Matchbox 2000 Time Capsule of the Day

The last vehicle of the Cleveland, Ohio set is this Refuse Truck, a yet-again generic Leyland cab-over truck (or something like it).  The cab is very basic with no interior, the base still has the Superfast logo of the 1970’s, and the American flag adorns the sides of this refuse truck.  The back end is where the action is with a plastic container that has Collectomatic at the front, tabs on each side that slide the inside compactor back to push the back half open to empty the trash.  Cool, but after that the casting just gets mundane and surprisingly it has been in the lineup for years though I think it finally retired when newer refuse trucks debut around 2005 in the Matchbox line. Specifications: ·  Engine: Turbodiesel I-4 est. ·  Transmission: 4-speed manual est. ·  0-60 mph: 18.0 sec. est. ·  Real vehicle price: #20,000 est. 1975 Rating:  2.8 out of 5 stars

Now to a new Chevrolet casting making its debut even though there are two different toolings (more on the other one later on).  This is the basic version in an all-white police outfit for Cleveland; nice, but some lighting details front and rear would help clear up the monochrome look.  The Impala returns as a front-wheel drive car with V6 power instead of V8 and while it did provide backlash from departments that preferred the larger Caprice it worked quite fine for smaller police departments that did not have a need to get the larger Crown Vic police car.  Body detailing is nicely done and except for the V-shaped roof lights this can pass on as a stock Impala sedan, while the 5-spoke wheels offer a working suspension that eventually did not last.  The interior has seating for five with the two-spoke steering wheel and the split dashboard that lacks detailed controls, though it does have the usual police gear and lights mounted on the dashboard and behind the...

Now for the other version of the Chevy Tahoe casting, the civilian version complete with a chrome split bar grille that dissects the headlights and signal lights in smoother rectangular units.  Also the roof lacks a light bar (though oddly that did appear on one issue in 2009) and the blue with City of Cleveland side graphics look excellent on this truck.  As I mentioned before this is one fantastic casting with lots of good details and lots of function with this casting from performance to off-road, the Tahoe has it all and this is just another good one!  The casting appeared during the second half of the decade with more realistic decos, clean versions, and even a brief time with a metal base in 2002. Specifications: ·  Engine: 5.7L V8 245 hp. Est. ·  Transmission: 4-speed automatic ·  0-60 mph: 10.0 sec. est. ·  Real vehicle price: #25,000 est. 1999 Rating:  5 out of 5 stars

Another vehicle out-of-scale would be this extending ladder fire truck, based on a real one even though it is generic.  The main feature of this casting is the moving ladder that can rotate and with an inner ladder can extend farther than other ladder fire engines, though the Snorkel Fire Engine arm does come close in length.  The castings, on the other hand, looks rather small despite the three axle setup with a lower sitting front cab and detailed water pump at the back and also note the support arms integrated on the sides.  The design is based on the Oshkosh Low Cab Fire Engine, but since there is no copyright indicator on the base there is little proof.  Plus the real truck is bigger than this. Specifications: ·  Engine: Turbodiesel V-12 est. ·  Transmission: 3 speed automatic est. ·  0-60 mph: 18.0 sec. est. ·  Real vehicle price: #600,000 est. 1999 Rating:  3 out of 5 stars

Now it is time to look at the next 5-car series in which all five represent a hometown based on what lucky kid might have received his letter from Mattel the year before.  Last year it was Ridge, New York and for 2000 it was Cleveland, Ohio and if the bus is any indication the student went to St. Thomas Elementary School in Rocky River, Ohio.  The casting itself is based on an International 3800 with aftermarket school bus body added to it, a very common sight in America back in 1990 when this casting was  introduced.  Problem is the bus is on the narrow side despite having the correct yellow color and front-end with round headlights and chrome grille.  The bus lacks any detailing on the upper flashers and the rear taillights, though note the Matchbox 2000 logo at the back door, and while it has an interior there is not much to see thanks to the small size.  Due to the size restrictions this is why Matchbox has shy away from doing another school bus,...

