STANDARD RANGE: 1-100 for US, 1-75 for ROW, Australia & Germany. Including 15 exclusive models for Australia and 15 exclusive models for Germany. The other 60 models in each range (i.e., country) will be a mix between ROW and US models. ROW, Australia, & Germany models will be window boxed while US will be in blister packs. FAO Schwarz in US will have UK and German (?) Window boxes for sale later in the year. KB will carry the window boxed models from the ROW range. There will be 21 new castings in the US line. They are: Mercedes-Benz CLK Convertible, Chevrolet Impala Police, X-33 Reusable Launch Vehicle, Ford Panel Van, Flat Bed Truck, Delivery Truck, Amphibious Personnel Carrier, International Armored Car, Pop Up Camper, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Air Lift, 67 VW Delivery Van, Golf Cart, Chevrolet Suburban, BMW 3 series coupe, Ford Focus, Battering Ram Vehicle, US Postal Service Delivery Truck, Ford Dump/Utility Truck, Street Cleaner, & GMC Bucket Truck. The 20-Series are (in order of 1-20) Open Road, Ocean Explorer, To tThe Beach, Great Drivers, Italian Stars, Fire Fighters, Matchbox USA, Space Explorer, Show Cars, Farming, Military Command, Speedy Delivery, Great Outdoors, Air Travel, On Tour, Snow Explorer, Wold Wide Wheels, Police Patrol, Build It, & One the Road Again.
SKYBUSTERS: There will be 12 new Skybusters for 2000 with 2 new tools.
OLYMPIC MODELS: (From the Line Preview meeting, they did not have these on display) There will be a 2000 Sydney Olympic bus (already available, I believe), Some individual models plus a 5 pack. The five pack will be available in the US while all the other will be in Australia only. Some of the individual models may show up in US but not for some time.
CAT RANGE: There will be 6 different Themes (Famous Places Around the World) with two models each in the CAT range. (Berlin Wall, Golden Gate Bridge, Empire State Building, Hover Dam, Hong Kong Airport and South Pole Scott Station -- I am not sure about the last one though).
LICENSE PLATE BOOKS: There will be books called "License Plate Books" available at bookstores with one model. There are eight models planned for this series of which 5 will be unique for this series. Schedule to be released in Fall 2000. This series will be promoted by Pleasant Company Books which is located in Wisconsin. The themes are: School, Fire, Chopper, Rescue, Crunch, Wash Me, Safari and Dive. These books will be available at all major bookstore where children books are being sold.
BIG MOVERS: Big Mover will still be on for 2000 with Coke, Kellogg's, Campbell's, Nickelodeon, Hershey King Size, Got Milk, Coca Cola, etc.
PREMIERE SERIES: Premiere series will be promoted under Matchbox Collectible name. This year there will be only two series. Motor Trend and Emergency Services. Motor Trend will include: 1957 Chevy Bellair Hard Top, 1998 Chevy Corvette Coupe, 1964Ford Mustang Convertible, 1998 Chevy Corvette Convertible, 2000 Ford T-Bird Concept Convertible, 2000 Ford T-Bird Concept Hardtop, 1999 Ford F-350 Super Duty, 1964 Ford Mustang Softtop, 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee, 1957 Chevy Bell Air Convertible, Jeepster Concept Vehicle, & 1946 Dodge Power Wagon. Emergency Service will include: 2000 Chevy Suburban Fire, 2000 Chevy Suburban Police, 2000 Chevy Impala Fire, 2000 Chevy Impala Police, 1999 KME Mini Pumper & 2000 Chevy Suburban Fire (different logo). Also, please look for any changes that may happen during the year.
CHARACTER CARS: There will be 3 categories with 4 models each. Monster Series, TV Series and Movie Series. 4 models have already been released so far. The other 8 models are: The Wolfman, Frankenstein, Happy Days, Gilligans Island, Animal House, Rocky, Ace Ventura and ?? I guess I missed one.
