David Tilley
07-13-2009, 10:29 PM
Ambassador Report
June 2009
Hello Matchbox world!
Nearly a year has flown by, it seems as if it was only last week Felix Holst called my name when I was trying to finish my second plate of dinner. It was truly a shock, a real honor to have been chosen to serve my fellow Matchbox collectors. I am very honored to have myself noted with other great collectors such as John Yanouzas, Jim Gallegos and David Tilley. There are thousands of collectors in this huge world; it just gets smaller by our three-inch morsels of joy, Matchbox!
The upcoming MCCH International Gathering of Friends will end my term to allow another start for a lucky person. Scheduled Mattel team members for the Gathering are Felix Holst, Michael Heralda, Dave Weise, Gerardo Lopez, Ryu Asada, Mark Jones (designer of Real Working Rigs, Super Convoys and Sky Busters), Heather Miller and Amina Sekandari. Old friends, new faces; this will be another great get-together of Matchbox friends. Who’s covering the first round at the bar?
2009 gets to see both versions of the Ford LTD Crown Victoria. In the 1-100 line, we have the “2000” version. In the new Fire themed 5-pack, we have the “1990s” version. A production tidbit: the production run of a 5-pack is about 200,000 units.
Upcoming 10 packs!
The Mustang Cobra with standard issues is forthcoming; a noteworthy detail: the interior has been reworked. The release months are set for July and September.
The Adventure pack will have:
Desert Thunder V16
Off Road Rider
VW 4x4
Chevy K1500 Pick-up
Ridge Raider
2008 Dune Buggy
Ford Sport Trac
Jeep Rescue
Chevy Avalanche
Land Rover 90
The 1st Editions will have:
MBX Street Cleaner
Quick Sander
Toyota Land Cruiser
Ford E-350 Ambulance
Lotus Europa
Dodge Challenger
Dodge Monaco Police car
Jaguar XK120SE
MBX Moving Truck
Mitsubishi L200 Triton
Superfast news!
The second wave of 40th Anniversary Superfast is in production! The original release month of August has been pushed out to September. This still leaves plenty of time for those who need the five additional vouchers to mail in for the Volkswagen T2 Bus premium. This upcoming release will include:
1. Shelby GT500 Convertible
2. Scraper
3. Mazda 2
4. 2008 Garbage Truck
5. ’75 Chevy Stepside
6. ’68 Citroen DS
7. Pierce Dash Fire Engine
8. 2008 Lotus
9. Toy Box Motorhome
10.Ford F100 Panel Delivery
Will we see Superfast for 2010? YES! The line holds many exciting surprises for us! What are they? It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you. The Design Team will be working their magic!
Super Convoys are super! The first release of four issues have rolled out, the Design Team has been hard at work with additional models slated for fall release. Upcoming is the International Lonestar and Kenworth T800. The Kenworth is noted to be the tallest of the line, due to the fairing atop the cab. This will also blend itself better to the height of the car carrier trailer. VUM (vacuum urethane metalizing) will adorn the bumpers to give them the chrome effect. Want variation? It was noted the Matchbox logo was missing from the base of the rigs. A running change to the casting will be done to incorporate this feature.
For those lucky enough to procure a 2009 Toy Fair Pierce model, you have one of 800 models produced. Special models such as these are produced in small volume for the event they commemorate.
Models of Yesteryear (MoY) are not on the future docket at Mattel. The Dinky line is still being worked on by Norev, a licensor in France. Dave Weise has task of reviewing the tooling prior to production. No release date has been given as of yet.
The Power Scouts line will not be carried forward into 2010.
This is my last (monthly) report, I will have a post-Albuquerque wrap up, and to announce my successor, Matchbox Ambassador #5. Many thanks go to the Matchbox Team for taking the time to have our conference calls so our information can be shared as it has been, and will continue to be. They are a fantastic bunch of people who are very passionate about their work. Their hard work gives us collectors our fun. By the way, our conference calls have been held via the Design Center, which has been under remodeling during the year. I have heard our Matchbox personnel in an echo chamber, through Pink (Barbie) equipment, nudged out of the conference room by former Matchbox people, and finally in the DC Wheels room. What a great place to be!
I wonder if Spam will be served this year?
Until the next time, enjoy your Matchbox!
