Wednesday, May 9, 2018

Something Has Survived!: Armored Action Truck from Matchbox: Jurassic World by Mattel

  I couldn't tell you the last time I bought a Jurassic Park toy. Maybe in 1997 when the Lost World was released? The original Jurassic Park is one of my favorite films and while I definitely have enjoyed most of the films in the series I just haven't picked up that much merchandise from it since 1997. Nostalgia is a powerful tool, however, and while on a recent trip to Target I stumbled upon the very cool Matchbox Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom cars. I'm not much of a toy car collector (other than the occasional Batmobile) but these Jurassic Park vehicles definitely appealed to me. I picked up two of the five packs, which I'll get around too in the next week or so, but for now I'm checking out the only single packed vehicle I bought: The Armored Action Truck. Mattel has released this as a full sized vehicle in the regular line, too, where it's called the Gyrosphere Blast. I'm assuming that means we'll see this cool looking vehicle in the film then, huh? Let's take a quick look at this truck after the break...

 The Facts:

Model Number: FMX06

Length: 3 inches

Non-Scalper Price: $1.25

* Not being a car collector, I was really curious what the difference between Matchbox and Hot Wheels is (since they are both owned by Mattel). It turns out that Hot Wheels feature more street racers while Matchbox features a wider variety of real world and imaginary vehicles. The Action Attack Truck definitely seems like it could be a real vehicle and it features some very cool details such as armored plating, winches on the side, and six massive tires.
 * The vehicle also features this cool recessed area in the back. It's like a truck bed, but much deeper. I wonder what it's for?

*Interestingly, these vehicles feature quite a bit more plastic than Hot Wheels. Most Hot Wheels vehicles seem to feature die-cast metal, but this seems to be made from plastic. That's not a big negative, but it did surprise me.
   Anytime I can pick up something cool for around $1 I'm on it like Dennis Nedry on a Butterfinger bar. You know what really sold me on these? They remind me of the Matchbox Jurassic Park vehicles from the Lost World line. I think I had three of them back in the day and I kind of dug them (I keep the Roland Tembo minifigure from one in my California Job Case) as a tribute to both Jurassic Park and Warren Zevon! For around a buck and some change (Matchbox cars are a bit pricier than Hot Wheels) this is a Good and a 1/2 little vehicle if you dig this kind of stuff.


  1. There's a single-pack vehicle in the Matchbox Jurassic World vehicle line? That's a surprise. I've seen the five-pack with three armored vehicles, a spherical sub, and the gyroscopic sphere used to tour the park and I've seen vehicles with snap-on claws for capturing dinosaurs but I didn't know there was an armored truck sold individually. Then again, sometimes we don't get everything Matchbox and Hot Wheels releases here in Metro Manila.

    1. There are two five packs (one from the new film and one in the Legacy Collection) and then a number of single packed vehicles. I've seen the ones with the snap on claws and stuff, too. They're cool (remind me of the older Lost World Matchbox sets) but they're about 7 or 8 times the price of a standard Hot Wheel here. Yikes!

    2. The ones with the snap-on equipment really are more expensive than the usual Matchbox car so I might not be getting those. I haven't seen the Legacy Collection vehicles yet although I think I once owned a Mercedes SUV from the original Matchbox Jurassic Park line. If my memory serves me correctly, it was the one the kids were riding in during the first movie when they were attacked by the tyrannosaur.

      The single-packed vehicles finally arrived in Metro Manila just this weekend. I saw the Armored Action Truck but it was the Textron Tiger that really got my attention. I bought two Tigers (a gray one and a military green one) for the equivalent of US$ 6.00. No regrets there: right now those two Textron Tigers are my picks for best die-cast vehicles of the year. I'll see if the Armored Action Truck gives them competition when I buy it next.

    3. Very cool! Yeah, I keep running into those ones with the equipment but the prices just seem ridiculously high!

  2. Further thoughts on the Textron Tiger: having had the two models I bought for a month or so now, I've come to prefer the gray one despite the military green one having a better paint job.

    That's because the military green Textron Tiger suffers from what I call 'translucent plastic syndrome': the plastic parts--the base, the fenders, the bumpers--allow light seepage every time I shine a flashlight on them. Translucent plastic is one of my biggest disappointments in both Hot Wheels and Matchbox's newer models. I understand that Mattel's trying to keep costs down but translucent plastic parts (particularly the base) just makes their cars look as cheap as the Chinese Hot Wheels and Matchbox knockoffs I sometimes see at mall toy stores. My general rule of thumb now is to go for Hot Wheels or Matchbox cars with black plastic bases since those don't allow for light seepage.

    Disappointment aside, I've noticed that the Jeep Wrangler, Armored Action Truck, and Mercedes Benz G 550 seem to be the items of choice for collectors here in Metro Manila. They seem to be flying off the shelves. Is it the same situation where you usually buy your toys?

    1. I'm definitely noticing that all of the Legacy Collection single packs and the vehicles you mentioned are the tough single packs to find. The submarine and the gyro sphere are far easier to come by. I gotta check this translucent plastic thing out, though. This is the first I've heard of this.

    2. I don't think any of the Legacy Collection singles or five-packs have shown up at any Metro Manila toy stores or department store toy sections. The specialty shops might have them but I haven't been able to look at those places lately (bad weather recently; house got flooded more than a couple of times). I agree with the submarine and gyrosphere being readily available -- the shelves are full of them. Between the two of them, I might pick up the sub unless a Tiger with variant paint job and a black base suddenly shows up.

      Off the top of my head, the best example of using translucent plastic for a diecast car's base would be the current version of Hot Wheels' Fast 4WD, Shine a flashlight (even a mobile phone's flashlight) right below the Fast 4WD and you'll light up the interior. With some models, it's not so obvious, such as Matchbox's '90 Volkswagen Golf Country (there's a tiny bit of the green plastic base showing in the foot well between the driver's seat and steering wheel) or Hot Wheels' 2017 Ford GT (again, a tiny bit of the gray plastic base shows in the driver's side foot well between the seat and the steering wheel). In those two cases, it's admittedly minor but it's still a downer for me to find a flaw in two models that I otherwise like. So I have my general rule: if the base isn't black (or chrome, if there's no other choice), shine a light underneath to check for light seepage.

      Rant done. Today's Friday and the weather's cooperating thus far so I hope to find one of those elusive Jurassic World singles tonight after work.


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