With the original Lesney Matchbox toys, their catalog is what kept their customers buying and collecting. The catalog listed each toy by number. Also future releases were shown in the catalog so that kids knew to look for them.
In this day and age, the Matchbox catalog for the United States and Canada is on line at
However, it is not the informative source you would expect it to be.
Major retailers like Toys R’ Us and Wal*Mart strike special deals with Mattel to release certain toys. These toys do not make it into the Matchbox catalog.
However two lines of Matchbox toys recently discovered at U.S. retailers have made it into the German edition of the Matchbox catalog at
First up is the Hitch ‘n Haul series. These are new Two Packs or Matchbox 900 series bubble packaging. I picked up the Cowboy Trail™ Set. It consists of a Chevy® Silverado™ pickup, and the horse box trailer. The Matchbox #43 pony trailer is still kicking after all these years. There are others including the Deep Sea Escape, which comes with a giant squid! Very Cool! These are at Target stores. The German site has more photos:
Around 1979-1980, there were a series of Two Packs also labeled Hitch ‘N Haul. The Two Packs and 900 series is still hanging around. It is a clever marketing idea.
The next big thing is the release of the Matchbox Classic Super King models. These are currently on pegs in the toy section at Wal*Mart. Each one is a Limited Edition 1 of 20,500 models. They have 1/43 scale diecast metal body and are Styled after the original Super Kings of the 70's. They have 1970s hot watercolors package design just like the originals.
Here is what is available out there so far:
1970 Yellow Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 Super Kings Series #K-202
1970 Spectra Pink/Purple Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 Super Kings Series #K-202
1971 Silver Dodge Challenger Super Kings Series #K-203
1971 Dodge Challenger - Orange
1970 Mustang Boss 302 - Blue
1970 Spectraflame Antifreeze Yellow Oldsmobile 442 Convertible Super Kings Series #K-204
1970 Spectra Flame Green Plymouth Road Runner Super Kings Series #K-207
1970 Oldsmobile 442 - Green
1970 Oldsmobile 442 - Blue
1970 Orange Plymouth Road Runner Super Kings #K-207
As a side note, the Rest of the World (ROW) Superfast 2005 models appear in the German catalog. But there is no sign of the North American versions anywhere else but eBay.