Finally, something based on the real truck with this International Fire Pumper that debut in 1999 and is one of the finest detailed fire engines by Matchbox.  The gold paint really looks good on this casting with V-shaped rescue lights, sirens mounted below the front bumper, and the famed International 3800 with large grille with emergency lights and even the international badge between the headlights.  The sides really come alive with chrome base showing off the diamond plate side steps, the water pump after the crew cab, the ladders on the sides, rescue lights on the rear corners, and even the ripples of the water pump hoses on the top.  Very nicely done!  Even the deco looks realistic with graphics on the side covers to indicate what is stored there.  There may be no interior, but the sheer detail of this casting outshines that, and even today this remains a very popular fire engine model by Matchbox. Specifications: ·  Engine: 7.3L turbodie...

One casting that seems to be a bit realistic compared to others is the Airport Rescue Truck that debuted in 1989.  While the others are fine, they don’t seem to come close to the real thing at the time compared to this Matchbox version.  These fire engines are designed to carry lots of water, have powerful water guns to reach the aircraft, and even four- or six-wheel drive with excellent approach angles to reach the aircraft in areas other fire engines cannot get to.  The three axle casting is more square with visible approach and departure angles at the front and rear, dual red lights on the roof (no interior, though), and the same visible vents and covered compartments as seen in the Snorkel Fire Engine.  The suspension works on this truck and despite being smaller in compared to scale (it’s probably about 1:130 of scale) it handles quite well.  A cool feature is the working ladder and a water gun that can swivel side-to-side; no doubt these would get l...

This is one of two Tahoe castings that debut in 1998 and this was the last sighting of both models in the same mainline series as both castings would go their own way after that.  While both castings share the same body and interior, the bases are different to reflect the unique front-ends:  The Police/Fire uses the base Cheyenne trim front-end with square halogen headlights, a front push bar, and emergency lights in the grille.  The roof also gets emergency triangular lights as well, while the deco seems to be less realistic on this one.  The Tahoe is a nice casting with lots of great detail, a proper size for this big, but smaller than a Suburban, SUV that was introduced in 1995.  Even the dual panel doors at the rear are a nice touch, as are the details on the base and the interior with comfy seats front and rear and a detailed dashboard.  With V8 power it has plenty of go and with part-time four-wheel drive plenty of off-road chops.  The Pol...

Probably one of the oddest fire engine castings in the Matchbox line has to be this Snorkel Fire Engine, an open top ladder fire engine based on a Leyland cab.  The term snorkel refers to the truck’s capacity to carry crew, water, and an extending arm to scenes, and this casting started life as a closed-top Leyland fire engine before converting to an open top version.  The front has the Leyland look with upper grille and bumper mounted headlights and is a common fixture in the Lesney Matchbox era, while the edge of the windshield has dual round lights.  The sides have vents for the engine and storage areas between the wheels with the rear containing the water pump system.  There’s still room to see the four-passenger seating now out in the open and a mid-mounted V8 engine, while the boom arm can rotate and raise up, and ready in the bucket is a firefighter in standby.  The deco for 2000 looks pretty nice, yet still I can’t seem to understand the purpose ...

In 1999 Matchbox was trying to branch out more in order to make 100 vehicles for the line, and with that we started to see more planes, boats, and even spacecraft.  One of those vehicles was the Sea Rescue Boat, the closest that you can get to a real boat or even a fishing boat.  The hull is metal and joins the upper part in white with plenty of details that include life guards and whip antennas.  There is no interior, but the stairs in the back lead to a radar antenna on the top, while the rear has black railings and a lip to open the lid that shows either the motors or more life vests (not sure of which).  To give this boat some motion small military wheels allow the boat to hover over land since this casting would be too heavy to float in water.  Out of all of the boat castings released this one seems to be the most realistic of the bunch, and despite being a rescue boat it has no problems masquerading as a fishing boat. Specifications: ·  E...

The final car of the group is the odd one out (like it’s not easy since these are 5-car series) yet is a fantastic one, the Ferrari Testarossa.  Named after the red valve covers it employs a boxer V-12 from the 512 BB in a wider stance with cheese grader sides, and while it does not have the sleek and narrow look like the F40 the Testarossa was a very iconic car of the 1980’s.  Matchbox did a nice job with this casting with some nice early releases, but like the others suffered from the ill-fated Tyco era colors before finally coming back down to normal for its final outing.  The black paint looks sleek on this car with detailed front lights and prancing horse badge, while the rear gets detailed taillights and yet they managed to print the silver prancing horse against the ribbed section in the middle.  The 5-spoke wheels look good here, yet unlike the others do not suffer from the higher ground clearance look (even though the Testarossa has a working suspensi...