A Complete Look at all 10 Matchbox Ambassador Routemaster Buses (plus one completely encased in acrylic)...

Last month, at the Matchbox Gathering in Albuquerque, New Mexico, a new Matchbox Ambassador was named.  Dirk Schleuer of Germany was chosen to take on the responsibilities for a span of twelve months, replacing Larry Scaduto.

If you are a regular reader of Lamley, or any Matchbox-related forum, you know that the term "Matchbox Ambassador" is thrown around a lot.  Many of you probably know what it is about, but I am guessing many of you don't.

The Matchbox Ambassador position was formed a little over a decade ago as a way for the Matchbox team to maintain a direct link to the collector community.  It was a way for the Matchbox team to disperse information simply, and have questions and feedback passed directly back to them.  The Ambassador would release regular reports from Mattel, which at first were distributed through email and then posted on various diecast forums.  In turn, any comments or questions from collectors would be sent directly to the Ambassador, who would pass them on to the team.

To keep things fresh, and to give certain collectors a chance, it was decided that each Ambassador would serve for twelve months, from July to July to correspond with the Gathering.  Dirk is the 11th Ambassador, continuing a long line of prominent and very knowledgable collectors who have served.  (With one exception. Some doofus with a blog and a willingness to write - a lot - got the gig for one year back in 2012.  Thankfully order was restored with Nigel Cooper being named the year after.)

If you talk to each Ambassador, I think all would say it was a blast to do, and created a much different perspective on what Mattel deals with in creating and releasing an entire year of product.  I think all will also say it was nice to hand the reigns to someone else after doing it for a year.  It is hard work.

But for all the work it takes, and for all the grief that can be directed an Ambassador's way, there is a huge payoff.  At the end of their tenure, each Ambassador is handed a Mattel-produced gold-plated Routemaster Double Decker Bus attached to a plinth and encased in plexiglass.  Each Bus includes the Ambassador's name, years of his tenure, and the number of his term.

They are very special models, each a one-of-a-kind, but also part of a unique subset of models, released as a one-off every year.  When Dirk gets his next July, it will be the 11th released.

With 10 buses now handed out, it seems like a good time to get them all together.  Actually putting them in one place would be extremely hard to do, as some are in the US and others in Europe, but thanks to Matchbox guru and historian Marcel Colign, we now have a photo collection of all 10.

Marcel was kind enough to share the photos he has compiled with Lamley, and has given us permission to post them here.  You will see that over time the buses have changed slightly, but they maintain the same theme and bright gold color.

But before I show them, I should probably pass along the story of one additional bus that was made as part of an elaborate and very successful prank pulled by the Matchbox team for Ambassador #3 - and my Lamley cohort - David Tilley.

David is well known in Matchbox circles for two things - his love of the most minute shade variations (another story for another time), and his role as the DLM (Diecast Liberation Movement) supreme leader.  He will open everything.  And I mean everything.  David has destroyed preproduction and test packaging, plexiglass cases for event models, and anything else that houses a model, no matter how rare.

Knowing this, and knowing that David Tilley's Ambassador Bus would be opened the second it was given to him, the Matchbox Team came up with a plan.  I will let recently-retired Matchbox Design Director Michael Heralda tell the story:

The Gold Routemaster Bus has become the iconic model given to all outgoing Matchbox Ambassadors as a parting gift. The very first Gold Bus was given to John Yanouzas and since this was sort of an experiment with our production team in Asia (to produce a gold plated bus) they made two samples - each one slightly different in body coloring due to the prep and plating process. We gifted John the better looking of the two which meant that I was the keeper of the other one where it rested happily on my shelf with a hundred other samples and models I liked.

When David Tilley's term as 3rd Ambassador (2007-2008) was coming to an end I revised the original artwork to include his name on the bus and sent it off to our production team. Then the idea of playing a trick on him hit me. David, as many collectors know, is the poster kid for the Diecast Liberation Movement (DLM). Wouldn't it be funny if David could not liberate his gold bus at the dinner presentation! That second spare gold bus came in handy when it was decided to encase it in a solid block of acrylic!

