Datsuncog

I can remember those decertificated Vanguards knocking around - I picked this Nordic Blue Mk2 Cavalier up in 2007 or so. I wasn't sure if they were factory seconds - although there were no noticeable flaws on the model I got - but if they were a way to get shot of overproduction on limited editions, then that makes sense. My understanding was that factory production generally runs to 10% extra margin on limited edition stuff - so if a manufacturer plans to release a limited run of 1,000 models, the factory would produce 1,100 to allow for quality control issues such as paint masking errors or stuff getting chipped/ broken during assembly. So I guess if only 40 from the run, say, are flawed then that leaves them with 60 otherwise decent examples left outwith the limited edition parameters. I suppose they've then a choice to use the surplus as trade samples, the basis for industry presentation models - or simply flog 'em off a bit cheaper. In recent years I've noticed some unusually un-round numbers for limited edition ranges, so maybe these days they prefer to manufacture the models first and then decide on exactly how big to make the release, based on how many emerge from the factory in a saleable state - hence runs along the lines of '1 of 880' and '1 of 1135'. Mine has a punched hole on the box end flap, with the sticker applied over it. They must have been sold off pretty cheaply. Can you imagine paying £6 for a new Vanguards model these days? Wish I'd bought a couple more at the time, now I think about it!

I'm going to have to blame @sierraman for making me aware of this: Some weighty reading (288 pages), but fascinating stuff in the two or so chapters I've read so far! Lots of pics and information taken from staff publications that I really wasn't aware of before now. Not cheap, but worth tracking down if you've an interest in such matters...

Guisval Sierra? That's awoken a long-buried memory of being on holiday in Majorca in 1988... there had been a touristy knick knack shop in the holiday apartment complex which had closed down, and was mostly emptied except for a small number of toys and other bits of rubbish still scattered over the tiled floor... I could make out about a dozen small cars by peering through the dusty window, of which a white Sierra with rally stickers was one... there was also a fairly large (like 1/24 scale) red and cream plastic Mk1 Capri, complete with a trailer and boat. Yes, I spent most of the holiday trying to work out a way to get into that shop...

My own blatherings about the smol SD1 models a few years ago... The tl;dr summary is that I concur with @Jon. Also, I note there seems to be a casting warp on the rear panel of his Matchbox police version too - interesting that it wasn't just my later jam-sandwich example with that flaw.

I've a pair of slipways constructed... But might need to work on how to hold vehicles on the slope... Oops. Buildings may be harder to conceal, but it's something I'm considering!

Just as I'd written off Home Bargains as a source of any further Mattel funsies... Happened upon these at our tiny local branch. 2023 case and not a bad selection of prototypical and fantasy vehicles. Cheapest I've seen, at £1.49 a go. Poundland are a penny dearer. Tesco are 70p dearer. Sainsburys are a whopping 80p more expensive for the same damn thing. Screw those guys. Might have slipped the blue 1970 Dodge Power Wagon on the right-hand peg into my basket, as I seem to be on a bit of an AWD off-road tip at present. I definitely didn't* rebuild the pond in the back garden in such a way as to facilitate this, either.

Glad they all showed up safely! Apologies for the unconventional split packaging, I've little in the way of 'useful sized' boxes right now...

Blimey - who's stocking the new 2023 case? Or are those pics from the Lamley Group? Either way - nice.

TWO Scammell box trucks?! 😲 Looking in decent nick, too. Maybe better to have tat pics from charity shops at inopportune moments from your Significant Other than a diecast death-stare, though?

I did not know that! That explains this, then... And are you missing a Jimbob Twinkle off your list?

Yeesh, Tesco. All the same, I've yet to see a Matchbox Citroen Ami in any of the stores I've browsed - seems to be part of a case that never hit NI stores last year. I'm not exactly mad keen for one - but I'd likely pick one up if I chanced upon one. The search continues - B&M still seems to be wheeling out 2022 case items alongside 2023 cases, so maybe I'll hit lucky sometime soon... or, indeed, once the next 2023 case lands - as the Amis you saw seem to be the broadly similar '23 release, with the 'Matchbox 70' logo on the card.

