ambassador Report
November 2008
Hello Matchbox world! Here at last, my first Ambassador report! It’s been a while; there is much to catch up on.
The Matchbox Team has been very busy at work, already planning for 2010. 2010? Yes, 2009 is already on the books. We will have another exciting year ahead of us- 20 (planned) new castings, re-colors, some things old& refreshed, some things new, something for everyone.
The team has grown! The exciting news is, we have a new member on the Matchbox Team - Amina Sekandari was hired as the new Associate Brand Manager for Matchbox and a welcome addition to the team.
Mattel hosted a Toy Fair at the El Segundo, CA headquarters. Sorry, no, we are not privy to this event, as it is open to members of the trade. A premium is passed out to these lucky few. Matchbox produced a Pierce Dash Fire Engine mounted in an acrylic box. The model is colored in fire engine red and chrome. Wheels are the tri-spoke with chrome accent. The tampos include: “Toy Fair 2009”, “Matchbox” race track logo, “Real-Action-Adventure”, “M” Fire Dept crest, “56” and “Fire Dept.”
For those interested in the “other” brand, Hot Wheels produced an Orange County Choppers (OCC) Splitback Chopper, also mounted in an acrylic box. Please note these premiums are part of the Toy Fair venue, none are given to the general public
We were shown a new range of 4” vehicles at the July Gathering. This range is officially named “Real Working Rigs.” The first models in the series are all licensed and include a selection of vehicles across the worlds of construction, city services, and emergency. A few of the vehicles set for release are the Pierce Quantum Arial Ladder, Autocar ACX Garbage Truck, International Workstar Dump Truck, Western Star 6900XD Heavy Wrecker, Kenworth T800 Dumper and Mercedes Actros Cement Mixer. All have very nice moving parts providing excellent play value for us, er, I mean the children. The previewed models had functions such as: an extending ladder, a very nice pivoting rig into the dumper, rotating drum and pivoting/extending hook. The Bernadillo Fire Department (New Mexico) will be the livery depicted on the Pierce. The garbage truck will be sporting the Waste Management license. The Mobile Crane will be bringing up the rear in distribution, slated for 2010. Yes, there is more to come in 2010. Wait for the bulldozer and the MAN TGS Flatbed Truck.Availability will be in the USA and ROW. This line will be appearing at your local retailers in December. Resets at the retailers usually don’t happen until after the holidays, so the exact location in the aisle is uncertain.
2009 packaging is well under way. According to the team, the blister images are being tweaked, the REAL, ACTION and ADVENTURE theme will carry over.
The series themes will also carry over: Emergency, Construction, City Action, Heritage Classics, Sports Cars, Metro Rides, VIP, Outdoor Sports, Highway Maintenance and Desert Adventure.
The Superfast line will receive a new wheel for 2009. This wheel will debut in Spring of 2009; the team is planning to have wheel variations worked into the twenty basic models of the line. The twenty will be chosen from the new castings of 2008. The packaging will sport a special 40th Anniversary logo Michael Heralda is working on. We anxiously await the unveiling of this artwork masterpiece!
The Superfast line is planning to have a mail-in premium. Buy a certain number of models, you send in the proofs of purchase to receive a model to be determined. Actually, the VW T2 bus was the last model spoken to be the premium model.
Distribution improvement!! Superfast will no longer be just a Wal-Mart exclusive. Starting in April 2009, Superfast will be available in Toys R Us.
The “Best of…” will continue to have the best. The Best of British is back for 2009, America, International are also planned. The line will continue to have six castings per segment, with the addition of two of the new 2009 castings to be included.
A Best of Ford-Chevy-Emergency was also fed to the team as possible segments.
The Skybuster Adventure packs we have been finding in the Target stores are Target exclusives; the reason why you will not find them elsewhere. Matchbox will time to time offer an exclusive to a retailer, to keep them happy and us in their stores. Marketing, marketing, marketing!!
The good news is, the product has done very well at Target. Bad news is, Secret Mission will remain a secret for 2008. There were some issues with the Skybuster tooling, and it arrived late in the production schedule. It has been said the Adventure packs will not return for 2009. So, for 2008, 5 is the magic number for this series. Point of origin tidbit: Skybusters are produced in Thailand, aka MBK.
