1981 and 1982 Matchbox Hondarora Motorcycles

The Matchbox Hondarora Motorcycle was first released in 1975 and has been produced in about 20 different variations up to the mid 1980s.

The Hondarora features a metal frame, gas tank and rear fender with a plastic engine, plastic seat, plastic steerable handlebars and special motorcycle wheels. There is a kickstand molded to one side of the exhaust. Later models included a plastic rider. I recenlty picked up two variations of the Hondarora from my Wichita eBay friend.

This metallic green model with a chrome engine and black 5-spoke wheels is from 1981.

Matchbox | 1981 | #18 | Hondarora Motorcycle | metallic green, black handlebars, chrome plastic engine, black plastic seat, black wheels | England

This yellow version with a chrome engine and black 5-spoke wheels is missing one handlebar and the seat. It also may or may not have had a plastic rider who might have been tan, brown or green.

Click here to compare to the Honda Motorcycle and Trailer from my childhood.

Matchbox | 1982-1983 | #18 | Hondarora Motorcycle | yellow, black handlebars (missing one), chrome plastic engine, missing black plastic seat, missing brown plastic rider, black wheels | England

1976 Matchbox BMW 3.0 CSL Box

I’ve been thinking about Matchboxes. Or, I should say Matchbox boxes. When I see photos online of collections from the UK or Europe, the cars are often paired with the original boxes. It seems to be less so in the U.S. In fact, in all my years of hunting, I almost never come across cars in boxes. I still have some nice Matchbox examples from my childhood, but I don’t remember much about the packaging. If anything, I seem to remember looking at a display where all of the cars were hanging in blister cards.

This is only the second Matchbox box that I’ve added to my collection of over 230 loose Matchbox cars. Like the Ford Tractor and Harrow box, this box for the Matchbox #45 BMW 3.0 CSL is a pickup from my Wichita eBay friend. The boxes, with their bold graphics and beautiful illustrations, really are an enhancement to a collection.

Matchbox | 1976 | #45 | BMW 3.0 CSL | box only

Fortunately, in this case I already have a nice example of the BMW 3.0 CSL to pair with it. Looks pretty good, doesn’t it?

1973 Matchbox Rolamatics Turbo Fury

The Matchbox Turbo Fury was first released in the 1973 Rola-Matics series and was produced in about 4 different variations.

A reworking of the Blue Shark casting, the rear of the car has been modified to house twin jet engines and now includes a pair of fans that spin with the rolling action of the car.

This red example, which is missing a label (it might have been 69, 86, or a scorpion), is the second of two cars I picked up at the Toy Shack in Las Vegas.

Other Matchbox Rolamatics models in my collection include the Mustang Piston Popper that I still have from my childhood, the Range Rover with Police Patrol livery, the Range Rover with Sheriff livery, the metallic green Weasel Armored Vehicle, the olive green variation of the Weasel, the Badger Exploration Truck, the Stoat Armored Car, the Maxi Taxi and the Fandango.

Matchbox | 1973 Rolamatics | #69 | Turbo Fury | red, missing label, clear windshield, white interior, ivory engine fans, unpainted metal base | England | Superfast 5-spoke wheels

1972 Matchbox Gruesome Twosome

At the end of November last year, my family and I made a trip to Las Vegas. I spent a little time, as I do when I travel, looking in the various shops for a cool diecast souvenir. I  was a little tempted by this shiny Las Vegas semi truck and trailer.

But I already know that the best Las Vegas souvenirs are found at the Toy Shack on Fremont.

The place is packed full of options, and a guy like me could spend hours there looking through it all.

Even my wife was impressed with how much cleaner and more organized it was (thanks to a new manager) than the last time we were there.

We were on a bit of a time crunch, so I went to work and picked out a couple of things to take home. As I did on my previous visit, I chose a pair of vintage Matchbox models, as they seem to be among the more reasonably priced diecast items in the store.

The Matchbox Gruesome Twosome is a radical racer with engines at both the front and rear. It was first released in 1971 and was produced in about 4 different variations.

In 1986, the Gruesome Twosome was retooled for the Super GT (budget) line and both of the exposed engines were removed (making its name rather meaningless). About 8 more variations of the simplified version were issued up to about 1991.

