Matchbox MB807 : Holden VE Ute SSV

First released as part of the standard Matchbox 1-100 basic vehicle range at the end of 2010, this is the first Australian vehicle modeled by Matchbox for some years. Upon its release it became an immediate success in the Australian market place, particularly for the Holden fans, and a lot of collectors found that they couldn’t find the first release model in the store and had to resort to paying inflated prices on EBay or at collector’s fairs.  There was only 5 variations of the original casting, the first release in a light shade of green a colour that would be repeated in 2018 when the model was retooled.  A full listing of all the variations can be found in the MCF Catalogue

The Holden’s popularity was not only limited to Australia, this superb model found a lot of popularity with collectors outside Austalia as well, mainly due to the excellent design, many seasoned collectors commented on the design and the way in which the rear bed had been moulded in to the casting, little features like this made this a much loved model with everyone. The wheels chosen on the original release in green are standard issue Matchbox wheels of the time, but are also very reminiscent of the wheels chosen by Holden for the real vehicle.

With the fine detail and design of the Holden VE SS Ute that Matchbox have done, it is hard to find fault, unfortunately there is one small detail that can be faulted on this model that will hopefully be rectified in the future releases, and that is the rear tail light tampo print. Although the rear tail light design is quite good, it does not extend itself to wrapping around to the side of the model as it would on the real Holden VE SS Ute, apart from that small detail though, congratulations to Mattel Inc. for a job well done.