Battle Kings will return! The themes of Rogue and United Alliance will remain with new camouflage hues. The pack content will have a slight change; a most notable item is the Launcher Cannon. This item is designed to be a clip-on/free standing variety replacing the original cannon. The cannon has a rotating barrel, constructed of all plastic. It will be accompanied by an exploding bunker, two vehicles, three figures and two missiles. The package size will remain the same, but will sport new illustrations.
Hitch N’ Hauls return for 2009! No re-colors are planned above the basic issues. A new set is Vacation Day, with the Honda Ridgeline in gray and the Camper Trailer in a silver/green color, completed with deer and camper figurines. Play value at it’s best!
The 10-pack saga continues! The current 10 packs with common models and the exclusive Mercedes S500 and 1968 Mustang Cobra Jet, will come in a dark gray metallic, and a dark black metallic paint respectively. This will be the fourth of fourth exclusive re-colors. The all exclusive 10 pack will have the Citroen in metallic maroon, Scraper in lime green, VW Caddy in white, Cadillac Sedan DeVille in metallic light blue, Shelby GT500 convertible in blue, Chevrolet Stepside in orange-yellow, VW Thing in olive drab, Shovel Nose Tractor in red, Camper in gold/black and Garbage truck in orange.
In 2009, the exclusive models in the common 10 packs will be the 1970 Plymouth Cuda and 1995 Mustang Cobra Convertible, again in four different paint schemes in separate releases.
The little chatchkies (as phrased to me by Dave Wiese) are underway! The Gathering had hinted to us we can look forward to some plastic accessories adorn the basic line vehicles. These items will be used on the basic line vehicles to give them additional themes while not having to modify the standard vehicle. The Dodge Magnum will sport a pair of surfboards; the Ford Crown Victoria will get a taxi sign. A new light bar, fashioned after the LED version many municipalities currently adorn is also planned.
The last Gathering hinted a 1965 Austin Mini-Van in green would be released in an upcoming 10 pack. Pack yes, 10, no. It has been produced by MBK, released in a ROW 3 pack. Over the pond we go to get one…
Where is the MB029 Tractor Shovel? It had disappeared from a recent 10=pack, and was replaced with the Tractor Plow. This was just a running swap due to production availability, and is waiting its return in the line up! There are so many great castings to be had; it just has to wait its turn. Construction vehicles are a favored theme in the line up as we know and enjoy.
News from the engineering front. The Ford E-350 Ambulance and Toyota Prius are being tooled up for the 2009 line. The 1965 Ford Mustang GT is being re-tooled to have a detailed plastic baseplate along with a subtle change to the body and interior. At the 2008 Line Preview I was very excited to see the model sampled with a metal base. I am still excited to have it continued in the core line.
The Lotus licensor has been working very well with Matchbox, evident of the Elise, Exige, and now the Evora. Matchbox had the exclusive die cast model with Lotus, as it was called “Project Eagle.” Rumor has it the Evora name came about at last minute, it was only figured the vehicle’s name had to start with an “E.” The Evora baseplate reads “Lotus-2008,” which will probably remain, as it is a licensor-approved name. As the Lotus relationship is building, 2009 will also mark the return of the 1971 Europa. This model will replicate the issue of yore, less opening parts and suspension, but makes a terrific addition to the Lotus name in the line.
For our ambulance chasers, a new tool has been created for the 2009 line, the Ford E-350. This is the van style cab used by many ambulance companies/municipalities. I will guess the licensing department will be busy with this one when not being a generic livery!
For those old enough to remember the television show, “Police Story,” it was also viewed by Felix Holst. Point of the matter is, we are gaining a new casting, the 1978 Dodge Monaco, as it was popularized by the TV series. To refresh your memory (or to inform you), this vehicle was a four door, 318 cubic inch V-8 engine, stacked rectangular headlights, chromed steel bumpers, tire smokin’ Mopar workhorse. Needless to say, it was a favorite Police cruiser of the 1970s of many municipalities across the U.S. No licensed liveries are sought at this point, generic Police tampos are planned.
Subaru Impreza fans! Enjoy your casting while we can. The 2008 versions will be produced, but may be on hold in 2009 due to licensing issues. The current issue of the police and a re-color will be produced.