Matchbox | 1972 | #4 | Gruesome Twosome | metallic gold, purple windows, white interior, chrome engines, unpainted metal base | England | Superfast 5-spoke wheels

1976 Matchbox Two Packs Emergency Set

The Matchbox Two Packs TP-7 Emergency Set, which includes the Stretcha Fetcha paired with either the Mercury Park Lane Fire Chief or the unlicensed 1976 Fire Chief, was released in 1976. This example, another of my eBay scores, includes the Mercury Park Lane Fire Chief.

Matchbox | 1976 | TP-7 | Emergency Set

The Matchbox #46 Stretcha Fetcha, which reminds me a little bit of the Hot Wheels Heavyweights line of trucks, was first released in 1972. It was produced in about 12 different variations. The model included in this Emergency Set is identical to my childhood Stretcha Fetcha.

#46 | Stretcha Fetcha | white with red cross Ambulance labels, blue widows and dome lights, ivory interior, white plastic opening rear door, red metal base | England | Superfast Maltese cross

The Matchbox #59 Mercury Park Lane Fire Chief was first released in 1971 and was produced in at least 11 different variations, mostly with differences in the labels. A related casting, of which I have a very sad example, is the #55 Mercury Park Lane Police.

The Matchbox Mercury Park Lane Fire Chief has two fire officials cast into the front seats.

#59 | Mercury Park Lane Fire Chief | red with labels on hood and doors, clear windows, blue dome light, ivory interior, unpainted metal base | England | Superfast 5-spoke wheels

Other Matchbox Two Packs in my collection include the TP-1 Mercedes Truck and Trailer, the TP-5 Weekender, the TP-7 Jeep and Glider Trailer, the TP-13 Military Scout and Armoured Car, the TP-14 Military Tanker and Radar Truck, the TP-16 Military Dump Truck and Bulldozer, the TP-19 Dodge Cattle Truck and Trailer, the TP-20 Diesel Shunter and Side Tipper, the TP-22 Long Haul Double Container Truck, the TP-23 Long Haul Covered Container Truck, and the TP-25 Long Haul Pipe Truck.

1969 Matchbox Lamborghini Marzal

The Lamborghini Marzal was a concept car built in 1967 for the Geneva Motor Show. Designed by Marcello Gandini of Bertone, the Marzal was a four-seater with radical angular styling and gull-wing doors. It utilized 48 sq ft of glass, and a hexagonal motif was found in the car’s interior details, its louvered rear window, and in the custom-designed Campagnolo magnesium wheels. The 2.0 L inline six-cylinder engine with three Weber carburetors was mounted transversely in the car behind the rear axle. It was estimated at 175 hp with a top speed of 118 mph. Though only one Marzal was built, many of the concepts were later incorporated into the Lamborghini Espada.

The Matchbox Lamborghini Marzal was first released in 1969 and was produced in about 16 different variations. It has Superfast wheels and was issued in metallic red, salmon, yellow and flourescent pink up to 1974. In 1985, it was included in the Super GT (budget) series and released in another 9 variations, some cast in England, others made in China. This early, England-cast metallic red model – which may or may not have had labels at one time – is my other bonus car (to take advantage of combined shipping) from my recent eBay purchase.

Click here to compare to the Playart Lamborghini Marzal in my collection.

Matchbox | 1969-1970 | #20 | Lamborghini Marzal | metallic red, no labels, amber windows, ivory interior, unpainted metal base | England | Superfast 5-spoke wheels

Other Matchbox Lamborghinis in my collection include a nice metallic gold Lamborghini Miura from 1970 and a red Lamborghini Countach from 1976.

1968 Matchbox Mercury Cougar

The first generation of the Mercury Cougar was a two-door coupe produced from 1967 to 1970. It was built on the 1967 revision of the Ford Mustang chassis and shared its range of V8 engines, but was 3 inches longer and generally offered more comfort features than the Mustang. The Cougar was awarded Motor Trend’s Car of the Year in 1967 and accounted for 40% of the sales of the Lincoln-Mercury division for that year.

