MATCHBOX - A German saloon sporting a German police trim, yes that's right, its the 2015 BMW 5-Series

Another of the stunning 2015 releases is this, the BMW 5-Series, in German Polizei trim, after a long period of non BMW products, it came as a surprise when the X5 SUV appeared in a set, the rumours then began, will we be getting this or that, will the X6 or X4 make an appearance, but no one ever considered this one.

And for that reason i am pleased to see it, as a brand, i am not a fan of BMW, but for the diecast side of me, i am happy to see it back at the Orange side of Mattel, as they have achieved a lot of BMW's over the years, all of them great castings, and this is no different (I have seen the next version, and that too is a stunner).

Yes i do own seven of these, and will get more when i see them, and i have a "supplier" that has a list of my requirements for 2015 and 2016, so they look out for me, and usually finds far more than I do.

The only issue for this model is the light bar, as it is now part of the glass of the car, the hole in the roof is set, so would we ever get a standard road going car, I really hope so, the last BMW 5-Series came in black and in a rather nice Fina race trim, i have a number of each of those too.

Time will tell if we will ever get a road car, but the next is a police version, and as the UK police force utilises 5-Series cars, it would be nice to get one of those, in the Battenberg colour scheme seen so perfectly on the matchbox Subaru Impreza of a few years ago.

MATCHBOX - When is a generic not a generic - when it is this, odd, but loosly based on a real vehicle.

This is an odd one, I am not usually one for buying generics, Matchbox has brought us some of the most hideous ones ever, cars with Rhino heads, Alligators with wheels, and the like, but this one is different, as this is roughly based on a true vehicle, and i use the term "based on" very loosely.

I only have three of these, mainly because i forgot that i had two, when I bought the third, otherwise i would not have bothered, the Meter Maid, as it is known, is one of those strange vehicles the US postal service and parking enforcement officers use, fortunately for us in the UK, we don't, there is a god out there after all, if this appeared on our streets, it would get destroyed, or at the very least the driver would get the "mickey" taken out of them, a great deal.

MATCHBOX - A great addition for 2015 is the 2013 Ford Cargo, unusual and perfectly modelled.

It has been a while since we had a Euro specific tractor unit and again 2015 was the year that we had it, based on the 2013 Ford Cargo, this model is a great addition, and can be used to transport trailers from older versions, which is a nice touch, and a great extra for those that will either play with them or use them for display purposes.

The Six models i have here will be added too over time, as i am sure that Matchbox will release versions with various logo's on the side, or full colour schemes, the wheel choice too is great, as they look the right size for this model.

MATCHBOX - A lovely classic model from Matchbox, the best version so far, the two tone Cadillac Sedan DeVille.

**SIGH** - As promised here it is, the Cadillac Sedan DeVille, and what an awesome model this is too, it is NOT a 2015 model, as it has been around for a year or two, but in my opinion, this is, so far, the best version, the two tone colour scheme with the gold centre stripe, makes this model ooze quality, and that's been missing from the range for a long time.

Yes i have five of these stunning little treasures, and will get some more if i find them, the disc wheels look perfect, and the chrome effect plastic bumpers work so well, that you can forgive it the fact there is a lot of plastic on this model.

I am trying to get hold of the "Best Of" range from the USA, which contains a version of this, but it has some tyres on it that seem to suit off road vehicles more, but hopefully i will have them soon and i can post them for you all to see.

MATCHBOX - The 3rd excellent 2015 release, the Cadillac One, or The Beast, or a Stretched Limo to the rest of us.

Another surprise this year was the addition of this, the presidential Limousine, Commonly known as the beast, it was a real surprise, not least the fact that there is really nowhere else for the model to go, a US Limo is black, generally, so, where else can this model go, apparently the geniuses at Matchbox, have been quoted as saying that there will be more versions, and we will be pleasantly surprised at what the next version will be.

But at the moment, i am more than happy to have my eight models, and like the Porsche and Tesla, i will collect all versions. The models official name is Cadillac One, and we all know that Mattel and Cadillac has had a great history, in fact my next model that I am posting is another classic Caddy.

The third model from this year, is another brilliant and perfect choice, the US will go for the fact it is the presidential car, and the rest of the world because its a stretched Limo, i have a lose one, and putting it against some other cars, shows how big this actually is.

MATCHBOX - The future for both Matchbox and Tesla are looking great, and the Model S is a stunning example.

One of the best releases of the year is this, the Tesla Model S, both Mattel brands have had a go at this, and matchbox has produced it perfectly, unlike Hot Wheels, which is very lumpy, with that dreaded up sloping chin, The ten spoke double wheels just look perfect on this car, and the colour too, which is a standard colour.

I currently have six of these in my collection, and will get more, apparently some have had issues getting these, whereas, locally, i have had no problems.

With Tesla being the up and coming brand, and the new Tesla X and Model III coming in the next 12 months, who knows, Matchbox might do another model, they have completed this one, perfectly, and i will collect each and every colour scheme they do, this is another of the renaissance models that makes Matchbox and its future worthy of following.

