When Matchbox announced this 2023 Chevy Tahoe Z71 at the Gathering in July of 2025, I wasn’t sure what to make of it. We already had a 2022 Tahoe casting in the Moving Parts line that I really liked, so it didn’t feel like Matchbox needed another shot at making a good Tahoe. In fact,... Continue Reading →
A bit of inside baseball: in order to try to turn around this blog post as quickly as possible, I had the intro pre-written. No specifics of course, since I didn't know what would be announced. It was just a general statement about how we saw a bunch of cool new models and how I... Continue Reading →
With the yearly Matchbox line preview at the Gathering fast approaching, we just got a look at some new models to tide us over. The bulk of these pictures were posted by @ada_3l3 on Instagram, but I’ll shout out other creators where applicable. Let’s jump right in! Where better to start than with a new... Continue Reading →
My jaw dropped when I randomly stumbled upon this Red Edition Supra at a local toy show. It may not seem like anything special, but the mysterious circumstances surrounding this model have been on my mind for nearly a year. On the surface, it may not seem that interesting. The Supra is cool and all,... Continue Reading →
This news roundup features only a couple of new castings, but there are also plenty of new recolors to get excited about! The most exciting new model in this set of leaks from @ada_3l3 on Instagram is the Chevy Silverado PPV. This model was called out during the line preview at last year’s Gathering, but... Continue Reading →
Despite the lack of any new models appearing at retail stores in the US, we just got our first look at what I believe is the 8th mainline Matchbox mix of the year thanks to @ada_3l3 on Instagram. Let’s dive right in! There’s no better place to start than one of my most anticipated models... Continue Reading →
It’s not every day – or even every year – that we get a new five pack that’s this exciting! Almost without failure, we get five packs with one or two interesting cars and a couple of cheap models with high plastic content. Often, Hot Wheels even throws in a generic or two for good... Continue Reading →
As the Hot Wheels mainline has been cost cut in recent years to maintain its $1-ish price tag, I’ve found fewer and fewer of the models interest me. It feels like the Car Culture premium line has been the defining Hot Wheels line in recent years, but every once in a while Hot Wheels comes... Continue Reading →
By now, you’ve probably seen that Target stores in the US have redesigned their Matchbox section for 2026 as part of the yearly toy aisle reset. As diecast collectors, the yearly toy aisle resets always give us a sense of what stock and distribution might look like for the year to come…and this looks like... Continue Reading →
The Hot Wheels mainline has struggled to maintain my interest in recent years, so much so that I decided to entirely skip it for my yearly top 5 posts last year. There were just too many generic models and too few exciting or interesting new castings based on enthusiast cars. While there were still plenty... Continue Reading →
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 →
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