NBA SPORTS CARS: Dodge Viper will continue to complete the NBA series with the left over teams. The teams to look for are: Spurs, Clippers, Kings, Wizzards, Raptors, Grizzlies, Rocks & "M" on the hood of a team that I did not recognize. Sorry, I am not a big NBA fan. No more Real Talking CY after the first six that were released in late 1999. Is there a possibility of other sports in the future? No one knows yet but they may do a series with other sports in the coming years.
D.A.R.E.: A total of 12 miniature models of which 6 have already been released. This series will also include a 1:18 scale VW Concept car with D.A.R.E tempo on it.
COC COLA CARS: There will be six miniature models for Coca Cola this year. They are: 67 VW transporter, Jeep Wrangler, Camaro SS, Blimp, Hydroplane, & Sea Plane. There will be six 1:43 scale models but sorry did not write down the names. However, I do remember a 1951 Porsche in white. Coca Cola models are scheduled to be relased twice, once in March and then in September. I am not sure if they include the same models or any changes will be made during the second run. Please stay tuned.
PROMOTIONS: There will be some exclusive promos for AVON, Father & Son (I know this store as a shoe store in New York but I am not sure if this is what they meant.) Sees (a high end candy maker in South San Francisco). Subway promotion is already underway.
PLAY SETS: They have some good play sets scheduled for 2000 including Car Wash (already released), Big Mountain (exclusive model), CAT (Safari with exclusive model, and Construction with standard model).
GO ACTION/MISSION BRAVO/MEGA RIGS: This series will continue based on the sale.
FIVE PACKS: The five packs (12 of them) will be available as usual plus in Tubes. Tubes will be exclusive to Target Stores but all the five packs will be available both ways. The five packs are : Camp Jeep, Serve & Project, Coca Cola, 5 Alarm, Ocean Dock, Sea Explorer, Dude Ranch, Cars Cars Cars, Emergency Rescue, Mountain Madness, Wilderness Road Trip. The International 5 Packs are: Car Wash, Canyon Base, & Euro Sports. Please do check the back of the five packs for any changes.
BITS & PIECES (in no particular order): The first 10,000 of all the USA line will have "Matchbox 2000" logo somewhere on the model. These will be packed in standard blister cards with no special indication. These are definitely not "Treasure Hunt models" like Hotwheels nor are they "Challenge Cars." These are standard models and will be available in assortments. Look for them in the stores near you and please DO NOT pay high prices. They will be $0.99 each. Walmart will be carrying the Vending machine cars this year on their pegs. There will be two gift sets with 5 miniature (exclusive) cars and a launch. It will be called Launch Pack. There will Easter Eggs with standard cars in them. You will have to open the egg to find which you are getting. Standard MoY and Dinkey models will be released under Matchbox Collectible to be sold on different stores plus some exclusive models with metal base and heavier then normal models in special black box exclusive through Matchbox Collectibles or the web site. There will be 12 1:18 scale models including 3 DARE, 3 Coke and rest with other liveries including Hershey, Campbells, Texaco, McDonalds. There will be cloths, bag packs, hats, shoes, gloves, sheets, comforters for kids in the market. And one more thing. There is a possibility of the Cary Case being back in the line. There was a proto type on the table that was all plastic in black with yellow cover lid with "Tara Carry Case" on it. A CD Rom is scheduled for release, a Matchbox screen saver that can be downloaded from the Web site. Web site will be updated on a weekly basis starting April. (Let's see). There will be some exclusive models available through the site. In Spring a "Working Buddy" car and a character set is scheduled that talks. In fall there is a Programable Block Truck that talks. These are big size trucks and don't fall in the miniature range.
I guess this is it unless I forgot something. Sorry, did not write much about the big scale models but I was so much into miniatures that I lost track. Please do check other postings to make sense out of what is coming.
This report is prepared by Shabbir Malik in Feb. 2000
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