Matchbox 2000 Time Capsule of the Day

The biggest hype from the Land Rover brand in the 1990’s was the introduction of a smaller and more affordable Land Rover to the line called the Freelander and it utilized some of the newest features in car-based crossover SUV’s while still retaining that off-road legacy that Land Rover is famous for.  The Freelander was introduced in 1997 in 3-door and 5-door versions, the former as an open top design similar to the Isuzu Amigo.  The U.S. finally got the Freelander in 2001 with the 5-door making up for most of the sales.  This casting was introduced in 1999 and over the years it has had a metal base and the working suspension scrapped, yet one thing it never had was a clean look as it was always loaded with park ranger tampos.  This blue with matching blue trim on the base and wheelwells looks nice and has a smooth front bumper with square headlights that are part of the window trim, ribbed lower body cladding, clear and removable panel roofs for the front seats, and the diagon

Matchbox wasn’t shy of making any castings from any mode of transportation in 1999 and one of them was a simple 4-wheel ATV, and just like the Dirt Bike it features a rider with helmet, goggles, and cool jacket graphics ready to hit the trails.  The rider is removable, and the rest of the ATV looks pretty nice with a metal red body, dual round headlights on the handlebars, detailed coil springs and bumper guard up front, and a single exhaust at the rear.  Even those familiar truck tires look great here.  The ATV is very maneuverable and easy to display compared to the Dirt Bike, yet over the years the casting has had few uses and at one point even lost the rider for cost cutting and let’s not forget the many ATV’s that Matchbox has made that has finally emerged to a realistic ATV in 2018 from Kawasaki for the Jurassic World set. Specifications: ·  Engine: V-twin two-cylinder air-cooled est. ·  Transmission: 3-speed manual est. ·  0-60 mph: 5.0 sec. est. ·  Real veh

If the truck camper is too large, then take a look into this interesting new casting that reflects on a popular new concept: the pop-up camper.  If you don’t like the idea of towing a brick that reduces rear visibility and gas mileage than this pop-up camper is the perfect choice.  The size of the classic Caravan trailer seen in 1999, the pop-up uses the same wheels, a metal body and base, and a spare tire with taillights at the rear.  In slim down look the pop-up looks easy to tow behind most cars with a trailer hitch, but when it is time to set up camp just pop the plastic roof up and voila! A camper is born.  Inside the camper has a full kitchen with sink and cabinets, a table with chairs, and even a bed with someone sleeping in it.  While this was the only single release, the pop-up has seen more use in 5-packs; in fact, before this single release the pop-up first premiered in a 5-pack called Canyon Base. Specifications: ·  Engine: N/A ·  Transmission: N/A ·  0-6

The next series involves some recreational vehicles perfect for the campsite, and this Truck Camper is one of them based on the many large RV’s seen across the nation.  Matchbox is no stranger to the RV as they have created the original back in the 1970’s before modifying the side door to not open and adding rescue lights and a water cannon for fire duty.  In 1999 the Truck Camper was introduced as a modern take on the camper with a more robust-looking body and still features the side opening door.  In real RV’s they use headlights and taillights from passenger cars and trucks from other brands, so Matchbox used the front grille and headlights from the SUV featured on the blisterpack design from 1998-2000.  This casting always had some simple decos in the first release and this one in gray with red and yellow pinstripes on the sides is a nice touch, while the rear has ladder for the roof, square taillights, and a tow hitch to hook on any additional gear like a pop-up camper or t

Probably one of the least impressive decos of this series, or the whole 1-100 lineup in general, was the 1970 El Camino in blue done as a freestyle skateboard service truck.  Nice, if not that realistic.  The El Camino appeared in 1998 with a few other classic American castings introduced at the time and was also unique as not that many 1970 El Camino’s existed in 1:64 scale at the time so the El Camino was a great choice.  The front shares the Chevelle’s quad round headlights, split grille, and cowl induction hood, but the back goes in a different direction using the Chevelle Wagon’s taillight bar and tailgate (even the bed area has a recess for the rear bench seat floorboard used on the wagon).  The interior has front bucket seats, two-spoke steering wheel, and the basket handle for the automatic transmission shifter on the center console, while the base has the detailed drivetrain and dual exhaust system.  As I expressed my distaste for this deco there are other fine examples

In a déjà vu sort of way the Ford Econoline Box truck, released in 1999, comes back in the same Federal Express, or FedEx, attire as last year with only slight alterations.  Still, this is not a bad truck as it has lots of details, metal, and even an interior over the similar Ambulance model!  The front adorns the new rounded grille introduced on the 1997 E-series vans with square headlights, rather unusual bend on the side doors, and a fully boxed cargo container with detailed rivets, FedEx on the sides, rear sliding door and taillights.  The casting has a detailed base and working suspension, though the weight of the rear box makes the rear axle sag, and speaking of which it would be nice to have an opening rear door for a change!  This is the only E-series casting that has an interior and features front bucket seats and the smooth dashboard layout of the E-series trucks.  Gas or diesel engines are offered and will move the truck in leisure fashion to get the job done.  Over t