How annoying that the only cheapo Matchbox Working Rigs left in Poundstretcher are the same two I already have... They're not bad toys, though - and unusual choices of working vehicles to depict. The GMC attenuator truck doesn't do very much - you can lower the attenuation device at the rear and swivel the direction sign up and down, and that's about it. The tree maintenance truck has rather more to impress... Look at the reach on that. The orange plastic work platform is a bit clunky-looking, mind. Fortunately, it unclips. Actually, most of the plastic bits unclip, and pretty easily too. I'd say that played-with examples from this range which are still intact will be uncommon in years to come. I'd originally thought that both these toys shared a common cab casting, but it was only when I compared them that I realised the orange GMC is quite a bit bigger - despite being based on the a smaller G3500 model, while the green cherry picker represents the heavy duty G8600. Comparing the bases indicates the green version was introduced for the 2011 catalogue year, while the orange one dates from around 2019 - so there's been some upsizing over the years. Both have been available in different colours in the past, it seems. I also find it interesting that Matchbox carry their fictional logos across multiple ranges - 'Ozima Tree Service' features in the Hitch & Haul range too.

Daaah, I just sold a spare one the other week for 50p! I'm afraid it's packed and gone now - but clearly there are still some on the shelves in Poundstretcher, if you can find a branch locally...

They seem to have been Chinese-market models brought over as parallel imports, arriving here in dribs and drabs - Home Bargains and The Original Factory Shop both had them on the shelves in 2021, and Poundstretcher had them last year (and still does, plainly). I've seen them on general market stalls too - plus obviously they've appeared at amusement arcades also - so they seem to have wound up going through general wholesale channels, Maybe Makro or Costco was knocking them out by the carton at some point? At a guess, all the virus-related bother in China and beyond from 2020 onwards possibly meant that Chinese distributor warehouse stock ended up sealed off while in transit for months/ years in some areas - and was long obsolete by the time anybody got round to emptying containers? The short card 2020 releases intended for Tesco are probably still languishing at Felixstowe docks...

Actual image of Sainsburys' corporate buying team discussing Hot Wheels price points.

Loving those pics Jon! All my Hot Wheels/ Matchbox get opened now; their only purpose is to be enjoyed, they're not investments to me. There really are some superb castings out at the minute, though - and more to come, with any luck.

Hey, looking better already!

I got the same unhappy result using white spirit to try to soak paint off a Dinky Transit glazing unit....

Had to nip over to Screwfix early doors today, so took the opportunity to have a peep at diecast availability in the north Belfast area... B&M (open from 8am, tat fans) had a decent selection, though nothing much new. Plenty of Hot Wheels, but mostly racer, custom and fantasy type releases left on the pegs. Some of the packaging was quite torn - kids, eh? Matchbox were now properly in their own space, rather than on clip strips dangling along the aisle. Nothing we haven't seen before, though. Seemed to be a mix of 2022 and 2023 releases. Loads of those annoying little baggage truck things, too. Also still some Flying Customs to be found, though only four varieties left - just one Firebird and one Mustang Mach 1, and the rest were all Barracudas and Custom Ottos. Nipped across to a smaller Tesco branch which I don't normally frequent - and they'd a good lot of 2023 case Matchbox on the shelves: But again, we've all seen these before. Hot Wheels not quite so abundant - and only the Challenger held any vague interest. Called across to a biggish Poundland store in the main shopping centre, and there was a slightly better Hot Wheels selection to be seen, in terms of realistic vehicles: More Matchbox here too - first time I've seen mainlines in this branch. One solitary long card 'Matchbox Collection' model - the fairly unappealing Speed Trapper. Some oddities in their Far Eastern cheapo 'Nitro Legends' range though - a custom Beetle pickup... And a reasonable enough stab at a C3 Corvette: I've seen worse. Much worse. And two for £1 will keep some car-lovin' kiddies happy, I reckon. Lastly, I swung by another Poundland branch over in the nearby retail park: Much more space for Matchbox here - a good selection, and much cheaper than those at Tesco. Makes me wonder how come Poundland can sell current mainline Hot Wheels and Matchbox for £1.50 a throw, when 'every little helps' Tesco are wanting £2.00 and £2.20 respectively? I'm guessing Poundland aren't making a loss on each sale (well, they were two weeks ago, but that was a different matter...), so that's some fairly hefty profiteering on Tesco's part. I noticed that this branch had the older paired Camaro from yesterday's 'Then And Now' find: I thought about it - but I didn't. I did pick up a Toyota Tacoma from B&M, though. I've been hemming and hawing about this one for a while, but since it was the last one there, I finally took the plunge... Others I'd looked at seemed to have really rough, gappy castings around the headlights which put me off - but this one looks fine. Removable camping rig is an appealing novelty, I'll admit. And base detail quite good too. It's not really a vehicle I've a huge amount of interest in - as far as I can tell, the Tacoma is basically a HiLux but not as good - though I've enjoyed seeing plenty of them rescued by Matt's Off-Road Recovery on YouTube, so I guess there's an element of amusement there... (I'd quite like to see a Hot Wheels version of his 'Banana' Cherokee or, better yet, the MORRvair...) EDIT: Looks like Johnny Lightning already muscled in there...

