First Look: Matchbox City 5 Pack!

 Okay, many of you have found this one already, but it's the first time I'm getting the models out of their prisons and properly photographed. Matchbox recently released 2 heavy hitting 5-Packs. The NYPD pack will be shown on this blog later this week, but for now I'd like to take a look at the Matchbox City 5 Pack. Matchbox 5-packs continue to get better each round it seems, and the recent City set is no exception. Casting choice for the set is excellent, while the graphics are overall a little too busy in this pack for my liking, but not so gaudy that they become distasteful.

Let's start with my favorite model in the pack, the Mazda 2. A nicely proportioned, accurate, clean, 2 Series hatchback that you'd see on the road on any given day is always a welcome choice. While it is graphic heavy, the graphics are fitting and something you'd expect on an around-town delivery type car. Plus, we've had tampo-less releases in the past to satiate my 'clean-diecast' appetite. The orange color has some appeal, and this casting is excellently executed in terms of lines and scale.

Second best in the pack, for me, is the Ford Crown Victoria. The Crown Vic may be the most ubiquitous American vehicle of the last couple decades. They've been pressed into service as taxis, cop cars and civilian vehicles. I think Matchbox did a good job casting a $1 version of the Ford, and this blue-with-green-accents taxi version is quite cool. The see-through blue windows are awesome in my books too.

Third place for me is probably the most hyped model of the pack, the Matchbox Billboard truck. I must admit it is pretty cool. It's neat to get some Mattel advertising on the side, especially for us diehard Mattel fans. It's a nice big, heavy (for a Matchbox) casting, and I look forward to seeing how the orange brand puts it to use in the future.

Fourth place for me is the GMC Bus. The proportions and detail on this car are super realistic and it has a nice chunky feel to it. But, the caveat is, it's mostly plastic. The body is entirely plastic and the base has been cleverly engineered to be mostly plastic with only a narrow diecast strip running down the center of the base. The excessive plastic use relegates an otherwise cool model further down the list for me.

Lastly, for me, is the Matchbox Limousine. Sure it has some cool interior detail, but for me this casting is more for the kids who want a limo to play with. I really don't like the Matchbox Limousine casting at all, and would've rather seen the Cadillac One if they had to use a limo. I know some of you love the limo casting, but it's just not for me.

Overall, the Matchbox City 5-Pack impressed. The tampo work left a little to be desired on a few models, but with 3 licensed models and a very, very cool unlicensed model, I must say Matchbox is continuing to step up the 5-Pack game.

Happy Collecting!!

via : http://thewesterndiecastreview.blogspot.com/