Matchbox Austin Mini

Since we just came off from the topic of Matchbox cars, MBX now in this millennium. Let’s have a look at the classic Mini Cooper from 1964. I’ve had this in my box for a long time because, well, it’s the classic Mini that built the legend of what it is now. The Austin Mini Cooper.

Austin Mini Cooper, MBX

What I have is a fine example in no less than British Racing Green paint job. What I appreciate about this casting by MBX is once again their attention to detail. The classic paint job with the white roof, and once again painted on headlights. Too bad the rear didn’t get the same treatment. But the wheels were nice. They weren’t necessarily steel rims like in the original car, but they were nice. And let’s not forget the textured edges of the wheels which you don’t see much anymore in other toy cars. When you admire the car more closely, you will notice that the door hinges are beautifully cast together with the handles, rear handles and number plate. It even has the kinks where the metal have been joined together between the A-pillar and the front fenders, so too are the kinks at the rear end after the C-pillar. This attention to detail earns this casting top marks. You can almost forgive that the car does not have side mirrors, granted not all Austin Mini Coopers at the time had wing mirrors. The grill though, which is molded together with the front bumper is finished in chrome and lends a nice elegant touch to what can be called a “people’s car”.

Austin Mini Van

And then we have this Austin Mini Van that is based off the Mini Cooper. The van came out in 1965 and was basically the Mini Cooper with the rear end chopped off, extended and slapped on with van doors in the rear. The MBX reproduction of the vehicle is very nicely detailed as well just like the Austin Mini Cooper. The example that I have kept may have had some chrome loss on the wheels over the years, but the rest of the car kept its condition normal. Thanks in part to the grill on the van not being co-molded with the bumper like the Cooper version, it did not suffer any deterioration that is a common fault of plastic parts. And that’s the other thing, MBX didn’t just re-purpose the casting of the original Austin Mini Cooper to make the Austin Mini Van, they made it for this casting on its own. The details are there too, including the door hinges, the gas cap, and even the roof air inlet. The kink wasn’t as pronounced as in the car, but you can still make it out. The front windows are based on the sliding windows (the same on the car) which is cool since you will only see half the windows on a vertical orientation. Once again, attention to detail earns this (and the Mini Cooper) top marks. Even the tampo design on this car is reminiscent of the era that the car was based on. If I had the chance and opportunity, I would get more of these so long as the price is just right.

Matchbox Mini Cooper S Cabriolet

Matchbox was the brand of small die-cast cars that I grew up with. There were more Matchbox cars than Hot Wheels cars where I’m from and that’s probably the reason why. The one set of Matchbox cars that really hit me was the 48-car carry case. It had a very simple but very nice design, vintage by today’s standard, but that’s where its charm comes from. It had a bunch of cars and I remember only some of them like the hovercraft, the Pontiac, a forklift and a Swamp Rat military hovercraft. All very nice cars. And all not mine. My cousin had that case, and I was allowed to play with it when I come around to their house. I’ll probably never get that set anymore in good condition (with a decent price), but I won’t forget how that experience made me what I am today when it comes to die-cast cars. You see, my cousin didn’t play with those cars the way that I used to. He was always very careful handling them and he would always insist that each car is back in the case at the end of the day. To an extent, that is how I am today.

Put that top down

The few Matchbox cars that I own now is mostly due to Hot Wheels being more widely available. These two that are on my desk, are cars that I am having second thoughts on. I mean, I love the Mini Cooper, and the original Mini Cooper revival from BMW was actually a good compromise between nostalgia and modernization. In fact, the Mini Cooper has become an icon all over again with its revival. But it does not appeal to me as being as collectible as the old Mini Coopers were.

I don’t even remember when I bought this pair of cabrios. What I do know is that I bought them because they looked better than a Hot Wheels Mini Cooper. Yes, there was a time that I got tired of looking at Hot Wheels because I felt that they were a bit exaggerated in some way. And the wheels on this yellow cabrio just looked nice to me.

British English

So the casting is exactly the same apart from the wheels. And as far as roofless cars go, these are nicely done. The windshield is strong enough that it does not bend. The casting is solid and is complete with fender flares, sculpted door handles, and oh-so-cool side mirrors! The whole interior has sculpted seats and includes the rolled up rag-top at the back. No removal top here like some Tomica convertibles, but the car looks cool nevertheless. There’s just something about the proportions of the whole package that makes it stand out. The racing stripes add on to the feel of the car overall and aren’t overly aggressive in that regard. Plus, you have painted on headlights and taillights as well so you pretty much have detailing covered. But while the overall package is very good, it still somehow lacked oomph, like it was missing some sort of X-factor. Alas, the model could have been a great collection for me, but there was just something missing (and I still can’t put my finger on it).