The end of the year always provides a perfect opportunity to look back at the year of diecast and appreciate some of the best models that entered my collection. Even though Matchbox’s 2025 was dominated by poor distribution and its massive pegwarmer problem, Team Orange still managed to deliver some excellent new castings. As always,... Continue Reading →
Even as I hold it in my hand, part of me can’t believe that this factory-spec Matchbox Subaru WRX actually exists. Historically, 1/64 scale Subaru WRX’s with clean decos are few and far between. Until the release of the near-stock bugeye WRX from the Cars & Donuts set in 2017, I couldn’t find a single... Continue Reading →
Back in the day, I used to regularly cover all the sneaks of upcoming Matchbox models that Abe Lugo would post to the matchboxworld Instagram every Friday. Sadly, when Abe Lugo was laid off by Mattel, the Friday sneak posts stopped and the current team at Matchbox hasn’t really done much to cultivate excitement among... Continue Reading →
They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, and that axiom certainly seems to be reflected in the values of Hot Wheels Ferraris from the early 2010s. But after 10 years of advancement in casting design and manufacturing techniques, many of the fan-favorite Hot Wheels Ferrari castings are starting to show their age. With the... Continue Reading →
The yearly line preview at the Gathering is one of the most exciting days of the year in the diecast world, and this year didn’t disappoint! As usual, this roundup won’t be a comprehensive list of everything in the presentation (check out the Lamley stream or David Tilley’s post over on WheelCollectors for that). Instead,... Continue Reading →
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... Continue Reading →
With the Gathering just a few short weeks away, I’ve had Matchbox on my mind. A couple years ago, I wrote a blog post about the cars I’d like to see at the upcoming Matchbox line preview, and since most of those cars have now made their way into the Matchbox lineup, it seemed due... Continue Reading →
It's no secret that Matchbox has a pegwarmer problem right now. Countless people online, myself included, have shared anecdotes about the sorry state of Matchbox distribution this year, but I wanted to take a step beyond anecdotal evidence. I decided to take an inventory of all the Matchbox models on the pegs at 10 local... Continue Reading →
In the past few years, we’ve seen usually-staid Matchbox become more adventurous with some of their casting choices, including a few that have overlapped with the JDM hype that has dominated the Hot Wheels brand in recent years. Through hyped releases like the 5th Gen 4Runner and Mk5 Supra, I’ve seen an increasing awareness of... Continue Reading →
Calling a modern BMW ugly is a bit like calling the sky blue. Insulting their design language has become so common that it’s becoming a cliche, even if the insults are well-deserved. While models like the iX showcase the worst of BMW’s current beaver teeth, the BMW M2 stands out among the BMW lineup for... Continue Reading →
It’s about time we saw some proper modern muscle in the Hot Wheels lineup. It used to be common for every new muscle car facelift or generation to get not only a new casting, but a whole rainbow of recolors. In recent years, the number of modern-era muscle cars in the Hot Wheels lineup has... Continue Reading →
This time of year tends to be pretty slow in the diecast world, so it’s always exciting to see an update on some upcoming recolors. Plus, we’ve started to see Mix 7/G pop up at some retail locations, so we got a look at what it has to offer. Let’s jump right in! The most... Continue Reading →
The Hot Wheels Mercedes 500E was made to be an instant classic. Easily one of the best mainlines of the year back in 2021, this German heavyweight helped usher in the classic Euro trend that’s currently proliferating throughout the diecast world. The debut version featured black paint with silver 5-spokes, which is exactly how I... Continue Reading →
After a few slow news weeks, we finally have a decent look at an upcoming mix! This assortment of cars comes from Mix 6 and features the new Ram REV as well as a number of exciting recolors. If you haven’t already, check out the original post on the @matchboxworld Instagram. Easily the most exciting... Continue Reading →
The Matchbox lineup is filled with cool and interesting cars that are always fun to add to your collection, but every year there’s one or two cars that just feel more special. They’re the cars that you have to have, that you’ll hunt tirelessly to track down, because they’re just perfect. For me, the new... Continue Reading →
While there isn’t a ton of new information in this week’s sneaks from the @matchboxworld Instagram, there was one model significant enough to warrant a news post all on its own: the 1990 Honda Accord. The most important part about this model isn’t the casting itself, but the wheels it rolls on. These wheels are... Continue Reading →
Normally, I make a dedicated top 5 list for both the Hot Wheels mainline and the premium line, but I decided to combine them into one roundup this year. The Hot Wheels mainline felt pretty weak this year, with only a few new models that interested me, so any top 5 list would require padding... Continue Reading →
It’s finally the best time of the year! No, not Christmas – it’s the Diecastleno Top 5 season! At the end of every year, I round up my favorite diecast models from each of the major product lines and organize them into an algorithm-pleasing numbered list. This year, I’m kicking things off with the Matchbox... Continue Reading →
The Mk5 VW Golf GTI casting is one of my favorite Matchbox models of all time, so I’m stoked to see this Mk8 Golf GTE debut as the perfect purple successor to my beloved Mk5. Add in my affinity for hot hatches, and this seems to be the perfect Matchbox model for me. So, how’d... Continue Reading →
This year’s Hot Wheels convention preview presentation felt very underwhelming to me. The mainline section of the presentation was filled with a huge number of generic “originals”, the premium section had some good models but also a disappointing number of future pegwarmers, and even the RLC line featured far less to excite me than previous... Continue Reading →
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