Matchbox Needs To Bring Back The DHL Livery

Matchbox has released a number of great recurring liveries and themes over the years, both licensed and unlicensed.  One of my all-time favorite Matchbox recurring themes is the DHL delivery vehicles.  Not only is DHL a real-world delivery brand that both kids and adults would recognize, but Matchbox also used the livery on a huge variety of vehicles and lines. 

For the long-haul portion of your package’s delivery, Matchbox released this DHL semi truck in the Convoy line, complete with a licensed Ford Aeromax cab!  I’ve written at length about my love for the Convoy line and my disappointment at its cancellation, but I have to reiterate how great Convoy trucks were.  Imagine if Matchbox were to make this model again today, complete with one of the new Western Star cabs and the updated box trailer design! 

They even gave us a taste of what a modern version could look like with the Matchbox branded box trailer, including a fully detailed cab and a matching forklift.  I can’t be alone in thinking a DHL version of this set would be a masterpiece. 

Perhaps your delivery doesn’t have as far to go.  Not to worry, Matchbox had you covered there too with the delivery truck casting.  Granted, this wasn’t a licensed vehicle, but it looked realistic enough and the DHL livery was the best design ever bestowed upon this casting.  

Need to make a last mile delivery instead?  Say hello to the 2006 VW Caddy in its DHL delivery vehicle paint job.  A great licensed casting in its own right, the DHL livery took the Caddy to the next level, making it look like exactly the kind of delivery vehicle you would see running around a European city.  This model is fiendishly difficult to track down, as it was only released as part of a five pack back in 2009, making it nearly impossible to build a true delivery fleet. 

Does your delivery need to cross an ocean?  Ground transport simply won’t do, then.  Luckily, Matchbox released a number of DHL liveried planes in the Skybusters line, including the cargo plane you see here.  Rather beaten up from years of childhood play, I still think it looks great. 

Sadly, as the 2000’s gave way to the 2010’s, the DHL livery went away.  There have been brief moments of hope for the return of a great cargo/delivery fleet to the Matchbox lineup over the years, but none have matched DHL’s ubiquity.  The FedEx licensed livery that appeared on both the “Express Delivery” casting and the Brightdrop Zevo 600 in 2023 had me excited for the possibility that FedEx could spread across the Matchbox lineup, but we haven’t seen it return since.  

There is a UPS liveried Boeing 747 in the Skybusters line that will be releasing soon, and I would love to see a full range of UPS delivery vehicles in the near future, but even their recognizable brown trucks would be no match for the iconic bright yellow of the DHL livery. 

The current Matchbox range certainly has no shortage of models that would look great in the DHL livery.  While the Convoy line isn’t currently in production, the International MX Box Truck in the Real Working Rigs line would make a reasonable substitute.  For local deliveries, there’s also the Nissan Townstar from the Moving Parts line, or the Renault Kangoo mainline casting.  Even the aforementioned Brightdrop Zevo 600 would be a great option, as DHL currently uses them as part of their Canadian delivery fleet!

At the end of the day, this is probably just wishful thinking, but isn’t that what a collector’s lazy Sunday afternoon is supposed to be?  I think collectors would love to be able to build out their 1/64 logistics operations with a proper, licensed livery like DHL.  If the previous FedEx vehicles are anything to go by, they’d be substantially more popular than the Nissan Ariyas and Jeep Renegades that keep clogging up the pegs.  Let me know what you think, and whether there are any other great Matchbox themes from the past that you’d like to see make a comeback!