It’s been 18 long years since we’ve seen a Maserati from Mattel, and even though the return of the Maserati license was overshadowed a bit by the new Ferraris, it’s still incredibly cool to see Maseratis back in 1/64 scale. Where Hot Wheels inexplicably chose to honor the occasion with a model of the Shamal (hardly Maserati’s most iconic model), Matchbox chose to model one of Maserati’s craziest cars ever.
In some ways, it feels like the Hot Wheels and Matchbox brands have reversed here, as a hypercar from Matchbox was nearly unheard of until a couple years ago, and the Shamal is exactly the type of oddball casting I would traditionally expect from them. With Hot Wheels now seemingly fully distracted by the new Ferrari license, Matchbox seems willing to run with the Maserati license – starting with the MC12 and the upcoming Granturismo Moving Parts casting. I’m certainly not complaining though, because this MC12 benefits from all the detailing prowess that we’ve come to expect from Matchbox.
This casting uses the same contrasting-color plastic base design that Hot Wheels used on the recent McLaren W1, which allows for a two-tone color scheme without needing to rely on printed detailing. As a result, the printing budget can be saved for the front and rear of the model, and the result is a mainline model that feels like it’s missing nothing.
The MC12’s distinctive huge spoiler is definitely a bit on the thick side, but that’s necessary when it’s made of plastic and has to stand up to children. The aggressive rear diffuser looks awesome, and there’s no shortage of printed detailing back here either. The MC12 gets a black print for the grille, individual brake lights, and even a silver Maserati badge at the top of the diffuser. What really stands out to me here are the exhaust tips – it’s rare to see proper silver exhaust detailing on a mainline Matchbox!
The MC12’s blue headlight housings always stand out, so I’m glad to see them fully detailed here, alongside a Maserati badge on the hood and a silver trident in the grille.
This Matchbox MC12 is a massive improvement over the old Hot Wheels MC12 casting and I’m thrilled to have it in the lineup, but it’s not without its faults. Chief among them is the Matchbox “droopy nose” that we’ve seen from a number of Matchbox hypercars. Because Matchbox wheels are a standard size (rather than custom made for each model), the front fenders often have to be artificially high to clear the wheels, which makes the hood a steeper angle than it otherwise would be. The real MC12 actually has a bit of a bulge over the axle, so it’s not as bad on this casting as it is on the Aventador SVJ from the Moving Parts line, but it still throws the proportions off a bit.
The side windows are also too small (the MC12’s visibility is bad, but not that bad) and the intakes behind the doors feel like they should be cut into the body a bit more aggressively. I also can’t help but feel like the blue of the base is a bit too light of a shade compared to the real MC12.
Don’t let my acknowledgement of its faults fool you into thinking I don’t like this model, though. This car is super cool, and it’s exactly the kind enthusiast icon that I think we need more of from the Matchbox brand. I hope the hype around this casting encourages Matchbox to double down on crazy models like this. I’m also curious to see what the future holds for this casting, as an all-blue version is the only obvious recolor option on the MC12. There is that one orange and black example, so perhaps we could see that? Even if Matchbox ends up resorting to non-factory colors, I think there’s plenty of appetite for additional MC12 releases. Here’s hoping this casting is just the start of a growing Matchbox Maserati collection!
diecastleno.com 
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