| By Charles W. Wiersma | Albuquerque Show 2010 |
The 2010 Gathering of Friends convention is proving to be every bit as fun as
the previous seven conventions and a bit more. As many of you know, the weekend
started out with a bang right in the middle of the Friday evening reception. As
the hotel alarms went off, everyone in the reception room was ushered out of the
hotel and into the early evening heat.
Guests mingled outside and basically
Apparently, sprinklers were activated on the seventh floor and water does flow downhill. I do not believe anyone was hurt and the only damage appeared to be water damage. There was no fire. Guests above the seventh floor were not affected. Some guests were relocated from floors seven and lower. The convention continued on.
Bargains were very much available throughout the day and into the evening. The show model was also made available for sale in the afternoon – a VW Porsche 914 in metallic blue. This handsome model has the convention logo on the rear and is on a blistercard. The blisterpack is in the usual Matchbox Protecto Pack. Dinner was at 5 PM with two lines being formed. Those with one of the first 75 reservations were in one line with the remaining guests in the other. As the first 75 registrants entered they received their special 1975 Chevy Stepside Pickup in metallic orange. The second set of guests received the same model in metallic lime. Both models came on a black plinth with a clear plastic case. The models sport the convention logo and dates. The cases were handed to each guest in a non descript sliding cardboard box. Before dinner the Bernalillo County Fire Department Color Guard presented the colors and attendees said the Pledge of Allegiance (a US tradition of honoring the US flag by placing one’s right hand over their heart and speaking the short allegiance to the flag). The dinner menu was much the same as previous years with a southwest theme. After the dinner, festivities continued with thanks given to John Nijhuis for his service as Matchbox Ambassador for the previous year. As posted on the board, I was then announced as the next Matchbox Ambassador. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mattel for placing trust in me in serving as a link between the Matchbox team and the collector community. I have had a lifelong passion for the Matchbox brand and sincerely hope I can contribute to furthering the hobby. I would also like to thank all who have nominated me for this position as I endeavor to meet your expectations. After this announcement, the presentation everyone was waiting for got started – the 2011 Preview. For 2011 four major themes will be used across all Matchbox lines: City Life, Heroic Rescue, Builders and Movers, and Adventure. Playsets will be designed to work with all vehicles from the 1-100, Real Working Rigs (RWR), and Super Convoys lines. The playsets are to work with all scales with the possible exception of Sky Busters. 2011 will see a major change in package design as each 1-100 model will now have its own illustration on the card. This will include BOTH long card and short cards. The 2011 Basic Line will include: Under City Life: Under Metro Ride subcategory: Under Sports Cars subcategory: Under VIP Rides subcategory: Under City Action subcategory:
We can expect to see less licensed liveries on the product. This line is projected to create growth for the Matchbox line in overseas markets. Ten new castings are planned. Military Adventure 2011 Super Convoys Ford C900 Cab The presentation concluded with Felix making a guest appearance in a recorded video. In the video he teased us with quick looks at unreleased models. Like many other members of the Matchbox team, Felix is in Asia at the diecast summit. After the presentation, we were all delighted to see the mockup prepros of models to be released for the remainder of 2010 as well as some early 2011 mockups. As usual, the RWR models look fantastic and the guests mingled around the table three deep. Models we had a chance to inspect were the Mustang California Special, Miura, Firebird 400, Watertruck, Infiniti G37, RWR Farm Sprayer, RWR HEMTT A4, and RWR Snow Cat. There are many exciting models coming out in the next twelve months folks. After a brief break, the live auction started. Among the lots were donated stuffed animals sold to raise funds for local charities. The Mattel lots were well contested. Here are some highlights: Prepro 2010 Int’l Brush Fire Truck $130 After dinner, room hopping resumed and many gathered near the pool area to review the day’s activities. |
