I doubt if there are many modelers of a certain age who have not built a kit by Matchbox. Who can forget their multi-colored plastic, a trait that both endeared and infuriated modelers of all ages. The kits were popular with the young as they were rather basic and pretty easy to build. Older modelers would have liked greater detail, but were pleased with the many esoteric subjects provided, some of which are still only available in Matchbox kits.

Matchbox kits started in 1973 with some superb pre-war biplanes that were easy to assemble and so quickly caught on. Their range grew and grew over the years to include ships, military vehicles and cars. As is the seeming norm, Matchbox went through several owners including one who really only cared about Matchbox's wide range of small die-cast cars and trucks. Eventually, the Matchbox catalogue was purchased by Revell AG and you will find many of these favorite kits in Revell packages.

Matchbox also purchased companies, including AMT where you will be able to find their kits in AMT packaging. This company was later purchased by ERTL and while still extant, only does work for others such as Auto World, having decided that baby toys bring greater profits than model kits.

In his book, author Jean-Christophe Carbonel provides the most complete history of this company yet published (at least the plastic kit side of things). While it may seem odd that a Frenchman would be producing a history, one has to realize that Matchbox was the second best selling brand in France behind Heller. Many Matchbox kits have a French background including the Mirage, Char Bis, and Mystere IV, while others were provided with French markings as one of the camouflage options.

Eventually, Revell decided to stop using the Matchbox logo after nearly a decade of trying to keep it alive. During this last terms, you'd find kits other than Matchbox moldings under their label including kits from Arii, Revell, and Frog. Several Matchbox molds were sent to Alanger/ICM for production, but have never been used nor returned to Revell.

The book provides a year by year look at what kits were produced by Matchbox and includes full color photos of the box art. One can see how the box designs changed over the year. There is also a full appendix listing every kit produced an which of the later kits were reboxes. In addition, the listing includes which Matchbox kits have been reissued in Revell boxes. The listing is current to early 2010.

In all, a truly well researched and fascinating look at a favorite company for many. The sidebar stories are a most interesting look at the inside wranglings of the hobby industry. It is a book that I completely enjoyed reading and one that I can highly recommend to you.

August 2011

Review book courtesy of  Casemate Publishing, where you can order your copy of this and many other superb books.

If you would like your product reviewed fairly and quickly, please contact me or see other details in the Note to Contributors.