With the success of the International Fire Pumper last year, Matchbox created another version based on the same International platform, this time as an armored band truck.  The look is pretty accurate with a gray color and simple decos that remind you of a Brinks truck, the front has the familiar International hood with tall grille and square headlights/signal lights, while the cab has a more straight-up, sturdy look thanks to the thick armor used for protection.  Every door, bracket, and box looks pretty sturdy and Matchbox did a great job with the details on this casting (even the truck wheels look great here), but the interior takes a sacrifice as there is no interior.  With a bigger size and more weight the Armored Truck would be slower than the fire pumper.  The casting has had many uses, though recently the casting was revised with a plastic body and a metal base (boo!!) so this first example is likely the best of the Armored Truck casting. Specifications: ·  Engin

Along with the 1962 VW Beetle this 1967 VW Bus Transporter was introduced in 1999 and likely started the air-cooled VW mania that has a cult following among collectors.  This casting was not easy to find thanks to the hype so I was fortunate to find this black version with Ritchie’s Pizzeria on the sides: an odd choice for a passenger bus, yet it is a nice callback to the original Lesney era VW Transporter with Pizza delivery decals.  The Transporter has the round bus look with V-split grille, round headlights, and large VW logo up front, while the sides have the multiple windows including the ones on the edge of the roof and the sunroof is in the open position.  The rear has louvered windows and round taillights, while the base has a working suspension and the detailed air-cooled flat -4 engine at the rear.  It handles quite well for a bus despite the lack of power and the interior has lots of room for many passengers with rows of bench seats.  Later on in the year the Transpo

Nothing sure beats a classic pickup and Matchbox seems to have found a nice one to make in 1997 with this 1956 Ford F-100 pickup.  Despite a hot rod paint scheme introduction, the truck is more stock looking and works quite well in the farming or service industry like this neat Texaco service truck with Jimmy’s Auto Service on the doors, all done in red and looks perfect sitting in a classic Texaco gas station of the 1950’s.   The truck is large, has the separate fender design front and rear, and a sharply detailed grille with V-logo and round headlights with grid pattern.  The rest of the truck has some nice and accurate details from the rounded cab to the rear tailgate with FORD letters and dual taillights, and even a useable bed.  The interior is basic with just a bench seat and steering wheel, while the base does sag low for a working suspension that never materialized with this casting.  During its run, aside from the Matchbox 2000 logo, was a change in 5-spoke wheels and i

This was the time Matchbox used honest scale ranges, like 1:102 scale for this amphibious tank!  This is a new casting for 2000 and despite looking large it is actually quite small, has a smaller dual gun turret on the roof, and larger wheels behind the faux track wheels on the base. The amphibious tank has the front-end look of a boat with a sloped front chin and higher mounted headlights to help the tank enter the water without capsizing, then the tank has numerous open ports on the top including two large doors to carry larger gear inside, while at the rear there is a single exit door and two propellers to move the tank across the water.  The Detroit diesel V8 helps move this tank across land and sea and it is still in use today, though this Matchbox casting not that much after this release and like other tanks looks great in a diorama scene but not much elsewhere.  Oh, and it does not float by the way. Specifications: ·  Engine: 903 CID turbodiesel V8 400 hp. ·  Tr

T aking another wide turn is the 1998 Ford Expedition, where it started life as a stock civilian truck in the First Shot release before being a yellow rescue vehicle in the 1999 1-100 release.  For 2000 it goes for an olive green military look with Military Police on the rear windows.  The mud graphics on the bottom come in two versions in either muddy or sandy designs.  As a replacement for the long-serving Bronco the Expedition challenged the Chevy Tahoe with four doors only and lots of room inside, while using a new line of V8 engines shared with the Ford F-series.  The details on the Expedition are nice from the roof rack to the ribbed taillight lenses, but the shape of the grille around the hood and front fenders seem a bit too rounded off.  Worse, the detailed base has a front-axle pumpkin that sits so low it makes the working suspension seem useless.  Inside the interior has seating for five with the detailed dashboard connected to the tall center console, while the cargo

Now for a more recognizable military vehicle with four wheels, the Humvee, as Matchbox introduced this casting in 1994 and one of only a few Humvee replicas out there at the time before being flooded with more when General Motors took over the brand from AM General in the 2000’s.  The HUMVEE, or High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle was created in the 1980’s as a bid from the U.S. government to look for an alternative for the Military Jeep who, despite being reliable and familiar, was succumbing to the increased need of safe and secure mobility with new and stronger body armor.  The Humvee uses a platform that places the engine and cabin between the axles and the engine higher up into the cabin to protect the powertrain from IED’s.  The cabin was shaped to protect the occupants in an explosion that would destroy the rest of the truck, be able to carry and deport from a cargo airplane, run on deflated tires, and forge deep waters and nearly 90 degree slopes.  To do all of th