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Construction Buffs!
Topic Started: Oct 19 2013, 02:34 PM (703 Views)
mbx64
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Matchbox Collector
*NEW* You can now click on the photos for an even closer view!

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Let us start with MB828 Pit King. When this was model first released in 2011, I was not a big fan. The truck seemed just a little too small in every area. I understood that it was a light-duty dump truck, but the sides of the bed were extremely short, and the truck body itself seemed too skinny. When it came to height, it was too tiny there, too, as the utility wheels actually look too big for the front cab. The biggest problem, though, was the bed. On all three versions I owned before this one, the bed would never properly lay flat after tilting it, even if it was snapped off and then re-attached. The bed just hovered over the truck.

However, as time has gone on, I have come to realize what a great little truck this is. It fills a void in the Construction segment of Matchbox when it comes to light-duty equipment. With models like the Quarry King, Scraper, Ground Breaker, Ground Grinder, and other heavy-duty equipment infiltrating the lineup, there is not much room for smaller machines. But, the Pit King has prevailed, and I am glad that it has. This dump-truck is a cute little model, with play value for the children but with a sense of realism that we all enjoy.

And with this particular version from the 2013 mainline, there are two exceptionally good aspects that were not the case with others.
1) The design is splendid. On no other version have I been attracted to or awed by the design, but here, I keep finding myself staring at it.
2) The bed. No longer do I have to worry about a hovering bed that never rests properly, as this model's bed tilts and lowers like a charm.

With the Pit King being a pleasant model from the start, the two extra pros with this model means that it is definitely worth a look. And this truck just screams 'Matchbox,' too. How about that?
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Here we have MB840 Water Hauler. The Water Hauler was one of my favorite models from 2012. It would have been the new model of the year for me, but technically, it was a refurbished model, so it did not fully qualify. Bummer!

But that's okay, as it still remains my favorite modified casting. Ever. It was warming to see Mattel and the Matchbox Team recognize the original MB058 as such a spectacular model. Maybe it was not even that version itself, however, but the fact that it had so many versions after it, including several modifications as a dump truck and a crane, that made it so reknowned. It seemed like Mattel knew it was just right to give good ol' MB710 Dirt Hauler a new lease on life, and to make MB840 Water Hauler. The modification was the right decision, as we enthusiasts love to see when an original, classic casting keeps running through the barriers and upholds a presence in the current lineup.

And that is not to even mention that the conversion from the dump bed to a water tanker was nothing short of brilliant. As far as I know, we have never seen a heavy-duty water tanker, at least not in recent years, so this is something fresh. It is rather unfortunate, however, that it seems like the Dump Dozer ended up replacing the Dirt Hauler. So, we need another great truck like the Dirt Hauler to become the new heavy-duty dump truck under the MBX nameplate. I recommend that you get on that quickly, Mattel folk.

The design of this model is exceptional, too. This is one of the very, very rare cases where a re-color is better than the debut model. Nothing ever seems to live up to its first version, but this one definitely has, and then some. Blue and orange work like a well-oiled pair, which is something relatively hard to believe until you see this model in hand or in photographs.

And it has those sick new construction wheels. Me likey!
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(This is definitely the best photograph I have ever taken)
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These are the two latest Construction-oriented models that Matchbox has to offer, and they are two of their best!


I hope you enjoyed,

Nicolas




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Bill50
Fullsize
Chinky tat at its finest. :wave:
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Stampede
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Team Canada
Nice work! Two nice models for construction!
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cody6268
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Minivan
I wonder why the Dump Truck and Tractor Shovel are still in the lineup. They are both nearly 40 year old models. I have both the Tractor Shovel (both an early 2000s one in which I am the original owner, and and '80s secondhand one) and the Dump Truck. I am not really opposed to plastic, but I dislike the fact that the once heavy Dump Truck ended up getting a plastic bed. Neither am I the biggest fan of the tanker version, but I know that this is an actual vehicle and not a fantasy model, but I just don't like it's versions so far.
Edited by cody6268, Oct 21 2013, 03:37 PM.
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Douglas
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SUV
Both of these make good Mbx construction models, I don't even think the bed on the dump is far off, some trucks have very shallow dump beds similar to this. I really like the water truck, it is a construction tanker not many diecast companies have done, at least I'd not seen any scale models of something like this, and I'd like to see these other versions in the future, an all yellow would be good of course, and even an all orange color too.
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