Terry Ozima
Matchbox Ambassador 4
:) :p :D
June 2009
Hello Matchbox world!
Nearly a year has flown by, it seems as if it was only last week Felix Holst called my name when I was trying to finish my second plate of dinner. It was truly a shock, a real honor to have been chosen to serve my fellow Matchbox collectors. I am very honored to have myself noted with other great collectors such as John Yanouzas, Jim Gallegos and David Tilley. There are thousands of collectors in this huge world; it just gets smaller by our three-inch morsels of joy, Matchbox!
The upcoming MCCH International Gathering of Friends will end my term to allow another start for a lucky person. Scheduled Mattel team members for the Gathering are Felix Holst, Michael Heralda, Dave Weise, Gerardo Lopez, Ryu Asada, Mark Jones (designer of Real Working Rigs, Super Convoys and Sky Busters), Heather Miller and Amina Sekandari. Old friends, new faces; this will be another great get-together of Matchbox friends. Who’s covering the first round at the bar?
2009 gets to see both versions of the Ford LTD Crown Victoria. In the 1-100 line, we have the “2000” version. In the new Fire themed 5-pack, we have the “1990s” version. A production tidbit: the production run of a 5-pack is about 200,000 units.
Upcoming 10 packs!
The Mustang Cobra with standard issues is forthcoming; a noteworthy detail: the interior has been reworked. The release months are set for July and September.
The Adventure pack will have:
Desert Thunder V16
Off Road Rider
VW 4x4
Chevy K1500 Pick-up
Ridge Raider
2008 Dune Buggy
Ford Sport Trac
Jeep Rescue
Chevy Avalanche
Land Rover 90
The 1st Editions will have:
MBX Street Cleaner
Quick Sander
Toyota Land Cruiser
Ford E-350 Ambulance
Lotus Europa
Dodge Challenger
Dodge Monaco Police car
Jaguar XK120SE
MBX Moving Truck
Mitsubishi L200 Triton
Superfast news!
The second wave of 40th Anniversary Superfast is in production! The original release month of August has been pushed out to September. This still leaves plenty of time for those who need the five additional vouchers to mail in for the Volkswagen T2 Bus premium. This upcoming release will include:
1. Shelby GT500 Convertible
2. Scraper
3. Mazda 2
4. 2008 Garbage Truck
5. ’75 Chevy Stepside
6. ’68 Citroen DS
7. Pierce Dash Fire Engine
8. 2008 Lotus
9. Toy Box Motorhome
10.Ford F100 Panel Delivery
Will we see Superfast for 2010? YES! The line holds many exciting surprises for us! What are they? It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you. The Design Team will be working their magic!
Super Convoys are super! The first release of four issues have rolled out, the Design Team has been hard at work with additional models slated for fall release. Upcoming is the International Lonestar and Kenworth T800. The Kenworth is noted to be the tallest of the line, due to the fairing atop the cab. This will also blend itself better to the height of the car carrier trailer. VUM (vacuum urethane metalizing) will adorn the bumpers to give them the chrome effect. Want variation? It was noted the Matchbox logo was missing from the base of the rigs. A running change to the casting will be done to incorporate this feature.
For those lucky enough to procure a 2009 Toy Fair Pierce model, you have one of 800 models produced. Special models such as these are produced in small volume for the event they commemorate.
Models of Yesteryear (MoY) are not on the future docket at Mattel. The Dinky line is still being worked on by Norev, a licensor in France. Dave Weise has task of reviewing the tooling prior to production. No release date has been given as of yet.
The Power Scouts line will not be carried forward into 2010.
This is my last (monthly) report, I will have a post-Albuquerque wrap up, and to announce my successor, Matchbox Ambassador #5. Many thanks go to the Matchbox Team for taking the time to have our conference calls so our information can be shared as it has been, and will continue to be. They are a fantastic bunch of people who are very passionate about their work. Their hard work gives us collectors our fun. By the way, our conference calls have been held via the Design Center, which has been under remodeling during the year. I have heard our Matchbox personnel in an echo chamber, through Pink (Barbie) equipment, nudged out of the conference room by former Matchbox people, and finally in the DC Wheels room. What a great place to be!
I wonder if Spam will be served this year?
Until the next time, enjoy your Matchbox!
Terry Ozima
Matchbox Ambassador 4
:) :p :D