I remember how reluctant and nervous the guy in the model shop was thinking that the chemical reaction of the acrylic catalyst would eat away at the gold plating and destroy the model. I kept reassuring him that it was worth trying. Eventually he agreed and I was with him when he placed the bus in the mold and was there when he removed it. We both smiled to see that the only flaws were with some bubbles and mold marks. Once it "cured" completely he glued a black base to the bottom of the acrylic block making it appear like it was a regular presentation acrylic case with a gold bus inside. Visually, I knew it was good enough to fool David Tilley! And it was!

When the time came to present the gold bus to David, during the dinner event at the Collector Gathering, everyone in the room started laughing as David tried unsuccessfully to remove the gold bus. He did however manage to remove the black base that was glued to the bottom of the acrylic block. The look on his face was priceless when he realized there was no possibility of removing the bus without the aid of a hammer! Quickly I handed him the real gold bus and confiscated the one in acrylic.

Its a great conversation piece and one day I hope to see it displayed in a (Matchbox) museum along with its story - this one is dedicated to all members of the DLM army everywhere!

We are hoping, tucked somewhere deep in the Mattel storage facility, maybe near Indiana Jones' Ark of the Covenant, this acrylic-encased bus remains.  And that someday it will be pulled and displayed. Such a cool model attached to a fantastic story.

At least we have the actual 10 out there to show, including David's actual bus, that you will see below was removed within seconds of hitting is hands.

A special thanks to Marcel for compiling these, and letting us share.  Here they are, all 10 buses, from first issued to last:

#1 - John Yazounas (2005-2006)

#2 - Jim Gallegos (2006-2007)

#3 - David Tilley (2007-2008)

#4 - Terry Ozima (2008-2009)

#5 - John Nijhuis (2009-2010)

#6 - Chuck Wiersma (2010-2011)

#7 - Shabbir Malik (2011-2012)

#8 - John Lambert (2012-2013)

#9 - Nigel Cooper (2013-2014)

#10 - Larry Scaduto (2014-2015)

Cool collection eh?  I hope to one day get them all together at a future Matchbox Gathering and get them all photographed.  Maybe next year when Dirk accepts his.

In the meantime, let's hope they all stay happily where they are, avoiding that unknowing relative that picks it up by the plexiglass.  Yikes...

What happened to change the "classic" Ford GT casting?

It hasn't been noticed by very many collectors, but the Matchbox "Classic" Ford GT has been modified.  David Tilley breaks it down:

Well, I would imagine just about everyone has seen this model appear in the basic range from Matchbox this year (even if they haven’t actually found it yet).  A welcome return I am sure most say, as it is a lovely little model, and always a popular addition to the range.  But here’s a little thing you may not notice.  Matchbox did 2 different Ford GT castings.  This one is actually the classic Ford GT from the 1960s that was tooled up again by Matchbox in 2003 for use as a Collectible exclusive model in 2004 (which was subsequently canceled and turned into Superfast).  In 2004, Matchbox then tooled up the brand new Ford GT that Ford created as a modern day equivalent to the classic which was released in the basic range in 2005.  There were not a lot of differences between the two, although many will note the easiest way to spot a difference was to see if the wing mirrors were on it.  The classic (Manufacturing number MB634) from the 1960s had no mirrors, but the modern day equivalent from the 2000s (Manufacturing number MB671) did.  The modern Ford GT was used quite a lot, with almost a yearly run in the basic range from 2005 until 2012, as well as other multi-packs with its last use in 2013 in a 5-pack.  However, the classic Ford GT was rarely used.  It never appeared in the basic range.  It was never used in a multi-pack.  In fact, it had 3 outings in the Superfast range (2004-2006, as well as a Hershey dealer model in 2004), and then as a Stars of Cars model for Germany in 2007 and a Best of British in 2008.  That was it.  As it turned out, it was quite a fiddly little model to put together.  Although a very good rendering of the actual vehicle, the way the model was constructed in the factory caused hassles, and so the factory workers kept complaining about it.  So with another very similar model also in the database, this one tended to get overlooked for the one that was easy to put together.  

 

So,after a 7 year absence, we finally see another version.  But actually, we don’t.  For you see, this model has been tweaked around so as to make life easier for the factory workers to put it together.  So what did they do?

Let us compare this model to the last MB634 Ford GT that was released in 2008 and see just what was altered to make the new MB995 “classic” Ford GT.  

