It has been difficult to get Matchbox toys in New Zealand for many years, and Hot Wheels are far more common. Only a few shops carry any, and then only a fraction of the range.
Two of my major sources are The Warehouse chain (a lot like Woolworths once was, before the name became attached only to supermarkets); and the Farmers department stores. For some bizarre reason The Warehouse sell their basic Matchbox models on normal blister cards (like Hot Wheels), but the Farmers sell them in little cardboard boxes, with glued-down end flaps.
In some counties Matchbox models can also be found on short cards, which do not seem to have made it to New Zealand. The actual models are the same, only the packaging is different.
The Morris Minor Saloon first appeared in 2023, but this green version is a 2024 model. There is also a 1956 Morris Minor tourer (convertible), which dates back to 2022.
I have no idea why the packaging varies this way. Hot Wheels do not, although you do get long and short card versions of the same models in different shops.
Paul Adams from New Zealand
Half of the fun for me was always the actual box for the car. The Matchbox itself persisted for years, even though Hot Wheels had always been available on blister cards. It was a sad day indeed when Mattel bought Lesney, as the variety and appeal of the line just drained away. Its rare to find the boxed cars in the UK now, everything seems to be those godawful blisters - which are great if you want to spot a specific colour variation, or actually see what you are buying, but for me the charm was always the stunning 1970's box art and the thrill of opening the box and rolling out the car to see what you had bought. Bill
ReplyDeleteThe original Matchbox packaging was a replica of a matchbox with a black side to simulate striking a match and was smaller as were the original models. At this point matches are almost extinct and the reference is probably meaningless to todays kids buying toys so the Hot Wheels blister pack makes more sense from a marketing point of view. Frankly it's nice that the name/brand is retained as the range is usually real vehicles rather than Hot Rods.
ReplyDeleteThank's for the update, I'll have to look for Morris Minors now.