This is a treat for us. We are getting a nice early look at a fantastic upcoming Matchbox.
Within the next two months, Matchbox will release the 2014 basic line version of the Dodge Charger Pursuit, which debuted last year. Many collectors have lamented the lack of real licensed liveries on Matchbox emergency vehicles, we at Lamley included, but there has been one happy exception.
Mattel has a very healthy relationship with the Boone County, Missouri Sheriff Department, thanks to Captain Keith Hoskins, who has been with the Sheriff's Department since starting as deputy in 1986. He also happens to be an avid Matchbox and diecast collector (surprise!). The Charger marks the third model in a Boone County livery we have seen, following a Ford Expedition in the 2011 Police 5-pack, and the Ford Ambulance in the 2012 Lesney Edition line:
Those are nice, but we think the new Charger takes the cake, so let's show it off.
The Charger has not yet been released in stores, but Keith just got the first examples fresh off the line directly from Mattel, and he was nice enough to share one with us. So we took the photos, and we asked Keith to give us a little background. Enjoy.
(Thanks Keith.)
2011 Matchbox Dodge Charger
Here is the process on this project, my third with Matchbox, which started on February 3, 2012. The other two projects were the Ford Ambulance in the Lesney Editions and a Ford Expedition in a 5-pack from 2011.
In February of 2012, I sent a few pictures to my Mattel contact of our 2011 Dodge Charger, which I thought would fit well into the MB lineup. At that point I did not know how long it would take, or even if was going to be accepted. Once an idea has been sent to Mattel, it has to go to the designers for consideration, and a decision has to be made as to where it will fit into the lineup.
On October 23, 2013 (20 Months later), I received an email from Mattel requesting approval of their design, color scheme, along with a few other requests. I made one additional request for the artwork on the card and Mattel complied. This process to get final approval between the licensee (me) and Mattel took approximately 2 weeks.
The vehicle was then put into production the first week of April 2014 and should be in the stores by the end of May or the first of June.
Keith R. Hoskins
Matchbox Dodge Charger Pursuit (2014 Basic Range):
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