Friday, February 3, 2012

Licence to collect Matchbox (in the 70's...)

Excuse me Sir you seem  be carrying an unusually large number of transitional and Superfasts - can I see your licence please?
Very good, carry on...

Majorette Car Carrier

Driving through Holbrook on the Canberra to melbourne trip recently, I stopped and looked in the newsagency - and found a small range of new Majorette diecast cars, in the 1:64 scale range to choose from. As well as being stocked in toy shops and small stores such as this newsagent, I believe that David Jones is also carrying this range. From the selection of mainly European diecast cars, I came home with this Majorette Car Carrier.  

The quality is outstanding. The cab and trailer are metal. Plastic is confined to the upper trailer deck, wheels and glass. The base of the cab is also plastic. This is a heavy toy.

The car carrier came with two Majorette cars, one I think is a Subaru and the other could be a Ford. 
 I think this is a generic truck design, it looks very Jada/Maistoish. 
 The trailer fits snugly on the coupling. It even looks vaguely realistic. 
The car carrier trailer is very robust and configurable. It would stand up to lots of play wear. The Matchbox Convoy/real Working Rigs designers could take a few cues from Majorette - this is a vastly superior product featuring better design, better quality and more metal. Majorette also chuck in a few cars. 
Packaging is well thought out and attractive. The pack costs $20 which includes two Majorette cars (around three dollars each). This is a quality product. paint is uniformly excellent, with several different shades and colours used, over plastic and metal. The diecast trailer is robust, with plastic only on the upper deck. It has a range of articulation and slide out amps. very realistic for children and collectors. The truck styling is modern and also looks robust. Although there is clear smoked glass, I cant see an interior. 

I would like to see more Majorettes, and will visit David Jones soon. With the Matchbox range being whittled down by Mattel, and Matchbox distribution slowly disappearing, Majorette looks like it will fill that segment of the market. 


To the rating:


Majorette car carrier 
Quality  8
Design    8
Colours   8
X-factor  7

Rating: 31/40