Truly a Classic: The Classic Rides 5-Pack from Matchbox

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Truly a Classic: The Classic Rides 5-Pack from Matchbox

As I get ready to throw some epic Matchbox 5-packs up on the blog in the coming week, (Think NYPD, MBX City and a Golden Age-era pack) I realized I have some photos of one of my favorite Matchbox 5-Packs on deck. Last year's Classic Rides 5 pack was a home run in my books. Every single car in the pack was awesome. The only possible thing I can complain about is that the yellow Ford GT-40 and black '68 Mustang also got single releases. In other words, only 3 of 5 pieces are exclusive to the set, but I'm nitpicking.

The Classic Rides lineup was absolutely stellar. The gem of the bunch is the rust-brown 1957 GMC Stepside Pickup in what is easily one of the best liveries this truck has seen. Everything about it is perfectly realistic and ideally executed.

My number 2 pick in the set has to be the 1971 Pontiac Formula Firebird. This casting is one of my favorite Matchbox castings of all time and looks nearly perfect in red with the proper Formula striping and tri-blade wheels.

Number 3 for me is the Ford GT-40. It looks perfect in it's iconic yellow paint scheme and non-existent graphics. The tampos do what they're supposed to: provide taillights, emblems and headlights.

In 4th place, I'll go with the Karmann Ghia. This casting is a little off to me, but I still love it because, well, it's a Karmann Ghia. The stylized silver lettering on the sides really adds to the two-tone blue paint scheme. I enjoy this model also.

Last, but not really least, is the '68 Mustang. This casting has always been a bit too chunky for me, but I still enjoy it. It's a nice Mustang. The black and gold California-Special deco looks great on it. It's last for me because I saw it so many times in single-blister packs that it does nothing for me in this set.

The Matchbox Classic Rides 5-Pack was just released last year, and is still hanging around at some stores. I'm not paid by Matchbox, but as a fellow collector, I'm recommending you to get out there and find one if you haven't already. It's $5 bucks well spent.