You will be pleased to know, this hasn’t been cost reduced to make a plastic body with metal base.  It is still a metal body and plastic base.  But you may just about make out the first change.  The window piece.

You see originally, the model would have a side window section that was attached to the roof part of the internal window section with the side pieces sticking out.  Then, you would force the section inside the body part, and the 2 side windows would pop out of the side to become flush with the body.  It was a rather unique way of doing things, as the usual scenario is that the windows just go inside the body.  But, as it was something the real vehicle had, Matchbox were trying to replicate it.  However, when constructing these little models, factory workers like to be able to simply drop all the pieces together quickly for mass production.  It wasn’t happening.

So they have changed the window to create a section that will just drop into the upturned body in the factory for fast and efficient mass production.  But they have been good to almost make it appear as though it was still flush.  So this means a different window piece.

The other major change they did was with the rear tailpipes.  Again, when construction was going on in the factory, it was quite difficult to slot in the tailpipe section into the rear of the model and then attach the rivet at the front.  So they have changed both the base and body section to do away with that.  Now the rear tailpipes have been moved into the body section meaning that....

The base section can be dropped directly onto the top of the upturned model during production and and riveted front and rear quickly.  No more fiddling about trying to slot it all together.

While they were at it, they rounded out the front too.  

 

It may not feel like much to us, but to those who are putting these models together this is a huge change.  This is the difference between having a model mass produced on a regular basis and using it once in a blue moon on a special series.  This should also mean we are not going to have to wait for 7 more years before we see another version.  

 

I know we have complained about cost reductions, as with many models it has involved adding more plastic.  But once in a while, the cost reductions are only for their benefit to make production cheaper and more efficient and still give us a great model.  I for one am really happy Mattel have taken some time to look at this model, see how they can improve it, and act upon it.  

 

Welcome back “classic" Ford GT.

David Tilley's First Look at the latest batch of Matchbox Jurassic World singles & 5-pack, as well as the altered Toyota Land Cruiser tooling...

Lamley partner David Tilley discovered the newest batch of Matchbox Jurassic World models during his travels around the US this week.  That is interesting news, but what is more interesting, and sad, is the change he discovered on the Toyota Land Cruiser.  His write-up is below:


I found these at Walmart today.

The second batch of the singles. They are dated H21, and although listed, the Roar by Four was not with them. However, the Sahara Survivor was, but it is the exact same black one that appears in the Jungle 5-pack, so I left it behind. So there are officially 7 in batch B. Where the Roar by Four is, nobody knows yet.

Included in the batch are the MB825 MBX prospector (previously Road Tripper) in grey, MB921 Terrainiac in blue and black, MB899 Questor in tan and MB797 Baja Bullet in charcoal.

But I did see we have 2 new altered castings in the bunch.

The 1968 Toyota FJ40 Land Cruiser is no longer MB764. It is now MB990. The interior has been extended out now to include the kickplate under the doors, extending over the front wheel arches and incorporating the front grille. That is quite a change, and makes the model notably light to handle. I always remembered it as quite a heavy model.

But the funniest one to me is the Scrambulance. This is not MB845; it is MB989. The difference? The small section between the 2 roof windows that were formed out of the body casting before has now also been included as part of the window casting. Before, the section was a part of the body and the window section created 2 square roof windows. We now have one longer rectangular section of window. I am not sure why, as both the window and body are made of plastic, so it has made no difference to the weight of the model. The only thing I can think of was maybe trying to slot the window section into the roof section was a little fiddly at the factory and they suggested the change to ease production of the vehicle. It is a very minor change.

Anyway, this does give us 2 more new number to pencil in on the MAN# list.

I also found the third and final Jurassic World 5-pack at Walmart:

It is simply known as Construction. 

From what I heard, the makers of Jurassic World pointed out to Matchbox that there are no "desert" scenes in the film, and the "Desert" pack is now re-packaged as Island. 

This pack contains the MB840 Water Hauler in grey and blue, MB884 Dump Dozer in yellow and grey, MB950 (the updated one with the plastic cab section) Tractor Plow in black and tan and MB737 Quarry King in tan.

But with them we get this. But no, it is not the MB399 1999 Chevy Silverado 4x4, but a brand new altered MB981 Chevy Silverado 4x4.

The difference is that the interior is now extended out to include the rear bed of the model.

