Matchbox News – 9/18/2022 – Mix 1 of 2023 Looks Like A Winner

The final mix of 2022 hasn’t even hit stores yet, but that hasn’t stopped Matchbox from sneaking the first mix of 2023 on their Instagram, and it looks great!  As the company has previously mentioned, they will be including carry-forward vehicles in each of their 13 mixes for 2023.  Naturally, collectors have expressed concern that those carry-forward models would be pegwarmers, but this mix looks very promising.  It looks like in this mix we will get another chance to get our hands on some great models, including the Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing, Tesla Model Y, Ford Mustang Mach-e, McLaren 720S Spider, and KSC Security Dodge Charger.  Now, onto the new models! 

This is the first time we’ve seen the production ready Rivian R1T, and the color choice looks excellent!  I love the way Matchbox renders pickup trucks with correctly sized wheels and great proportions, rather than the cartoonish style of the blue brand.  Unfortunately, we don’t get a good look at the front of the model in these sneaks, which is going to be make-or-break for this casting.  The headlight design is the signature styling element of the truck, so headlight fidelity and alignment will be crucial.  It looks good on the card art at least! 

Fed-Ex is back!  I have the 1999 model Ford Box Van wearing a FedEx livery and I’m thrilled the Express Delivery casting is finally going to get the livery it was destined for.  This livery should appeal to both kids and collectors wanting a realistic looking fleet of delivery vehicles to deliver their 1/64 scale car parts.  Interestingly, the card art shows a FedEx logo on the hood of the truck as well, though these sneaks don’t show whether it’s present on the model itself (here’s hoping).  It also doesn’t appear to be wearing the “Express” text below the FedEx logo that is present on their real trucks. 

This mix also includes the Koenigsegg Gemera, which was first teased a couple weeks ago.  You can read my thoughts on that sneak here, but the most exciting news this week is that this casting appears to be two to a case.  Clearly, Matchbox is expecting this to be a popular model, and I think they’re right. 

The 5th Gen Toyota 4Runner was one of the most hotly anticipated castings in 2022, so I’m glad to see it didn’t get delayed too far.  I love when models are released in the car’s brochure color, so I think this metallic red with silver wheels is a perfect color combination for the 4Runner.  The proportions also look fantastic, and given the popularity (and resale price) of the Hot Wheels Car Culture 4Runner last year, I think this has casting of the year potential.  Perhaps this one should have been two to a case…hopefully it appears as a carry-forward. 

We saw the white C8 Corvette and National Parks Ford Bronco in sneaks a couple weeks ago, but it’s nice to see we won’t have to wait too long to get our hands on them.  

We’ve also seen this Nissan Hardbody with a matching motorcycle trailer in sneaks before, and I think it’s a pretty clever way to make the motorcycle trailer casting a bit more interesting.  Maybe this time it won’t be as much of a pegwarmer. 

2022 has been one of the best years in recent memory for Matchbox models, and with 2023 already off to such a promising start, it feels like we might be entering another golden era for the brand.  Keep them coming!