The Matchbox #62 Mercury Cougar was first released in 1968 and was produced in about 4 different variations. This metallic light green model with black plastic wheels with chrome hubs is one of the bonus cars I picked up (for combined shipping) when I scored the Matchbox Hay Trailer on ebay.

This early version of the Matchbox Mercury Cougar features a tow hook and opening doors. (A similar casting released in the 2005 New Superfast series has the doors cast shut.)

Matchbox | 1968 | #62 | Mercury Cougar | metallic light green, clear windows, red interior, opening doors, unpainted metal base | England | black plastic wheels with chrome hubs

1967 Matchbox Hay Trailer Repair & Upgrade

While I was on eBay looking for the Ford Tractor and Harrow, I came across a Hay Trailer that had loose tires but still had the yellow plastic hay racks. I decided I could use the hay racks to upgrade the Hay Trailer already in my collection that was missing the racks. So I bid on the Hay Trailer and was fortunate to land it (along with a couple of bonus cars, as you shall see soon.)

Once I had the Hay Trailer in hand, I was concerned about being able to remove the hay racks without breaking them. So I turned my attention to the loose tire situation. Years ago, I read a tip online explaining that the reason the tires fall off is because the plastic hubs shrink over time. The solution is to wrap a layer or two of tape around the hubs, increasing their diameter just enough so that the tires fit snugly again.

I gave this a try and it worked pretty well. Very thin strips of tape wrapped around the outside of the hubs made it so the tires fit without falling off.

Hay Trailer | 1967 | #40 | Hay Trailer | blue, yellow plastic hay fences | England | yellow hubs with black tires

I’m pretty happy now with my Ford Tractor and Hay Trailer combo.

1983 Matchbox Ford Tractor & Harrow with Box

This all started when my Wichita eBay friend asked me if I wanted an empty box. Not just any empty box, but a box for the Matchbox #46 Ford Tractor and Harrow. Apparently he had sold off the model some time ago and recently came across the box. Of course I said yes, thank you, and almost immediately went to eBay to find a model to pair with the box.

I always enjoy the beautiful illustrations on the Matchbox packages from this era.

Matchbox | 1978-1983 | #46 | Ford Tractor & Harrow | box only | England

The Matchbox Ford Tractor was first released in 1978 and was produced in about 16 different variations. Differences include paint, interior and base color as well as the color of the wheel hubs. It was packaged with a harrow (with color differences here as well) or in three different Two Packs paired with the Hay Trailer. It was also included in the 1989 Farm Set Three Pack and in the 1993 Farming Twin Pack, now with a front bale loader and paired with a Rotovator.

My example is the 1983 issue with blue paint, ivory interior, unpainted metal base and a yellow harrow, and with yellow hub wheels to match the harrow. The reunited box and model look pretty great together!

Matchbox | 1983 | #46 | Ford Tractor and Harrow | blue with ivory interior, yellow harrow, unpainted metal base | England | black tractor wheels with yellow hubs front and back

Click here to compare to the 1967 Matchbox #39 Ford Tractor and Hay Trailer in my collection. And click here to compare to the pair of 1964 Matchbox John Deere tractors that I picked up last summer.

1986 Matchbox Rolls Royce Silver Cloud

The Rolls Royce Silver Cloud was produced by the British luxury carmaker from 1955 to 1966. Available as a 4-door saloon and a 2-door coupe or convertible, the Silver Cloud was powered by a 4.9L inline 6-cylinder engine paired with a 4-speed automatic transmission. The Silver Cloud II, introduced in 1959, brought the 6.2L V8 engine with its improved acceleration and torque.

The Matchbox #62 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud was first released in 1985. Not to be confused with the smaller #44 Silver Cloud from 1958, it was produced in about 7 different variations, issued individually and also included in a James Bond set. This cream, Macau-made model is another score from my Wichita eBay friend.

Click here to compare to my Matchbox Rolls Royce Silver Shadow Convertible Coupe. And click here to compare to my Matchbox Rolls Royce Silver Shadow II.

Matchbox | 1986 | #62 | Rolls Royce Silver Cloud | cream, clear windows, gray interior, chrome plastic base | 1:69 | Macau | Superfast open dot dash wheels