Mazda 2 is currently appearing in a lime green metallic. Be on the lookout for a brighter lime green metallic.
The MBX Mixer was noted to have a weak barrel retainer; it will be re-tooled to a more robust (rigid) design.
The Chevy Transport bus, one of the heavyweights in the line, is planned to be re-tooled for a plastic body.
A slight variation to look for. The Ford Mustang GT Concept most recently issued in a metallic maroon will have silver stripes added to the hood. It was thought the appearance was too plain; a running change was in order. This version will go into production at the end of the production schedule for this model. This may be the rarer one to find.
Hummelstown will be featured on a police car out soon in the 1-100 line, but no plans at the moment for a fire vehicle or five pack.
Dinky, the name synomous with the traditional scale (1/43) die cast, is gathering production steam. No steam in Thailand, but France. The Dinky brand is being produced by a licensor in Vie de France, Norev. They will initially market French vehicles of the early 1960s and eventually American Muscle. The tooling will be reproductions of the Dinky models, less opening parts. The chassis will have the Dinky brand as well as Mattel casted in. A new line departing from vehicles of the early 1960s is planned.
The younger Matchbox line for the younger set, the Power Scouts have taken extremely well. This line was demonstrated at the last Line Preview, the vehicles replicating several of the 1-100 models in plastic, with battery-operated motors. New variants are being developed for 2009; the Ford Bronco and several other licensed vehicles will be slated to be on the pegs. New play sets will also be out to complement the new Matchbox strategy, “Kid Powered” vehicles.
A 2009 Line Preview is on the minds of the team, now that Toy Fair has concluded, I can pool full efforts into requesting Mattel for this. The team is very interested in doing a Line Preview; they have about as much fun with it as those attending it. Perhaps a tour of the new Design Center will be integrated in the presentation!
Well, this is my story and I’m sticking to it. Gracious thanks to the team for making the time to speak with me and having the patience to wait for me whist I was scribbling my notes. I am looking forward to my next telecon with them to deliver more info for our collector world.
Terry Ozima
Matchbox Ambassador 4
:) :D :p
Ambassador Report
November 2008
Hello Matchbox world! Here at last, my first Ambassador report! It’s been a while; there is much to catch up on.
The Matchbox Team has been very busy at work, already planning for 2010. 2010? Yes, 2009 is already on the books. We will have another exciting year ahead of us- 20 (planned) new castings, re-colors, some things old& refreshed, some things new, something for everyone.
The team has grown! The exciting news is, we have a new member on the Matchbox Team - Amina Sekandari was hired as the new Associate Brand Manager for Matchbox and a welcome addition to the team.
Mattel hosted a Toy Fair at the El Segundo, CA headquarters. Sorry, no, we are not privy to this event, as it is open to members of the trade. A premium is passed out to these lucky few. Matchbox produced a Pierce Dash Fire Engine mounted in an acrylic box. The model is colored in fire engine red and chrome. Wheels are the tri-spoke with chrome accent. The tampos include: “Toy Fair 2009”, “Matchbox” race track logo, “Real-Action-Adventure”, “M” Fire Dept crest, “56” and “Fire Dept.”
For those interested in the “other” brand, Hot Wheels produced an Orange County Choppers (OCC) Splitback Chopper, also mounted in an acrylic box. Please note these premiums are part of the Toy Fair venue, none are given to the general public
We were shown a new range of 4” vehicles at the July Gathering. This range is officially named “Real Working Rigs.” The first models in the series are all licensed and include a selection of vehicles across the worlds of construction, city services, and emergency. A few of the vehicles set for release are the Pierce Quantum Arial Ladder, Autocar ACX Garbage Truck, International Workstar Dump Truck, Western Star 6900XD Heavy Wrecker, Kenworth T800 Dumper and Mercedes Actros Cement Mixer. All have very nice moving parts providing excellent play value for us, er, I mean the children. The previewed models had functions such as: an extending ladder, a very nice pivoting rig into the dumper, rotating drum and pivoting/extending hook. The Bernadillo Fire Department (New Mexico) will be the livery depicted on the Pierce. The garbage truck will be sporting the Waste Management license. The Mobile Crane will be bringing up the rear in distribution, slated for 2010. Yes, there is more to come in 2010. Wait for the bulldozer and the MAN TGS Flatbed Truck.Availability will be in the USA and ROW. This line will be appearing at your local retailers in December. Resets at the retailers usually don’t happen until after the holidays, so the exact location in the aisle is uncertain.
