It’s long puzzled me that the affordable, everyday enthusiast icons are so often overlooked by diecast car makers. In fact, I wrote a whole blog post about the need for a hot hatches premium series from Hot Wheels! For whatever reason, the cars that actual enthusiasts likely drive every day are frustratingly hard to find in 1/64. It seems Matchbox is finally doing something about that with the recent release of the Focus RS, the upcoming Golf GTE, and this BRZ.
The Subaru BRZ debuts in blue, naturally, because you could never have a Subaru any other way. I find this paint color to be a fair amount duller than the World Rally Blue Pearl that Subaru uses on their 1:1 BRZs, though it has a nice pearl effect. It features a metal base like the Collectors series Lexus LFA, but it is mercifully absent of ill-fitting moving pieces and it rolls smoothly. We do pay a price for that smooth rolling action though, as this BRZ rides quite high, which makes the car look a bit too tall. Though perhaps I’m just used to seeing my BRZs slammed on coilovers…
Apart from the wheel fitment and ride height, the casting itself is wonderful. It’s very well proportioned, and since it’s a premium model it receives full printed detailing. The front end gets a detailed grille, Subaru badge, headlights, and even corner marker lights! These headlights are a highlight for me, as they have to be some of the most crisply detailed headlights we’ve seen from Matchbox in quite some time.
The side profile is largely devoid of detailing, save for the vent on the fender and the aforementioned corner marker. I do appreciate how nicely the brake lights wrap around on this premium model, and the overall shape of this casting is classically sporty (note the little ducktail spoiler). I do find myself wishing for some better wheels, which is to be expected on a Matchbox premium model. Luckily, since there are no moving parts it’s possible we could see this model enter the mainline with a plastic base – though I believe this is only the second ‘made for premium’ model from Matchbox, so time will tell.
Luckily, being a premium model means lots of rear detailing, with crisp brake lights connected by a black trim piece, badges, and a plate with the car’s model name rather than a realistic look (a trend I really wish Matchbox would ditch). The exhaust tips are nicely modeled into the diffuser, though I wish they were detailed silver to make them pop more. Check out the nub for the trunk popper underneath the third brake light!
Wait a minute…why isn’t that third brake light detailed? They were already using red printing on the back of this model for the other two brake lights! Surely on a $5 premium model it should not be too much to ask to have all the lights detailed.
Really, that’s a minor complaint, and I’m still very happy this model exists. We need more replicas of the affordable enthusiast icons that you actually see out on the roads, and I hope Matchbox makes a plastic base for this model so it can be used more often than a Collectors series casting can (and so it can be easier to find). There’s plenty of recolor potential for this casting, and I think it would look great with some of Matchbox’s far better basic wheels. Bring on the rainbow of Subaru BRZs!
DiecastLeno 
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