Matchbox (brand) - Other Products and Series

Other Products and Series

Numerous additional product lines have been produced and/or sold by Matchbox over the years, particularly in the Lesney era. Collectors catalogues were published in various languages by the company each year starting in 1957, continuing well into the 1980s. Collectors cases were designed for children to carry/store their 1-75 vehicles. From 1957 until the 1970s, a range of garages/service stations was offered in either Esso or BP logos (under the series no. MG-1). There were also jigsaw puzzles of photographs depicting Matchbox vehicles in realistic-looking situations, race track sets (Superfast track was yellow, as opposed to Hot Wheels' orange, and of a slightly wider gauge), a particularly clever plastic snap-together wall-display system, roadways, and even a slot-car system for standard (non-powered) car models. At several points, in an attempt to move into Mattel and Hasbro territory, Matchbox produced dolls, first a line of pirate dolls for younger school-age boys, and later baby dolls for pre-school girls. Numerous other non-die-cast items have been marketed, as well as a number of shorter-lived die-cast series (Historic Inn Signs, Disney cars, "Thunderbirds" models, etc.).

As mentioned previously (cf. above, "History"), Matchbox also tried its hand in the die cast airplanes area, under the name Sky Busters. The models were not only produced for children; Sky Busters produced plane models for such airlines as Aeroméxico, Air France, British Airways, Iberia, Lufthansa and Saudi Arabian Airlines. However, they were and are designed more for the inexpensive toy market. Promotional models sold by the airlines themselves more often tend to be models of higher quality, exactness, and price.

In the late '70s, Matchbox also produced slot cars called Powertrack or Speedtrack, which featured working headlights. (Some Powertrack models had parallel issues in the "normal" Matchbox 1-75 line.) Other slot car sets from Matchbox included a lane changer (which allowed cars to switch lanes) and a Race and Chase set which featured a police car and chased car which could jump and u-turn.

Also in the late 1970s, Matchbox produced a small range of 1:32 and 1:76 Second World War toy soldiers in direct competition to Airfix. These sets included British, German and American infantry, the British 8th Army and the German Afrika Korps and British Commandos. Though Matchbox's sets featured fewer figures than comparable Airfix sets (15 vs. 29 in 1:32), they included weapons that Airfix did not model (flame-throwers, heavy machine guns), and Montgomery and Rommel figures in the Desert War sets. The figures were popular for their high-quality moulding and their different extra weapons and poses as compared to the more common Airfix sets.

Action Toy lines from Matchbox included Ring Raiders, Robotech, Voltron, Parasites and Monster in My Pocket. They ceased developing most of such lines when Matchbox was absorbed into Tyco.

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)", with exciting game play involving vehicle-appropriate action sequences (for example, intercepting a robbery with your squad car in Motor City Patrol). These games were developed by other companies for a variety of platforms: Game Boy handheld gamer, NES video gaming system, and PC.