Saturday, July 14, 2018

Toy Review: '93 Jeep Wrangler #9 from Matchbox: Jurassic World by Mattel

   Today I'm checking out another car from Mattel's Jurassic World Matchbox line and like the solid green Textron Tiger I reviewed earlier in the week this one is also a vehicle with a color scheme made up for the toyline. This creation takes the body of the 1993 Jeep Wrangler staff cars from the original film but gives it the paint scheme and logo design of one of the Jurassic World Mercedes Benz staff cars. It's an interesting concept and, for around a buck, I'm willing to allow some experimentation in this line. Let's check out this interesting concept vehicle after the break...



 The Facts:

Model Number: FMW98

Length: 2 1/2 inches

Non-Scalper Price: $1.25
 Comparison:

* Here's a comparison between the '93 Jeep Wrangler #9 reviewed today and the '93 Jeep Wrangler #18 from the Matchbox Jurassic World: Legacy Collection Island Explorers collection. As you can see the bodies are the same but the windshields, tops/roll bars, and wheels are different. I believe this one is a full repaint of the '93 Jeep Wrangler #12 that I don't own yet.
 The Positives:

* To be honest, this is a very slick vehicle and I kind of like the idea that Jurassic World would have taken a few of the older service jeeps and fixed them up, given them a new paint job, and put them back in service as staff vehicles. The paintjob looks good and the features like the lightbar on the top and the covered cab are pretty cool.

* This Jeep Wrangler has the same paint scheme and labeling as the 2014 Jurassic World Mercedes Benz including the Jurassic World logo, the #09 designation, and the "For Official Use Only" warning. The printing is very neat and clean on this one, just like on the rest of the vehicles in the series.
 The Negatives:


* I like the presence of the top on the jeep but I can't understand why the top is translucent? The windows, maybe, but not the full top. It looks kind of strange to be honest.
   While it isn't an actual vehicle that appears in the film I still kind of dig this re-purposed and updated 1993 Jeep Wrangler. The vehicle itself is quite solid except for the see through top, which just seems like a weird design choice. Still, it's not a deal breaker or anything for a toy that costs around a buck (usually these sell for a around $1.25). Pick one up if you're curious. It's a cool find and hopefully shows that Mattel is going to offer up a few more interesting vehicles in this series. Personally, I want to see a helicopter or two and a couple of the hunters vehicles from The Lost World.

For more 1993 Jeep Wranglers, I've also checked out the '93 Jeep Wrangler #18 from the Island Explorers collection!

For more Matchbox: Jurassic World figures, check out the following:
'10 Textron Tiger (Green)
Armored Action Truck
Island Transport Team 
Off-Road Rescue Rig 

10 comments:

  1. Oh, yes. I forgot to mention that both Hot Wheels and Matchbox have models with translucent roofs. For example, the 1997 Matchbox Land Rover Defender 110 once had an all-metal body but the current model has a translucent plastic roof. Hot Wheels, for their part, has the BMW M4 which I think looks like a European muscle car (or at least something that The Transporter would drive) except it has a translucent roof. Again, I know that Mattel's cutting production costs but I think it lessens the overall quality of the toy.

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  2. Love this vehicle, even if it lacks an onscreen counterpart.

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    Replies
    1. I love this "just off screen" stuff. Reminds me of Star Wars Mini Rigs.

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    2. I wonder if they'll make Maintenance Truck 04, the silver Chevy S-10 pickup the T-rex knocks out of the way while chasing the guy in the yellow raincoat at the beginning of FK. I'd also like the white Chevrolet C-2500 Construction Truck that's flipped in JW. :)

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  3. They should have used a 3 door JL or JK Wrangler for this livery... it doesn't make much sense to re-use a 93 Wrangler since that in reality it would be too old to be in service...

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    Replies
    1. I think it was just a concept idea Mattel had so they could reuse the 93 Wrangler mold and still tie it in with Jurassic World. Maybe it's something that Jurassic World just had sitting around for guests to take photos with or something?

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  4. That's a good idea, never thought about the exposition thing... still a good looking model... btw i asked a Forza Horizon 5 player to replicate this livery on a 2012 JK Wrangler Rubicon and it turned out pretty good!(if you have the game search the gamertag orangeTAMA)
    I'll put here the link if you want to see the livery.

    https://www.reddit.com/r/forza/comments/s9pu0h/i_once_asked_a_player_to_replicate_a_matchbox/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for sharing! That is an incredibly cool design. It looks really good.

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