2016 Matchbox New Model of the Year: The Early Front Runners

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

2016 Matchbox New Model of the Year: The Early Front Runners

With the annual Matchbox Gathering coming up in a few days, I want to take a look at the current front runners for the 2016 Matchbox new model of the year 'award' (there's no real award). With the new Dodge Ram and Chrysler 300C still to come, it's too early to pick a winner, but here are the 4 we've seen so far that are deserving choices. Going in ascending order, here are my picks:

4th Place: 2014 Chevy Corvette C7

Here is Matchbox's take on the latest Corvette generation. The Matchbox C6 Corvette is one of my favorite Matchbox castings. It can do no wrong in my books. I don't think the C7 is quite at the same level as the C6 in terms of how well it's cast. The plastic roof takes away from the model a bit. But it's still a nicely proportioned casting and until we see it in a clean, basic deco, it will be hard to judge it fairly.

3rd Place: Range Rover Evoque

The Evoque was a long awaited casting, and now that we have it, it surely doesn't disappoint. The Evoque is a work of beauty. Clean, detailed and well casted. The tampos provide amazingly realistic logos, taillights, grille and headlights for the model. It will be hard to top the bright orange debut. We already have a second version in the Land Rover 8-Car set. It's more of a burnt orange/rust color than the tangerine-orange debut color. Either way the Evoque is a worthy choice for new model of the year.

2nd Place: 2015 Mazda Miata MX-5

This model is a work of beauty and I'm still struggling to pick between it and the VW Transporter Cab. I think the Dodge Ram 1500 will throw another wrench in things and make for a difficult 3 horse race for new model of the year when it's all said and done. The 2015 Miata MX-5 is by far the sharpest looking Miata ever. The 50/50 weight balance, incredibly light vehicle weight and styling make for an incredible sports car in 1:1 scale. Matchbox took a stunner of a real car and executed a 1:64 scale version perfectly for under $1. It doesn't get much better than that.

1st Place: Volkswagen Transporter Cab

The VW Transporter Cab is my early winner for model of the year. It gets a (very, very) slight nod over the Miata for me because of that 'uniqueness' factor. If I had to guess a model Matchbox would've casted this year, the Transporter would've been pretty darn low on that list. Yet here we are, with a 1:64 version in a very nice livery and with a very neat variation. For me, this model is Matchbox at it's best: licensed, clean, functional and unique.