When the Matchbox team decided to revamp and grow the Moving Parts line a few years ago, many of the early castings were pretty rough. The opening parts caused panel gaps that were far too big, color match between the main body and the opening part was often poor, and the mechanisms for the moving parts often caused compromises in the casting’s design. This year, it seems Matchbox has finally figured it out, because many of this year’s new models had such tight tolerances that you could almost forget they’re Moving Parts models!
Number 5: 2022 Mini Cooper EV
The new Mini EV is a perfect example of how far this line has come. It has an opening hood, but the hood seam is barely any bigger than the panel lines around the door. The detailing on the front end of this model is spot-on, with printing on the grille, hood, and under the hood! I love that it has an actual license plate, a feature all too rare on modern models. Extra points to the Matchbox team for the sizing of this model – it feels like the small car it is, without the wheels feeling too big.
The most impressive feature of this casting is its opening hood. If you know anything about Minis, you’ll know that the hood is a clamshell design that features cutouts for the headlights (since headlights cannot be on a movable piece of bodywork). In the package, the model is displayed with the hood closed, so imagine my delight when I unboxed the model and opened the hood to find proper headlight cutouts, so perfectly aligned that I wasn’t sure whether the headlights were just printed on the hood or not!
From the back, the Mini EV is a more conventional model, but I still love Mini’s distinctive Union Jack brake lights. It’s also nice to see Matchbox adding fun license plates again!
Number 4: 2024 Mercedes-Benz G580 with EQ Technology
We move from one of the smallest cars in the lineup to one of the biggest, with a truly massive mouthful of a name to match! We’ve seen several G-Wagons across the Matchbox line over the last few years, but this one stood out to me because of the truly impressive fitment and color match of the opening doors. They look about as perfect as you could ever expect on a 1/64 model, so much so that the doors can be a little difficult to open!
This casting is more than just doors, though – it’s big and boxy, with printed detailing on all four sides. The new headlights and LED grille lighting are well replicated, but I find myself being most drawn to those huge fender flares!
The brake lights look very crisp, thanks to Matchbox’s perfectly aligned graphics (it boggles the mind that Matchbox can be so much better at that than Hot Wheels). Case in point: the G580’s charging cable/cargo box on the rear door. When I first saw it, I thought the black piece at the top was a part of either the interior or window piece, but upon closer inspection, it appears to be printed black! I have no idea how they got the black printing to wrap around so perfectly, but I’m glad they did because it looks epic! I hope they don’t reduce the level of detailing for future releases of this casting.
Number 3: 2023 Alfa Romeo Stelvio
The new Stelvio was a surprise to me when I finally got it in my hands. In the packaging, this didn’t look like it was going to be a good model, as the new Moving Parts packaging shows off the squished front end without giving you any indication of the excellent rear detailing. You can check out my full writeup on this model and its unfortunate packaging to learn more, but in short, I think the front end of this model is just okay. The printed detailing is nice, but it lacks any differentiation between the sections that should be gloss and textured black.
The rear end design is the star of the show here, with great looking exhaust tips and a color break in the bumper that massively ups the realism of this model. Plus, Matchbox didn’t skimp on the printed detailing, so all the lights and logos are here and accounted for.
Number 2: Porsche Taycan GTS Sport Turismo
I’m not sure there’s ever been a car more tailor-made for the modern Matchbox lineup. An EV drivetrain, a wagon bodystyle, and a Porsche badge all make this Taycan feel like it was designed specifically for Matchbox, so I’m glad we have a model of it! This casting feels far superior to the Hot Wheels Taycan, with a lower ride height and wider stance. I like the window piece forming the roof, too.
Around back, this Taycan has Porsche’s distinctive lightbar, though I think it’s a bit too thick on this model. I appreciate the Porsche text in the center, though, and the Taycan’s swoopy design and large rear haunches are very well captured by this model. Unfortunately, I can’t help but feel like an opening rear hatch would have been a better option than opening doors for this model…
Number 1: 2023 Audi RS6 Avant
…which leads me perfectly to my favorite Moving Parts model of the year! This Audi RS6 features an opening rear hatch, which means the side profile of the car is much better while also showcasing the cool hatch design of the RS6! The rear detailing is great on this model too, with brake lights that wrap around to the sides of the model and individual LED elements visible within them. Matchbox also did a great job of highlighting the RS6 Avant’s massive rear diffuser and RS-specific oval exhaust tips.
Unlike the Stelvio, the front end design on this RS6 is just as good as the rear! Every LED element is visible in the headlights, and the grilles all feature their correct honeycomb texture. I particularly like the inclusion of the two radar cruise control sensors on either side of the Audi logo, as little elements like that really help bring a car to life! The caramel brown interior is a nice touch, as it feels perfectly fitting for a luxury car like this Audi.
Really, the biggest disappointment with this RS6 Avant is that it’s been nearly a full year since it was released, and we haven’t seen so much as a sneak of another one coming. It’s always frustrating to see great castings like this (and the truly fantastic Bentley Continental) be denied recolors in favor of rapid recolors of less desirable castings like the Nissan Ariya. Hopefully, Matchbox will grant us another release of this casting soon, because I desperately want the red with black wheels combo that is so prevalent in Audi’s press fleet!
Honorable Mention
The Lamborghini Aventador SVJ Roadster should have been on this list. Since the day it was first previewed, I was incredibly excited for this model, and I love that Matchbox is finally branching out and producing more supercars. Unfortunately, the execution of this model fell short, and I found myself feeling a little disappointed by it. The biggest problem is the front end, which feels too droopy. I suspect this is caused by the front wheels, which causes the fender height to be higher than it would be on the 1:1 car. Big Lambos seem very difficult for model companies to get right, because they either put too small of front wheels on the casting to allow for proper bodylines (like the new Countach), or they keep the wheel size the same and have bodylines that look off. Either way, this casting just didn’t feel quite right to me, so it fell off the top 5 list.
There you have it, another year of Moving Parts in the books! It really feels like this line is starting to come into its own, and I’m excited to see where it goes in the future. If you haven’t yet, be sure to check out my other top 5 lists of 2024!
diecastleno.com 
Leave a comment