It is hard to know why we have been on such a Matchbox kick lately. Sometimes it just happens.
It may have started with the Matchbox Tesla Model S. When we first saw photos of it, we were reminded of how great Matchbox was just a few years ago. The Tesla looks just about as real as a $1 diecast car can look. Its realism made it a bit of a throwback to the years 2004 to 2010, when realism was a major aspect of the Matchbox line, whether it be a classic car, a construction or emergency vehicle, or a current sports car. The Tesla would look great next to the Matchbox Audi R8 or Lexus GS430.
That is where it starts. There is a spark. Then you wade into the dangerous waters of the eBay sea
. There is that one you always wanted, and that other you never appreciated when you could buy it on the pegs, that other you foolishly traded or sold away. Before you know, you have a whole new collection coming.
That is what has happened the last few weeks with what Matchbox collectors call the NSF, or New SuperFast. Superfast is a term that has been associated with Matchbox for decades, so NSF or New Superfast is used to identify the line that that started in 2004 and ended in 2008. The models were fully tampo'd in realistic designs, they had unique wheels, and came in packaging that included a throwback-style box.
And it was ambitious. The 2004 and 2005/2006 lines included 75 models each, and the 2005/06 line even had a separate 1-75 line for overseas markets. That meant completist collectors would have to rely on friends from other countries to get all versions of each model.
The later lines didn't include as many models, and also suffered from erratic distribution, and as a result some models have become hard-to-find and pretty desirable.
There is a sense that a whole new generation of collectors are just discovering the Matchbox models from this era, and it is opening up a new world of collecting. It seems that Matchbox was producing the line that many collectors want Hot Wheels to produce right now. Hot Wheels is doing what it always has done. It is Matchbox that changed the most.
And that is why we have started clamoring for Matchbox to return to its glory days. There are a TON of folks that would welcome it, embrace it, and hopefully make it successful. The time is ripe for a realistic $1 diecast line again.
This may be one of the reasons that secondary prices for these models, including NSF, are growing. Models like the Land Rover Defender 110, Lexus GS430, Audi R8 and RS6, Toyota Land Cruiser, and VW Golf GTI are starting to fetch high prices. Some Land Rovers and Land Cruisers are famously fetching $100 or more all of a sudden. Like the Hot Wheels Datsun 510, which was a notorious pegwarmer before demand skyrocketed, these Matchbox models seem to be on a rapid upward swing.
So we are trying to snag those models that have been on the want list for awhile, but we have been too lazy to pick up. Packages have been streaming in, including this one we are showing today.
We mainly want these to showcase in our "Last Golden Age of Matchbox" Series, but we are also happy to have them as well before we are priced out. Oh, and they pretty damn fun to have...
Want to walk into that dangerous eBay sea? Be our guest:
2005 Matchbox Superfast
2006 Matchbox Superfast
2007 Matchbox Superfast
2008 Matchbox Superfast
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