Many books now include a price guide, but there is no real consensus on the actual monetary value of a model. The numbers in any of the publications give relative information, but not more. It remains a collectors market, and, accordingly, prices fluctuate greatly. On September 24th, 1982 the Matchbox kit range was taken over by Universal Toys, a Hong Kong based firm owned by David Yeh.

We have added a separate section on Revell's ten year lease period. All kits released with a 40000 number belong to this period. Regional issues and promotionals [ edit ] Regional issues [ edit ] Bulgarian Matchbox model of a Lincoln Continental Mk. V look no further but use the search with a particular PK-number to list all variations for that kit. In our guided tours section a topic has been added to show an overview of the PK-2008 display as it was seen at Scale Model World, November 15 and 16 2008 at Telford UK. Those days, it was almost unthinkable for a Hong Kong based manufacturer in a British colony to take over a star enterprise in the UK.

The three dominant brands in the world at the time, all British-made ( Dinky, Matchbox and Corgi), were very successful. Each had its own market niche and its own strong reputation, while innovations and advances by one were adopted by the others within a matter of a few years. Each also expanded to some extent into the others' territory, though this never seemed to seriously affect the sales of any brand's core series. This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sourcesin this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. I really enjoyed making those Matchbox kits particularly the AFVs with the diorama bases. I think it was those dioramas that set me on the trail of making dioramas of my own. My particular favourite was the Long Range Desert Group but I also enjoyed others such as the Monty's Caravan. I think I enjoyed these because they were different and also had lots of extra bits, oil drums, ammo boxes, etc. These days I snap up Matchbox kits as and when I can. I always try to go for the originals if possible, trying to steer clear of the "Revbox" of the 1990s. I'm trying to get two of each at the moment, one to build for the sheer fun of modelling (something which tends to get forgotten these days) and the other to preserve for posterity. of larger aircraft and ships and vehicles as well. The majority of the aircraft kit ranges were molded in three colors.

In addition to these, a series of Gift Sets (numbered G-#) was sold by Lesney, each comprising models from the die-cast ranges (sometimes from different ranges within a single set). The sets were updated/changed regularly for various reasons, but mainly to ensure that the models contained therein were current. Set numbers were often reallocated in the same fashion as for "normal" series. Some sets included model variations officially released only in the sets (generally, these were variant colours), while others contained additional, non-die-cast items not available without the set. Aircraft - instruction sheets for PK-29, PK-41, PK-126, PK-128, new variations on the PK-19 Mikoyan MiG-21 and PK-29 A-4M Skyhawk that show how gradual the changes in box type and design took place.from 1991 up to 2001. See our guided tours section for more details. Under Revell-Matchbox you find all kits released in this period.

In 1976, the Skybusters line returned, at a time when the die cast airplanes market was largely dominated by Dyna-Flytes. The brand kept coming on and off the market until the 2000s, when Mattel decided to release the models each year. Currently no airlines are under contract with Matchbox to produce Skybusters models. The most recent ones are American Airlines, UPS, British Airways, Alaska Airlines, Lufthansa and DHL. ( Delta Air Lines and United Airlines did not have a contract with Matchbox since the takeover of Northwest Airlines and Continental Airlines, respectively), but jetliners are released under fictional airline names, such as Matchbox Airlines (also called MBX Airways). Specials - A special last run of the Mirage IIIB for an Italian magazine in 1995 by Revell and a limited edition of the BAC 167 Mk.80 Strikemaster issued by Revell in 2011. In the 1990s and early 2000s, Matchbox also published several video games that tied into the Matchbox line of model vehicles. These games featured construction and emergency services (fire, police, ambulance, rescue), [12] with game play involving vehicle-appropriate action sequences (for example, intercepting a robbery with a squad car in Motor City Patrol). [13] These games were developed by other companies for a variety of platforms, including Game Boy handheld gamers, the NES video gaming system, and PC. [12] The buyout by Mattel was greeted with considerable trepidation by the Matchbox collectors' community. The rivalry between the Hot Wheels and Matchbox brands was not only a battle fought by the companies; collectors of each of the brands felt strongly about the qualities of their brand of choice. For the typical Matchbox collector, Hot Wheels were inferior in scaling and model choice, making them less desirable. There were fears that Mattel would either impose a Hot Wheels-style philosophy on the Matchbox line, or actually fold the Matchbox line into the Hot Wheels series. Early concerns of this nature by collectors were countered by assurances from Mattel that Matchbox would continue to develop its own product line independently from Hot Wheels, and that it was intended that Matchbox represent more realistic and traditional vehicles, while fantasy ones would be placed firmly in Hot Wheels territory. To demonstrate the latter commitment, some very realistic Hot Wheels Caterpillar models were actually re-branded to Matchbox, although that did not assuage concerns about the strength of the former assurance. Donnelly, Matt (28 January 2022). "Barbie and Beyond: How Mattel Studios Executive Robbie Brenner Brings Beloved Toys to Screen". Variety . Retrieved 24 May 2022.Spray and brush painted with Humbrol enamals with decals from the kit. I have another (obtained recently from KingKit) stached away for a future build. One thing I found with this kit was the need for very great care when removing some parts from the sprue. This Wellesley model still shows the mark on the front of the cowling where I wasn't careful enough. Many thanks to the support by the Classic British Kits SIG, operating on the Unofficial Airfix Modellers Forum, and their fabulous PK-2008 project. decided they wanted a share of the plastic model kits market. This is where Maurice Landi, a keen aircraft person, came in. It was his job as project engineer to come up with subjects which could be found, measured and photographed.

It immediately became evident that special, low-volume models of this nature were highly desirable from both the sponsor and the collectors' perspective, as well as being profitable for Matchbox. The market expanded rapidly, leading to increased licensing as well as the development of models no longer aimed at all at the children's toy market, but rather at the higher-margin "premium" segment. Record List Display: Matchbox". United States Patents and Trademark Office. {{ cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= ( help)

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The smaller models ("regular size"; 1-75 and related series) are often classified as 1:64 scale (though they range from smaller than 1:100 to much larger than 1:64) and measure about 2.5-3inches, or 6.5-7.5 centimetres, in length.