Case Report: 2018 Matchbox B Case

January 27, 2018

Finally!! Finally??

I bit of a slow start for Matchbox basic. The 2018 A Case came out late last year, but due to some sort of timing issues, it ended up being a “Best of 2017”-ish case. So the 2018 B Case is the first true 2018 Case, with all new models.

I have no idea why it took so long, but at least Matchbox released the Global Travelers and Chevy Trucks (sans the ’47 Chevy – out soon) mixes in the interim. But let’s get back to the basics.

Wheel Collectors got their shipment late in the week and sent these Case Report photos, as always pulled 3-by-3. You can find all the models available at the WC store here:

2018 Matchbox at Wheel Collectors

Click on the photos for a larger view:

The question with these 24-count cases is which models come in multiples. Happily the two new licensed castings, the Ford Skyjacker Truck and Chevy Colorado, do. Lots of off-road and utility in the case theme-wise, with quite a few collectors will like.

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jtl46

21 responses to “Case Report: 2018 Matchbox B Case”

Zach Charles Regalus Schuller
January 27, 2018
Heh, Hot Wheels called, it wants it’s CUDA back…

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1. mbx_hwc
  January 27, 2018
  Matchbox have been doing Cuda’s for years
  
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2. Peter Szog
  February 14, 2018
  I agree the cuda does look very hot wheels-y.
  
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James
January 27, 2018
A very fun collection, lots of playability. Kids will dig it.

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Blair Pettis
January 27, 2018
I want that police ‘vette.

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Speedeeone
January 27, 2018
Wow, talk about timing. I just stumbled upon this wave last night. No Vettes or Colorados, but I did snag the single Morris Mini Van. Surprisingly the Cuda was still there and hanging at the front of the peg no less. Looked real nice, just not a model I collect.

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Speedeeone
January 27, 2018
I know I’ve asked this many times, but haven’t seen an answer. Is there any way to know what Matchbox wave you’re looking at in the store other than just memorizing the models? You know, like how Hot Wheels has the case letter as part of the model # on the back of the card.

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1. Bryan Shedden
  January 27, 2018
  The case codes are never shown on the cards. The next best is to check the manufacture code which is stamped on the back of the card and the bottom of the car. B case should be K45 or thereabouts. The card art is redesigned for this batch too, which will easily differentiate them from older cases.
  
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  1. Speedeeone
    January 28, 2018
    Thanks Bryan! Yes, I did notice the updated cards on the pegs. Especially the 65th Anniversary logo in the upper right corner. As we get deeper into the year, I imagine what’s on the pegs will all be like that, but it helps for now. So the Austin Mini Van I picked up has ‘K50’ stamped into the back of the card. Does this mean case C will be K51?
  2. Bryan Shedden
    January 28, 2018
    Speedeone. If the case code on B case is K50 then I’m predicting the C case should be about 4 weeks later and the first of 2018 codes. Say L02 maybe. Definitely an L code anyway.
Bryan Shedden
January 27, 2018
19 new releases to collect in this batch with duplicates of the 4 new castings: Colorado, F350 Skyjacker, RSQ-18 Tank, Arctic Thunder … plus a duplicate of the Corvette. I suspect the Mini will be toughest to find. The 2018 hunt begins. I want them all!

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Charlie Mack
January 27, 2018
anyone notice the model number is only on the BACK of the card?. The front is differently numbered by segments. Found 16 of 19 in Wal-Mart today- missing was Barracuda, Seagrave & Ford F550 SuperDuty. Two cases on hand.

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1. Bryan Shedden
  January 28, 2018
  Yes that change was notified by the design team some time ago via social media. I’m disappointed that we can’t see the 125 collection number in addition to the subseries number on the card front. Makes it tough to keep track if you’re collecting all 125. It’s great to see that the Road Trip series will feature 35 cars! That’s much larger than all the other subseries and is the most likely to include licensed models.
  
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AverageJoe
January 28, 2018
Nothing really of interest to me, but a cool case. Distribution for Mattel continues to be a problem for both brands in 2018.

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Mavanerick
January 28, 2018
There are only about four there that I don’t want. 2018 looks to be an expensive year for me in this hobby.

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VetteLover
January 28, 2018
That Corvette is something. Enough said. 🙂

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Sonorous Black
January 29, 2018
Except for the darkened wheels, that Jeep looks identical to the first issue.

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Jon Fred
January 29, 2018
Another year, another hunt. Gotta hav’em all!

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Ben
January 30, 2018
Nice new stuff, too bad regular folk like myself will NEVER see them.

Or rather, we’ll see them in May, but only the f***ing boats and tanks will be left clogging the pegs.

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Peter Szog
February 14, 2018
Both the Sahara sweeper and the skidster are re- releases. Ok the skidster has a little color change it went from lemon yellow to this slightly darker yellow. I guess one could call that a color variation but otherwise same tempos same wheels base plow color. That one was released a few years back. The Sahara sweeper is identical to it’s previous release. I collect variations but I hate the “let’s grab something from 3- 4 years ago and slap it into this year’s line up” I saw that last year too with the tractor plow. Identical to a previous release from years ago but the color of the wheel hub.

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Ac
March 3, 2018
Matchbox UK is dead. What’s the point of hyping all these products. The brand is now aimed at usa only. We get pegwarmers and vehicles which don’t make sense to us. How sad how a lovely brand with traditional roots and real history end up stuck inside usa borders. Availability is crap and it’s available only from idiots hyping them on line and selling the product ten times its value. How sad, matchbox is better than this. The brand is being strangled by mattel.

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