Now here's a little Matchbox-adjacent head-scratcher from a few months back... Remember those FedEx stickers on the packaging of some of the 2023 releases? I had a bit of a peel earlier on the sticker on my actual FedEx branded MB56 Express Delivery: And beneath is... another FedEx logo. But a different colour. Huh. I wonder if there was some ding-dong with FedEx's corporate Intellectual Property bods, over the exact appearance and composition of the logo? It seems that the official FedEx colour logo is white for the 'Fed' element, and orange for the 'Ex' element, on a purple background. An alternative seems to be a purple 'Fed' and orange 'Ex' whenever it appears on a white background - as it does on their white mailer boxes, their vehicles, and on the toy van here. But of course the background colour of Matchbox packaging is also orange. So early examples of the packaging for this release have the 'Fed' in purple and the 'Ex' in white - which seems a reasonable adjustment, right? But I know that trademark holders can get very shirty about any deviations from an extremely rigid way of depicting their logos - including font, lettering aspect and the exact Pantone shade of colours. So I wonder whether FedEx demands that its logo is only ever white and orange against a dark background, or purple and orange against a light background. But never purple and white, as the original packaging card shows it. And to correct this error, Mattel had to add stickers to their stock of card backings to keep it consistent with FedEx's logo requirements. And there's a sticker on the back of the card, too - reinforcing the protected nature of the logo: Nothing beneath it, though. Mind you, that still doesn't explain why the same sticker was applied to other models in the range with nothing to do with FedEx... factory error?

Some good news for @AndyW201... Lightly dog-eared in the packaging department, but the elusive Then And Now 2018 Camaro was still on the shelf at Poundland this morning. So I nabbed it. Not much else of interest - a Range Rover Classic and the Volvo 240 drift wagon were about the only other items of potential desire, but I think most of us already have those... I also called into Tesco, but there wasn't very much of note in the toy aisle: No new selections from the last time I looked, and mostly only the more lurid stuff remaining. I do kinda like the reworked Jeep Wagoneer with the darker paint and lighter base/grille, but it's very similar to the earlier version I picked up a few months back. No new Matchbox to be seen either - just a handful of not-Mustangs and Sheriff's Impound motorbike trailers remaining, with Hot Wheels overspill crowding them out. Some tea-leaf's been at the motorbikes too: Tut tut. No wonder they're hard to find. (Though I do have a spare Honda CB750, if anyone's desperate for one.) Possibly this is what's led Sainsburys to adopt their novel 'one model only in the Hot Wheels bin' policy: Makes it easier to spot when something's been shoplifted, I guess? No further 560SECs yet - though if I happen across any more, I'll be sure to scoop them. Poundland does seem to be the best place to find newish Mattel stock right now - and, helpfully, they're also the cheapest by quite a margin...

I forgot to get dishwasher tablets today, so I'll be back down in the general vicinity of Poundland tomorrow... could see if the Camaro's still kicking around?

2023 case Matchbox now rolled out to more branches of Poundland: Unfortunately, these are now correctly priced, following the 50p bonanza a few weeks back. Poundstretcher had no further Matchbox of any description. There were still a few Hot Wheels blind bags in a basket, but only a solitary HW Experimotor longcard, the 'Speed Driver', left on the pegs: They're a weird range, but I kinda like their ingenuity. I keep a Carbonator in the drinks cabinet for cracking open mixer bottles. I'm pretty sure this one is meant to have a removable screwdriver attachment or something set into the body, as per the pic? Deffo nothing in there. One for the @bunglebus error car collection, maybe?

Giffer-owned Austin A35 - still in regular use. Local plate, and definitely not a trailer queen. First pic attempt was photobombed by a MK1 Ka without too much rot around the filler...

They do seem to be especially fragile, those Dinky Vogues. Possibly why they're relatively uncommon today, despite being in the range for a good few years?