Bringing Back My Childhood With the Plow Master 6000

For most of us collectors, I think it’s fair to say our hobby is an extension of, or at least a byproduct of, our childhood love of cars (both 1:64 and 1:1).  While my tastes have since shifted to more performance oriented sports cars and muscle cars, I grew up with an obsessive love for trucks.  I even wanted to be a truck driver (though really, who didn’t).  That’s where models like this Plow Master came in. 

I can remember going out on snowy days with my trusty Matchbox snow plow to clear snow from my parents’ sidewalks using its plow.  While not terribly effective – or at least not terribly efficient – I had plenty of fun doing it.  So when I saw this model coming back, in a National Parks livery no less, I simply had to have it. 

There are some noticeable differences between the casting of my childhood and this one.  For one, the plow no longer rotates to adjust the angle, which I found rather disappointing.  Instead, it’s now a piece of the base, making it fixed in the position you see.  As a result of that same base modification, the push bar and lights at the front of the model are now part of the main body rather than the base, which eliminates a built-in color break.  

From the front, you can see that Matchbox removed the Chevy logo from the truck’s grill, though the rest of the truck’s body remains nearly identical.  Perhaps Chevy didn’t want such a dated design to have their branding on it? 

The new base also added a trailer hitch, which allows for compatibility with the recent National Parks trailer.  Perhaps Matchbox is eyeing the possibility of using this model in the newly-reborn Hitch & Haul series?

Weirdly, they added horns to the passenger side of the cab.  I think it’s odd that if they modified the roof of the casting, they chose only to add horns rather than change the single bulb light to something more modern.  I can’t remember the last time I saw an emergency vehicle with a light like that! 

The National Parks theme is an absolutely fantastic choice for this model.  While I’m not nearly as dedicated of a National Parks collector as many Matchbox aficionados, I love seeing models that fit so perfectly in that theme.  A casting from my childhood combined with one of the best licensed decos Matchbox has to offer?  It was always a guaranteed winner.