2009 packaging is well under way. According to the team, the blister images are being tweaked, the REAL, ACTION and ADVENTURE theme will carry over.
The series themes will also carry over: Emergency, Construction, City Action, Heritage Classics, Sports Cars, Metro Rides, VIP, Outdoor Sports, Highway Maintenance and Desert Adventure.
The Superfast line will receive a new wheel for 2009. This wheel will debut in Spring of 2009; the team is planning to have wheel variations worked into the twenty basic models of the line. The twenty will be chosen from the new castings of 2008. The packaging will sport a special 40th Anniversary logo Michael Heralda is working on. We anxiously await the unveiling of this artwork masterpiece!
The Superfast line is planning to have a mail-in premium. Buy a certain number of models, you send in the proofs of purchase to receive a model to be determined. Actually, the VW T2 bus was the last model spoken to be the premium model.
Distribution improvement!! Superfast will no longer be just a Wal-Mart exclusive. Starting in April 2009, Superfast will be available in Toys R Us.
The “Best of…” will continue to have the best. The Best of British is back for 2009, America, International are also planned. The line will continue to have six castings per segment, with the addition of two of the new 2009 castings to be included.
A Best of Ford-Chevy-Emergency was also fed to the team as possible segments.
The Skybuster Adventure packs we have been finding in the Target stores are Target exclusives; the reason why you will not find them elsewhere. Matchbox will time to time offer an exclusive to a retailer, to keep them happy and us in their stores. Marketing, marketing, marketing!!
The good news is, the product has done very well at Target. Bad news is, Secret Mission will remain a secret for 2008. There were some issues with the Skybuster tooling, and it arrived late in the production schedule. It has been said the Adventure packs will not return for 2009. So, for 2008, 5 is the magic number for this series. Point of origin tidbit: Skybusters are produced in Thailand, aka MBK.
Battle Kings will return! The themes of Rogue and United Alliance will remain with new camouflage hues. The pack content will have a slight change; a most notable item is the Launcher Cannon. This item is designed to be a clip-on/free standing variety replacing the original cannon. The cannon has a rotating barrel, constructed of all plastic. It will be accompanied by an exploding bunker, two vehicles, three figures and two missiles. The package size will remain the same, but will sport new illustrations.
Hitch N’ Hauls return for 2009! No re-colors are planned above the basic issues. A new set is Vacation Day, with the Honda Ridgeline in gray and the Camper Trailer in a silver/green color, completed with deer and camper figurines. Play value at it’s best!
The 10-pack saga continues! The current 10 packs with common models and the exclusive Mercedes S500 and 1968 Mustang Cobra Jet, will come in a dark gray metallic, and a dark black metallic paint respectively. This will be the fourth of fourth exclusive re-colors. The all exclusive 10 pack will have the Citroen in metallic maroon, Scraper in lime green, VW Caddy in white, Cadillac Sedan DeVille in metallic light blue, Shelby GT500 convertible in blue, Chevrolet Stepside in orange-yellow, VW Thing in olive drab, Shovel Nose Tractor in red, Camper in gold/black and Garbage truck in orange.
In 2009, the exclusive models in the common 10 packs will be the 1970 Plymouth Cuda and 1995 Mustang Cobra Convertible, again in four different paint schemes in separate releases.
The little chatchkies (as phrased to me by Dave Wiese) are underway! The Gathering had hinted to us we can look forward to some plastic accessories adorn the basic line vehicles. These items will be used on the basic line vehicles to give them additional themes while not having to modify the standard vehicle. The Dodge Magnum will sport a pair of surfboards; the Ford Crown Victoria will get a taxi sign. A new light bar, fashioned after the LED version many municipalities currently adorn is also planned.
