While I was hanging out at the Hot Wheels Convention in LA the first weekend of October, David Tilley was at the European Matchbox Convention in Leipzig, Germany. He filed this report:
Well last weekend was the 18th European Convention in Leipzig, Germany.
Abe Lugo from Mattel in USA was in attendance, as well as The Lamley Group. Admittedly there is no video footage to show at this time, but we did manage to get a bunch of pictures of models as they are a little further progressed than they were in Albuquerque in July.
The slides and videos were almost the same as the ones shown in USA, although graphics had been written in German in places. There have been no major changes to anything in the 10 weeks since Albuquerque. So let’s get stucks in with some pictures.
We know that for 2020 the basic range will incorporate 3 new generic models, known as Matchbox Originals.
The MBX Self Driving Bus has not changed since Albuquerque. It is still a 3D cast, with a clear upper and green lower section. Obviously this is one that will be scheduled for release later in 2020.
The MBX Cycle Trailer has progressed further. Still a 3D rendering, but now we see that they are going to sneaky with this and give us an instant variation. Half of them will sport one type of bike on the rear, the other half a different bike. The bike section itself will be a separate piece.
MBX Garbage Scout is also progressing further, but is still a 3D rendering. From what was being mentioned, the trash can on the rear will be removable for added play value. The early 3D rendering shown in Albuquerque was all just one piece in grey, so you didn’t really get a feel for how it looks. Having individual parts rendered in 3D and constructed it does help to show breaks in the casting which helps it to look better.
Now on to the licensed stuff.
The 1994 Chevy Caprice Police Car is good to go. This will likely be a part of the first batch. In Albuquerque it was still a 3D print. It’s really cool seeing the NYPD design on it too.
The 2018 Jeep Renegade is still the same as it was in Albuquerque. Fully formed in plastic and metal now, but still in prototype stages.
The Big Banana Car was blue in Albuquerque. Obviously it was not going to be released like that. Now it is FEP stages, and really does look like a banana.
The 1971 MGB GT is coming along nicely. Originally when it was being created for 2018 it was going to be a rally vehicle, but during the delay it has been re-adapted as a standard road going vehicle. In Albuquerque the 3D rendering was still sporting spotlights on the front. But now it has progressed to early prototype metal and plastic, and with that the spotlights are gone. This is pure stock when it arrives next year.
The 2019 VW Beetle Convertible “Final Edition” casting is also coming along. This was a 3D rendering in Albuquerque and is not fully fleshed out. Oddly, it is still blue. Is this a hint as to what it will arrive in next year?
The Alfa Romeo Giulia is also good to go. Likely it will be in the first batch of the year. Remember each batch will be sold for 2 months and will be all-new each time with 6 batches overall throughout the year.
The 1956 Powell Sport Truck is still only at 3D rendering stage, but is now a multi-part 3D rather than all in one that was shown in Albuquerque. There is now no rear tailgate. Whether that will be how it stays we will have to wait and see. The original rendering shown in Albuquerque did have a tailgate. There’s still work to be done on it, so it is still in the “wait and see” bracket.
The 1962 Mercedes Benz 220SE Rally is a big deal. The prototype and FEP were on display, and we were treated to a few sneaks of the 2020 packaging style. Many will have seen the advert.
This is going to be sold in the basic range, but will have a rather unique and distiguishing blister.
The classic 1976 Honda Civic CVCC is unchanged from Albuquerque. Obviously this is one we will be waiting until later in the year to finally get in our hands.
The Mercedes Benz AMG GT63S Sedan has reached the first shot metal and plastic stage. Albuquerque treated us to a multi-colour 3D rendering. Obviously there is still time for tweaks. You may notice no tri-star on the front. This may be adjusted on the casting, or it may be left blank as there could be a view that the tampo printing will work better with a flat surface. Sometimes it does. This is likely a casting that will always see a front print.
The Polaris RZR XP1000 is not at the bare metal stage, moving on from the 3D print stage it was at in Albuquerque.
The 2019 Mazda 3 is still at the original 1-piece 3D rendering stage as of Leipzig. This looks likely to be a late 2020 release.
The 2020 Chevy Corvette C8 is also unchanged from the 3D rendering that was shown in Albuquerque. It’s nowhere near the vehicle that will arrive. This was a quick mock-up that was more in line with the camouflage real vehicle that was doing the rounds before the launch. Expect a lot to happen with that over the next year or so.
