#1026 MATCHBOX 2000 – ROCKET (1990)

I often talk about Matchbox lines which are not the superfast or the ordinary 1-75 series. I would like to review also those series, maybe I will do that more often in the future, as there are still hundreds of cars in my collection waiting for their turn to have their blog entry.
 

Matchbox 2000 was a short lived series of small cars equipped with a magnet on the rear half that could be steered (well, more or less) by placing an additional piece nearby. This key-piece also had a magnet, so when it came close to the car, the magnets would repel each other, as they were built with the same polarity.  Simple and nice. Mostly considering that the models chosen were all futuristic prototypes, dream cars with names such as Streak, Rocket, Gamma or Spark. Unfortunately, they are not based on real models, I would say they are all invented.

Magnetism is nothing new, but it something that attracts people (and especially children), as it has something magic in it. You can steer a toy car without touching it, using no batteries. Cool. And there is no better name than “Matchbox 2000” for a product made in 1990. This was how we expected the year 2000 to be.

I got this blisterpack from Steven (from the Motorcade). It was already partially opened, so I carefully removed the contents and tested it myself. It is fun to play with. The “key” piece can also hold the car and can be clipped to the pocket of your shirt for carrying it, although, I would say, if you do that, there is a 99% chance of losing the car within the next 2 minutes. It does not hold very well.

The line included all these 12 vehicles in the picture plus two playsets with plenty of magnets to fit, hold and move your 2000´s cars. The first one was called R.P.M. (Robotic Positioning Module) and the second one V.S.C. (Vertical Service Center)

There was a second series comprising the same 12 cars in alternate colours, but these were sold in 3-packs without magnetic key.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: MATCHBOX 2000 ROCKET
• Scale: Approx 1:72
• Year: 1990
• Company: Matchbox (United Kingdom)
• Size: 7 cms

#766 UNKNOWN MANUFACTURER/ SPEED WHEELS – MITSUBISHI CANTER REFUSE TRUCK and MOBILE CRANE (Around 1995)

MONTH OF THE UNKNOWN

I have a few interesting toys that I have been collecting over the years from which I know nothing at all. They cannot be identified since they have no manufacture marking. Despite searching the internet, I couldn´t find anything about them, so I changed my mind, and thought it may be better if I publish them now, and people reading this could help me identifying them.

There will be 11 toys (all 11 entries from January 2017), but I warn you: it is not an easy task to identify them. Are you ready for this challenge?

If I get hints and information, I´ll be updating the posts to add information about them. Thanks!

If you like the challenge, there are other toys in this blog waiting to be identified, click here to see all unidentified toys.

I first thought this truck may probably be a Tomica knock-off, but I couldn’t find any model that matches this particular cast (both the truck and the “load”).  The truck is actually a Tomica knock-off, more accurately, a knock-off of the No.10 Mitsubishi Canter Refuse Truck (see comments below).

The truck was probably made by the late 90s. I bought it, because I liked very much the detail level of the cast and the opening gate in the refuse container. This indicates a higher quality level than the rest of “made in China” models from those days.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the manufacturer despite correctly identifying the truck as an Isuzu Elf. Ha ha! Not correctly identified. It is a Mitsubishi Canter, not an Isuzu Elf.

A nice Japanese truck from a car and truckmaker that is quite uncommon in the 3 inches world.

Additional information: Bought in a flea market in Austria.

UPDATE (Dec/2018): I think this model might be made by Welly, same as this other Mobile Crane, also a Tomica Knock-off:

UPDATE (MAR/19): The Mobile Crane has been spotted inside a Speed Wheels blister card (series V). Still could be made by Welly, since Speed Wheels seems to be only a budget reseller of die-cast made by other companies.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: MITSUBISHI CANTER REFUSE TRUCK and MOBILE CRANE
• Scale: Around 1:72
• Year: Around  1995
• Company: Unknown Manufacturer, maybe Welly? (China) / Speed Wheels (U.S.A.)
• Size: approx. 7 cm

#725 MATCHBOX – SUPERFAST MINIS: JAGUAR XJS, FORD THUNDERBIRD, CHEVROLET CAMARO Z28 AND OTHERS (MD-4, MD-005 and MD-010) (1990)

One of the shortest and rarest (relatively) recent series by Matchbox is the "Superfast Minis". These are small (around 2 inches, maybe 1:72) die-cast cars with plastic base and a big wheel on the base. This wheel is very interesting, since it allows a great playability and maneouvrability.

I am surprised that this series was discontinued after only 2 years, since it is quite fun to play with and the size was very popular those days (well, it´s a bit bigger than Micro Machines), but there was also “World’s smallest Matchbox” series which was even smaller than a Micro Machine.

The models I own are only three:

JAGUAR XJS (MD-4)
FORD  THUNDERBIRD (MD-005)
CHEVROLET CAMARO Z28 (MD-010)

I love the selection of cars Matchbox made for this series: BMW M1, Ford RS 200, Chevrolet Stingray, Ferrari F40, Porsche 911, Lamborghini Countach… actually my three models are the most boring ones…

The series are marked MD plus a number (either one ciffer or three). There seems to be 12 models, each of them in two decorations. Note that the catalogue picture presents the Camaro and the Jaguar in other colours than mine.

Not to forget is the nice mini-launcher to do some racing against your friends. I love this kind of add-ons. This one seems to be not only a launcher, but also a small container box for one car. There were several of these made, with different colour combinations and several brands printed on them, depending on the cars that they came with. I have seen double blisterpacks with 2 cars (same model in two decorations) and a launcher or with 4 models (2 models, 2 decorations each).

UPDATE 1 (NOV/2022)

Three more models. Unfortunately, I forgot to check the serial numbers; I will try to update as soon as possible.

-LAMBORGHINI COUNTACH in yellow

-CHEVROLET BELAIR in black

-BMW M1 in gray

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: SUPERFAST MINIS: JAGUAR XJS, FORD THUNDERBIRD, CHEVROLET CAMARO Z28 (MD-4, MD-005 and MD-010) and OTHERS (1990)
• Scale: Approx. 1:72
• Year: 1990 and 1991
• Company: Matchbox (Great Britain)
• Size: approx. 4 cm

#684 CGGC GRISONI – INNOCENTI MINI MK2 and FIAT 500 (Around 1970)

These are two cars in 1:72 scale made by the Italian maker Grisoni (CGGC). I already dedicated one entry to this scale model manufacturer and where I showed two models in 1:43 scale.(http://toysfromthepast.blogspot.com/2015/09/585-cggc-grisoni-fiat-128-rally-and-bmw.html)

These two are made in a smaller scale and represent two older cars.

 

 

 

As said before, there are almost no information on the web about Grisoni, the only reference is that the company was active during the 70s and the 80s. I guess this two cars could be older than that, but I date them 1970 anyway.

 

 

 

I found other site that says some of these models in 1:72 scale are marked PEZ on the base. These were promotional giveaway from the famous sweet dispensers from Austria "PEZ". The promotion was active sometime during the mid 70s and there were at least 7 models to get: 3 utilitaries and 4 formula ones, each of them in different colours and/or colour combinations. The two cars presented in this entry were among them, but they are not marked PEZ, so they should belong to the standard series.

• Fiat 500 (not numbered)
• VW Maggiolino (not numbered)
• Innocenti Mini MK2 (not numbered)
• 1 Ferrari
• 2 BRM
• 3 Cooper
• 4 Lotus

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: INNOCENTI MINI MK2 and FIAT 500
• Scale: 1:72
• Year: Around 1970
• Company: CGGC Grisoni (Italy)
• Size: approx. 4 cm