Lamley Rewind: How the overlooked Matchbox Premiere of the 90’s predates Hot Wheels Premium

I get the question a lot: What cars did you have as a kid?
Well I am not particularly nostalgic, and almost all the cars I had as a kid are gone, or buried deep some forgotten toy bins in my parents garage.
But I do remember some, and I have created a small collection of some of my favorites, and it is time to share.
This weekend (Feb 29 thru March 1), the Whatnot app is going retro, celebrating nostalgic collectibles with its Whatnot Rewind shows. I thought this was a great time to join in, so watch the showcase and then join my on Whatnot March 2nd at 9am PT for the Show, where many of these will be available via giveaway and auction. You’ll decide which to give away and which to sell.
Follow this link if you haven’t joined Whatnot for $15 credit on your first purchase:
whatnot.com/invite/lamleygroup
Follow this link to bookmark the show: www.whatnot.com/live/374deea9...

[@seemoretoys5944]

I've bought a bunch of the MB Premiers back in the '90s. Still have them unopened. I always liked them. When I was a kid (1960s) all you had was Matchbox and some Corgi. When Hot Wheels came out in '68 I left matchbox behind. I still have some of my original Matchbox cars.

[@ChatterboxFM]

Dude, shush! These are the best kept secret and I’ve always loved them. The Tahoe and Expedition combos are the stars of my collection.

[@vivekaaraga]

Always loved Matchbox, their detailing and the choice of cars were all so good. When I was younger, I loved my Nissan Prairie, BMW 5-Series. In college IN 2005, Matchbox had a really awesome cars - like the Mercedes CLS, The SLR, Range Rover Sport. Even I bought only cars that really meant something to me.

[@petelangford3565]

I started collectiong in the early 1960's while living in Greece. All matchbox/lesney. Still have many of them.

[@OU812Goo]

I’ve bought several of these over the decades and opened most all of them. I didn’t start collecting these until ‘94-‘95 time frame.

[@jasonschmelter6023]

I have a handful of loose World Class from when I was a youngster and still love them. When I was a kid I was an 8 dot wheel matchbox obsessive. The countach never had 8 dots but the Diablo did and it was gorgeous. Still hunt for the red Volvo sedan, Astra and the Saab

[@tazzhockey]

You are right. They were ahead of Hot Wheels, but what the hell happened? Outside some of these having wheels that are too wide for the car, I almost feel these are actually way nicer than the premium stuff they are putting out today. The details on some of these are very nice. Castings for the most part are pretty damn accurate. I have the 1969 Camaro in hand right now (forest green) and it’s very highly detailed inside and out. Been awhile since I’ve looked at this but now I’m like…what have I been missing out on all this time? Haha

[@charleyz2621]

We seem to be roughly the same age and I loved these cars as a teen. Then I stopped collecting for awhile until my last year of college when I had a part time job at toys r us. This was 1995. One can not underestimate the significance of 1995 in diecast collecting. The resurrected Johnny Lightning brand released the first Muscle Cars USA, and of course Hot Wheels debuted the treasure hunt series and the first editions and other segment series. Suddenly it became cool or at least not creepy to collect diecast cars as an adult! We had adults in their 30s and 40s coming into the store and asking for either JL Muscle Cars or Hot Wheels treasure hunts. Matchbox was still doing premier and world class and I thought these were still pretty awesome. But anyway this was the beginning of my collecting as an adult and probably the most significant year in diecast, after 1968.

[@tomasseoanetorrealba8103]

I looove the C-Class DTM have various castings from different brands of that model. Favourite car for sure! Greetings from Argentina!!!

[@alejandromaure3777]

This morning, talking about music, a friend concluded his opinion with the most discussed phrase in history: "Every time in the past was better." He gave well-founded examples based on two aspects, quality and inventiveness. Without generalizing, it is possible that many things in the present, with the passage of time, today lose in comparison with the moment in which they originated. The name Matchbox goes beyond examples. It is a symbol of the era, it is the memory of a childhood with a capacity for wonder, it is the nostalgia of men who imagined and used technology to make an idea real. Without any magic, that object, placed in a small box (like a child's hand), had magical and happy effects. Without the details of the current Mattel product called the same, the toy created in England by Lesney Products Ltd. in the 1950s showed quality and inventiveness to the end. Something that sadly ended in 1982, when that company closed. The name Matchbox lives on, which it symbolized no. Matchbox= Lesney Products Ltd.= Made in England = Quality and Inventiveness.

