Lotus Super Seven

The real thing...

Colour Trial

I very rarely find these even though I spend an unhealthy amount of time looking! This was in a lot with some other interesting pieces I will show later.

Gruesome Twosome

3 genuinely different Gruesome colours.

Iso Grifo

A real one!

In Case You Never Noticed Part 3

Dark blue Iso Grifo's, light and dark blue interior...

Countach Tempa Colour

I love these, mainly because there are so many variations. This is the Lime v Green tempa, which quite different once you see them together.

Nice Error

The Vantastic sticker lady must have had a day off.

In Case You Never Noticed Part 2

Some Tractors say FORD, others don't...

Tempa Variation

Missed this one before, the tempa on the back of the blue Citroen SM is either flat or V shaped.

Shades of Zodiac

Again, unless you see them together, you might not notice. Two shades of Zodiac green.

Hungarian Jeeps

Not much else to say really - except the roofs always fall off of these.

Monteverdi Hai

One of my favourite 'Top Trump' cars from the '70s, these pics are ace!

Hard To Find?

Not sure about this Blue Shark - this is the only one I've seen so - amber glass, hard to find? Discuss.

Tempa Tamper

I found this Mazda in a set I bought from Canada - it included 3 genuine colour trails (Cosmobile, Porsche 911 and Soopa Coopa). As you can see it only has the tempa on the headlight covers but under close inspection you can see the very light imprint on the paint of the full tempa design. However I have heard that these are very hard to remove so??? Anyway, it has purple glass, so it's rare anyway!

In Case You Never Noticed!

A new regular feature! As the title suggests, some Matchbox secrets that may have escaped your attention. Today - No72 Dodge Commander - some have wide wheels, some have narrow. I bet you feel better now?

More Charger III Madness!

Early issue with hood sticker, quite hard to find

Check out the thin wheels on this example - this is regarded as an error not a variation

The two Japanese issue boxes

On the left, smaller 5 spokes on the Japanese issue and standard on right

Charger III Colour Shades

Colour shades of the Charger III, once you see these together you can see that they are actually quite different.

Mazda RX500

Here's a pic of the real Mazda RX500, interestingly this one is the same colour as the model for a change!

Thought I'd show how I document my collection. I take a photo of each piece as it comes in, and create a kind of trading card including all variation details, value and rarity ratings. All printed on photographic quality paper, 4x6in.
I would be willing to do the same for anybody else's collection, but it would cost about a £1 each (not including paper) as it is quite time consuming!
waynelamport@yahoo.com
for more info.

Scorpions Ad

Scorpions Ad from the early 70's, didn't work though 'cos nobody bought them! Will try to source some more.

F1 car Artwork

How can you not love this? Genuinely talented artist at Matchbox in the 70's

Datsun 126X

Fabulous period pictures of the Datsun 126X concept car from the early 70's. Shame the Matchbox version never came in this colour but bright yellow is always going to win out over flat blue for a kid's toy!

Alfa Carabo in Bertone Museum

The Alfa Romeo Carabo with the original Lancia Stratos concept car in the Bertone Museum in Italy. The Carabo has recently been restored and looks amazing.

Another Super-Rare box

I sold this about a year ago and immediately regretted it! If you look carefully it is in fact the No30 Japanese version of the Volkswagen Beetle, not the usual No15. If you have never handled one of these, the texture of the box is much like the later US only boxes, complete with easy to tear flaps! These are really quite expensive, this one went for over £100!

Pi-Eyed Piper Poster

Check out the poster above of the Pi-Eyed Piper - part of a series I have produced using my own photography and a little bit of Photoshop magic. If you like it, contact me and I can make one for you of any Superfast model you like, at any size up to A1!
waynelamport@yahoo.com

BOXES!

I love boxes! Yes I am a self-confessed cardboard collector. It's great that the images depicted are (generally) of the toy, not the car it's modeled on and that each toy gets it's own unique artwork, unlike today's generic packaging which is the same for every toy the world over.
Check out a selection of the toughest boxes you can find! Two Japanese Lamborghini Miura boxes, the later Dodge Dragster box, Japanese Maserati Bora and Ford GT40, generic Brazilian box and the elusive Dodge Dumper box, reputedly in print for a matter of weeks!

Dodge Charger III

Here are some fabulous period pictures of the Dodge Charger III. Would love to know where this car is now, GM wisely kept a lot of it's concept cars, I'm not sure about the Chrysler corp. though!

Welcome

Welcome to The Superfast Times, for everything Matchbox Superfast. I collect, buy and sell toys, boxes and ephemera. As a designer by trade, I particularly love all the artwork that goes with this hobby - box art, catalogue art, carry case art etc.
Above is a great example.