I know a lot of you jumped on to Lamley yesterday to see the latest Matchbox Ambassador Update, only to see nothing. Nor did I put up a Matchbox Monday post. I am sorry for that.
Every third Monday I travel south for the week, and that first day is usually very hectic. Actually, every day is hectic, but I usually have some time in the evening to put the next day's posts together. This weekend that did not happen, and I found myself leaving in the morning with no Matchbox posts done.
I want to stay consistent, so I am delaying the Ambassador Update until next Monday. I hope that is ok. But I cannot forget Matchbox Monday, and our sponsor MVE Collectibles would probably not be too happy about that.
So on with the regularly scheduled program.
Last week we profiled the three new off-roaders from Matchbox, but there are still a few other models that have made their debut in the last couple of batched. The Load Lifter is not one that I think needs to be shown here, so I am skipping that one. But the Ford Explorer is.
Considering Matchbox 2013 Batches C and D came out within a week of each other, the Explorer has had a very rapid debut. The 2012 version in National Parks Ranger livery appeared in Batch C, and a few days later the 2013 version appeared in Batch D. So that gives us two models to look at.
Based on reactions to other recent Matchbox new model debuts, I think the Explorer will get mixed reviews. My first reaction was a little disappointment that the true street Interceptor wasn't done. Doing the Explorer with a little lower stance and disk wheels seemed like a no-brainer to me. But from what I know, Ford liked the idea of doing a more off-road type version, so they let Matchbox customize this casting up a bit. So what we have has an emergency feel to it, but more utility than speedster.
So my main beef is the style of model that was done. As far as execution goes, I think they did a very nice job, and the model continues to grow on me. Hopefully, even with the utility style, we will soon see a police version in black with black wheel wells. This model could look a little meaner...
(Find the latest Matchbox at MVE Collectibles* and Wheel Collectors
...)*as I continue to mention, you should definitely check out MVE Collectible's "One-of-Each" subscription service. You can pre-order one of every model of a series instead of having to buy an entire case.
Matchbox Ford Explorer (2012 New Model):
Matchbox Ford Explorer (2013 Mainline):
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