The LEVC TX London Taxi is still in 3D rendering stages, but in Albuquerque we only saw a 1-piece rendering. This is now showing more details and individual parts. It looks like we will have a window in the roof and a nicely detailed Taxi sign in front of it.
The Western Star 4900 is one of a number of new cabs arriving, with the return of Convoy for 2020, but this is the only one also being added to the basic range. The 3D rendering is still the same one as seen in Albuquerque.
The 1956 Aston Martin DBR1 Roadster has moved on from the original 1-piece 3D print into a multi-part 3D print.
The 1995 Nissan Hardbody Pickup has moved from 3D printing into a proper casting now. Note the tow hook on the rear. Nice to see we still get new castings with tow hooks. There are some items in the rear of this one. Will there be an empty bed variant? You can never tell, but so far there has been no mention of it. Just the Bike Trailer is confirmed for 2020 as being a double version casting.
The Renault Kangoo Express has actually gone the other way to most models. In Albuquerque we saw a multi-part 3D rendering, but this is an early draft 3D rendering in 1 part. There could be 2 reasons behind that. The front end did look slightly damaged in Albuquerque, so it may be that it was deemed too damaged so an older rendering was brought instead. Or it could be that Renault have requested a change and it has been re-printed with a slight tweak to it. BTW the wheels were just some old wheels that were laying around. They are not going to be returning.
The 1941 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible is now being fleshed out properly. It was still a 3D rendering back in Albuquerque. It is looking very nice here.?? Once it starts getting painted up in official release design it will look incredible.
Another that is pretty much good to go now, so possibly a part of batch A. The 1976 VW Golf Mk1 was already at the first shot metal stage, but now we see it in FEP stage in an almost production ready look. It sports the GTi logo on the front, and side tampo printing is added to help with the black wheel arches, as the real GTi had them. This could be a popular little model.
The 2020 Jeep Gladiator is now at multi-part 3D rendering stage, whereas in Albuquerque it was single-part.
The Bugatti Divo is still in multi-part 3D rendering as they work to ensure that the colour breaks work with Bugatti. However, these now sport Matchbox wheels, as it is a newer rendering than was shown in Albuquerque.
The new vehicles will join the rest in a now expanded series of 6 themes. For the last few years it has been 5 themes.
We also saw some sneaks of the 4 new moving parts tools.
The 2019 Ford Ranger is going to be unique in having 2 opening parts. I managed to get the tailgate open for one of the pictures. You may also note the Skyjacker logo on the side. We saw a first shot metal and an FEP sample here. In Albuquerque it was just the plain one.
The 1948 Divco Milk Truck is still as it was in Albuquerque. No changes as yet.
The Lamborghini Centenario has progressed to first shot metal, with a tilting plastic door, although the 3D rendering was still in attendance too. Abe still hadn’t changed the slide from Aventador to Centenario.
Finally the Porsche 550 Spider is also in the same boat as the Divo. It hasn’t changed in 10 weeks.
Ford those curious, here are shots of the 2 entire displays.
This does also give us another look at the Convoy vehicles.
The Convoy Cab on the left is an early prototype of the Matchbox original MBX Cabover. On the right an early prototype of one of 2 Lonestar cabs that will debut in the series.
The MBX Cabover is being married to the Rocket Transporter here. Slides showed a Tesla, but until final production begins things can still change.
The other Lonestar Cab is fully formed here and the Ford Cargo next to it is pretty much good to go too. Note the new wheels created.?? They have created a new wheel for the Convoy series. Each models in the 2 assortments will be paired with a returning basic range model. They are hoping to make slight tweaks to the models that get added in to the sets, but it is not a guarantee.
Now here is something that fell under the radar in Albuquerque.
Walmart is receiving 2 unique sets of models, although in 2020 there will be 2 mixes for each set. We all saw the slide in Albuquerque but slid in the middle was the MB1226 2019 Mustang GT. But with no renderings on display it completely passed over our heads.
However, this time out in Leipzig, they bought a 3D rendering of the brand new casting that will debut exclusively in the Walmart series for 2020. It will also appear in 2 versions across the 2 mixes for Walmart in USA.
Finally, something that was not announced at Albuquerque as it was only officially announced shortly after it.
Mattel have secured the license for the Top Gun series. In line with the new Top Gun: Maverick film that is due in June 2020 Mattel will be creating various toys from both the new film and the original. Matchbox will be the diecast arm of that deal. Skybusters will be obviously very significant, and we will also see basics, playsets and other items released next summer time. Expect more information to be passed out, and pictures of models as we get closer to the release of the film.
Leave a Reply