So now we can pencil in another in the missing MAN# gaps.

First Look: New 2015 Matchbox 10-packs in the UK at Tesco, by David Tilley...

Well, things are finally getting moving in the UK.  We still have not touched 2015 yet with singles, but after the first 2x 5-packs appeared last month, we now move into 2015 on the 10-packs too.

We get the Two Story Bus exclusive pack...

...and Caterham Superlight R500 pack.

I was wondering just how long it would take for these to appear.  The last batch was out long before Christmas, and these should have been quite early in January (I would have thought).  The packages are dated H03, with models produced in either H02 or H03, meaning it was all done in the factory during the second and third weeks of January.

 

So now to show the exclusives a little better (I mean, you can't see them properly boxed up).

First up, we get the Two Story Bus.  After the gold/white debut in 2013, we saw an all-red version in 2014 in the basic range.  Now with this appearing as a 10-pack exclusive, this could mean that there may not be a basic range version.  Usually, lately, Mattel make the 9/10-pack exclusives only available there, with no basic range version.  However, last year, the Ford Superlift was in both single and 9/10-packs so the rule may be a little more relaxed.  Only time will tell.

It is a very nice design, with simple lines and a banner going across it.  A rather classy and realistic look.

For those interested, the logo on the side says "City Tours Limited, Matchbox Exclusive".  

I have to admit, I really like the look of the Caterham.  It is black with a dark green dual stripe system.

Although I have to laugh.  On the alternate side, the dual stripes are hidden behind the side pipe.  They are there, but you have to really look to see them.

As is often the case, the front also receives a tampo hit too.  I like this one.  The wheels suit it really well.  I much prefer it to the last version from 2014, even though I liked that one too.

 

Me being me, I did find a couple of shades on models too.

The 2006 Utility Truck from the 2015 Construction Zone 5-pack is a much lighter shade of orange than it came with in the 5-pack.

And the Seed Shaker from 2014s basic range can be found in a more yellowy shade of orange than it was in the basic range.

 

The best part about all this?  Tesco are currently doing a "buy 1, get one half price" deal.  So I spent less than I needed to. 

Up Close with the Matchbox Power Grabs, by David Tilley...

With many thanks to my friend Tom Sarlitto of Midwest Diecast Miniatures I now have a full set of Power Grab models. So I thought I would do a little up close with them.

So as we all know, they come in blind bags with the Matchbox logo on it, and a picture of some of the older 2013 issue generic models on the cover. But these are all 2015s.

There is a small clear circle on the bottom corner with which you can see inside.

And can have a small peek on a model if you shuffle it into the corner.

However, there is a really big giveaway. The left hand corner has the date code stamped on it, and next to the date code a number between 01 and 11 which actually tells you which model it is. Doh! That is if you know which model is assigned to each number.

When you tear open the package inside you will simply find the model along with a small piece of plain white cardboard.

Placing the model on top you do actually see just how big the bag is in comparison to the model inside. It is quite large, and I would say probably about the size of a large blister.

And here we have the 11 models in question shown in order. But for those who are just after specific models, this is them in number order....


Power Grab #1 Turn Tamer

Power Grab #2 Mini Dozer

Power Grab #3 Cliff Hanger

Power Grab #4 Lamborgini Gallardo LP-560-4 Polizia

Power Grab #5 VW Saveiro Cross

Power Grab #6 Blaze Blitzer

Power Grab #7 Load Lifter

Power Grab #8 Crime Crusher 4x4

Power Grab #9 Badlander

Power Grab #10 Blockade Buster

Power Grab #11 Sand Shredder

So there you go. A nice little series. Okay some of the models are not the greatest. This is the first time I have seen the Crime Crusher 4x4 as the 2014 basic range ones have not been released in the UK yet. I am sure I heard something about a second set being done later in the year too. Hopefully before I come back from USA in July and I can grab them while there. But they are making it a little too easy to figure out which model is which. Putting a window in there to peek inside is one thing, but putting the number on there too just makes it too easy. Okay the uninitiated will now know and will just grab whatever is there. I remember Lego when they first did the minifigures made it a little too easy as they had unique bar codes on the rear. They changed it to little raised bumps, but it can still be worked out. So I suppose in general most companies tend to have identifiers for supposed blind bags.