The last Gathering hinted a 1965 Austin Mini-Van in green would be released in an upcoming 10 pack. Pack yes, 10, no. It has been produced by MBK, released in a ROW 3 pack. Over the pond we go to get one…
Where is the MB029 Tractor Shovel? It had disappeared from a recent 10=pack, and was replaced with the Tractor Plow. This was just a running swap due to production availability, and is waiting its return in the line up! There are so many great castings to be had; it just has to wait its turn. Construction vehicles are a favored theme in the line up as we know and enjoy.
News from the engineering front. The Ford E-350 Ambulance and Toyota Prius are being tooled up for the 2009 line. The 1965 Ford Mustang GT is being re-tooled to have a detailed plastic baseplate along with a subtle change to the body and interior. At the 2008 Line Preview I was very excited to see the model sampled with a metal base. I am still excited to have it continued in the core line.
The Lotus licensor has been working very well with Matchbox, evident of the Elise, Exige, and now the Evora. Matchbox had the exclusive die cast model with Lotus, as it was called “Project Eagle.” Rumor has it the Evora name came about at last minute, it was only figured the vehicle’s name had to start with an “E.” The Evora baseplate reads “Lotus-2008,” which will probably remain, as it is a licensor-approved name. As the Lotus relationship is building, 2009 will also mark the return of the 1971 Europa. This model will replicate the issue of yore, less opening parts and suspension, but makes a terrific addition to the Lotus name in the line.
For our ambulance chasers, a new tool has been created for the 2009 line, the Ford E-350. This is the van style cab used by many ambulance companies/municipalities. I will guess the licensing department will be busy with this one when not being a generic livery!
For those old enough to remember the television show, “Police Story,” it was also viewed by Felix Holst. Point of the matter is, we are gaining a new casting, the 1978 Dodge Monaco, as it was popularized by the TV series. To refresh your memory (or to inform you), this vehicle was a four door, 318 cubic inch V-8 engine, stacked rectangular headlights, chromed steel bumpers, tire smokin’ Mopar workhorse. Needless to say, it was a favorite Police cruiser of the 1970s of many municipalities across the U.S. No licensed liveries are sought at this point, generic Police tampos are planned.
Subaru Impreza fans! Enjoy your casting while we can. The 2008 versions will be produced, but may be on hold in 2009 due to licensing issues. The current issue of the police and a re-color will be produced.
Mazda 2 is currently appearing in a lime green metallic. Be on the lookout for a brighter lime green metallic.
The MBX Mixer was noted to have a weak barrel retainer; it will be re-tooled to a more robust (rigid) design.
The Chevy Transport bus, one of the heavyweights in the line, is planned to be re-tooled for a plastic body.
A slight variation to look for. The Ford Mustang GT Concept most recently issued in a metallic maroon will have silver stripes added to the hood. It was thought the appearance was too plain; a running change was in order. This version will go into production at the end of the production schedule for this model. This may be the rarer one to find.
Hummelstown will be featured on a police car out soon in the 1-100 line, but no plans at the moment for a fire vehicle or five pack.
Dinky, the name synomous with the traditional scale (1/43) die cast, is gathering production steam. No steam in Thailand, but France. The Dinky brand is being produced by a licensor in Vie de France, Norev. They will initially market French vehicles of the early 1960s and eventually American Muscle. The tooling will be reproductions of the Dinky models, less opening parts. The chassis will have the Dinky brand as well as Mattel casted in. A new line departing from vehicles of the early 1960s is planned.
The younger Matchbox line for the younger set, the Power Scouts have taken extremely well. This line was demonstrated at the last Line Preview, the vehicles replicating several of the 1-100 models in plastic, with battery-operated motors. New variants are being developed for 2009; the Ford Bronco and several other licensed vehicles will be slated to be on the pegs. New play sets will also be out to complement the new Matchbox strategy, “Kid Powered” vehicles.
A 2009 Line Preview is on the minds of the team, now that Toy Fair has concluded, I can pool full efforts into requesting Mattel for this. The team is very interested in doing a Line Preview; they have about as much fun with it as those attending it. Perhaps a tour of the new Design Center will be integrated in the presentation!
Well, this is my story and I’m sticking to it. Gracious thanks to the team for making the time to speak with me and having the patience to wait for me whist I was scribbling my notes. I am looking forward to my next telecon with them to deliver more info for our collector world.
Terry Ozima
Matchbox Ambassador 4
:) :D :p