[@CarCrazy12804]

I never liked the chrome windows on them but the details on them were good

[@patmygroin]

So you graduated in ‘92 eh? Imma assume your age… happy 50th this year. I’ve loved following your videos and learned about WhatNot

[@onthewayup]

I collected the entire premiere, world, european classes from Matchbox. they were the perfect matchbox

[@karlroach6578]

Buddy,you hit it on the head,I wasn't a collector then much like yourself, bought some cars Matchbox was the go to for me in the early 90's,I only have 8 Premiers,2 off which I bought Whilst in the USA,one happens to be the gold Supra,love the model hated the wheels sticking out,the 8 dots where terrific castings but the oversize car badges killed it for me,a regret that I have now,cheers mate

[@Mattmt56]

I remember coming home from the pharmacy with 8 dot versions of a red 944 and a yellow 300ZX.

[@samace22]

Nice ones you have and you reviewed congrats.👍

[@fitzgeraldsworld]

Matchbox always were ahead of their time and the World Class and Premier Series prove as such.Long live the "Golden Age"!

[@tonyhulsey884]

Awesome I've been looking at these thinking about adding some to my collection I definitely will be now

[@michaelteret4763]

If you like realistic diecast, Matchbox has ALWAYS been better than Hot Wheels. If you like fantasy and hot rods , Hot Wheels has always been better. That was the difference in the 1970s, and it still is now. I’m glad Mattel hasn’t distorted either brand’s identity - there’s room for both.

[@thejdmdude-fv6iq]

Well said. Even tho matchbox is under the shadows. But better for us. They don't get over price on the 2nd market

[@RobertoNotini]

A really treasure for collectors

[@lildirtnap1198]

i have the premiere black mustang cobra convertible and its one of my favorite finds

[@urideamabal]

I can't..... What's up, with the mirrored windows?

[@yankeexpress]

Have a bunch of these stashed away.

[@carlover6307]

You forgot to mention the ford expedition and the Tahoe.

[@bigpoppadarb9940]

I still have 3 complete sets of all 12 of the original treasure hunts all are mint, blows anything MBX has ever created,my opinion

[@rorroryusoul]

Very cool castings lamley group

[@shortyshorts1636]

Anyone remember the laser wheel series from matchbox? There was a red zx in that series.

[@KrummyBrinkleJr.]

All that effort for the paint and rubber wheels, just to use mirror windows to avoid/hide inside areas 😔 12:10 is the winner, hands down

[@michaeldefondaumiere5948]

Vous avez raison ces matchbox sont magnifiques

[@Italian144]

I have a lot of these including the ones i had as a kid i still have

[@twiinturbosprvsn5922]

...ok, so the guy just sneaks in a grey big body benz from hot wheels with real riders and no one is talking about this!?

[@vichetdragoncars3186]

So cool ❤

[@bigpoppadarb9940]

To me that 600SL Mercedes’ is the best looking ever

[@marijuananirvana]

So did the premiers not have interiors? Is that why they mirrored the windows?

[@jmv123]

I was always critical of this series tho, mirrored glass was a cheap way to skip interiors, and wheels were awful too wide, a Matchbox (and Majorette) peeve. Also the scale is maybe inconsistent and maybe a bit too big at times. BUT I WOULD SNATCH THAT 308 ANY DAY!

[@paullutz457]

Theres 5 Colors of the Premiere Supra. White, Gold, Black, Gunmetal and Yellow JC Penny Mail order

[@thealifrs4_463]

chrome windows can be good design trick if a model happens doesn't have an interior

[@toyword29]

👍

[@kevinneal8128]

I'll do you a nice trade for that silver F50

[@f6scott]

b+b Porsche tuner would put TVs in the dash of their cars in the 80s

[@t3truedesigns]

If they just had better wheels and tires.. they would be fire...

[@paullutz457]

I need to find some Matchbox Supras to join the Supra hoard.

[@HipOperation99]

I have the BMW M1

[@ciscodeer9094]

Yeah I would have been a matchbox collector, but Hot Wheels to me are a little better. it ain't the same without the flame.

[@HighhScore]

They should just change the name of the Matchbox brand to Overlooked.

[@bigpoppadarb9940]

MBX may look more like the original vehicles but to me they still look cheap

[@SamuraiBlues5]

The E34 BMW is the hotness. i have 2 poverty spec versions myself (I mean 1/64 from Matchbox lol) Wasn't able to find a Premiere. The new Hot Wheels casting of the same car is complete garbage and totally out of scale. Saw the prototype in one of the preview videos. Was it from your good self, i can't remember. I am shocked someone signed off it for production. Disgusting.