MATCHBOX - The Porsche Cayman is the start of things to come for the brand, with lots of decent new models.

Over the years, matchbox has slipped in quality and decent product launches, the generic models that they launched became dire, with stupid looking wheeled animals, or buses with a huge wheel set up, awful, just awful, but then, things started to change, very very slowly until last year, when a change at Mattel meant that there would be a new department to deal specifically with matchbox.

I currently have four of these in my collection, and look forward to collecting many more in all the colour schemes that appear over the coming months and years, and i really hope that this is not just a one horse pony trick, and we see it in the one colour only.

This was a master-stroke, the guys in this area, knew what would make matchbox a force to be reckoned with once again, and for 2015 we saw some stunning releases, yes there were some generic models, but the less said about those the better, but we were treated to some amazing cars, This, the Porsche Cayman is one of them, the 2015 model year car, has been models to near perfection, and with the five spoke dark wheels, makes this car stand out as one of the highlights of the year, and there are a lot of those this year.

VANGUARDS - A great addition to the vanguards range the Mini 1275 GT, this one, the 4,000,000th sold.

It is a shame that Vanguards seems to copy other brands, in the fact that SPARK do this esact same model, albeit for more than twice the price, but then you get far better detail and less clunky paint work, but saying that, this Mini 1275 GT is a great little car, in white, with the board on the roof, as it was when Austin promoted the car as the 4,000,000th one to be sold.

The wheels let the car down, as they do on a lot of Vanguards of late, but that can be slightly excused, as the rest os not a bad attempt, it is a Limited Edition, 1175/1600, it would have been fun to have had the 1275th, being that's the cars engine CC, but it does not matter.

Like all current vanguards they come attached to a plastic plinth with a perspex dome, and surrounded by a card covering, sealed at one end with the details of the model, I am a sucker for a Mini, having owned a real Mini 35 back in 1994, and hope one day that they do that model too.

VANGUARDS - The Ford Escort MK III RS1600i in White, a good attempt spoilt by the cheap looking plastic parts.

As well as collecting Oxford diecast, as that is what i have posted recently, I also collect Vanguards models, from Corgi, i have a large collection of these, and will post a number of them as well, over the coming months, but here we have one of the most recent launches.

The Ford Escort MK III RS1600i in white, the MK III was based off of the MK II and instantly gave Ford a world beater, hwoever, you rarely see any of these cars around anymore, shows, how poorly made they were, rust was not it's friend, this model here was one that was used as the basis of a TV Show, CAR S.O.S. where they took peoples cars and rebuilt them, for the owners that were not able to do so themselves, through illness or financial worries.

Vanguards was a great brand, it's introduction was for British cars of the 50's and 60's and there are a large number of models from many brands that are still not produced, but Vanguards started to get newer cars, like the Vauxhall Astra, Range Rover, Rover 75 and MGZT, this was not universally liked, and so they went back and started to reproduce cars from around Europe, with Peugeot, Volkswagen and Opel to name a few, again, this was not universally liked.

Quality also started to slip, stated launch dates came and went, models got cancelled, and the attitude from Corgi, left a sour taste for many people, dealers left the marque, including mine, I have joined the brand club, albeit free, because of many many issues they caused, and we are still awaiting Jan-June 2016 releases.

The limited issue on this model is only 1300, and i was very lucky to get number 0023, i have a few very low numbers, and only two lower than this, the Escort is a good attempt, but the cheapness of the plastic, and some other minor details, do take away from what should be a better model, the Blue MK II is how it should be done, and older models from 10 years ago, show how they all should be done.

OXFORD DIECAST - What has to be one of the best models they have released recently, the Bentley T2.

When I first saw that Oxford Diecast were reproducing the T2 Bentley i was so happy, i have a number of the Matchbox Rolls Royce Silver Shadows, in various colours, so when this one appeared, i was really eager to get this, and any, and all versions.

The 1/76 model here in stunning blue, is one of three that are currently/so to be, available, with some models, there is usually something that you can pick at, or notice that there is something not quite, there.

But Oxford Diecast, as far as i am concerned, have hit a home run on this, its stunningly gorgeous, and the details, like th elights, door handles etc, have been painted spot on, and I for one, an really really happy that OD have the licence to produce a number of Bentleys, from the 50's right up to today, and that Mulsanne is another beautiful model.

OXFORD DIECAST - The very early Austin Seven, the car that in reality started it all off for Herbert Austin.

The Austin Seven was the car that got the Austin brand to where it wanted to be, and that is a huge conglomerate, based in Longbridge, where current MG production is made today, the Seven was Austin's Model T.

The Oxford Diecast version is perfectly reproduced, and it is an excellent model to produce from that era, as there are so many Austin's in the OD range, from most era's, this is a great start, and with teh early Mini's being called Austin Se7en (yes thats spelt correctly) the name lasted for many years.

Once they launch more i will add them to the ever growing collection of OD i have, i find these models at a price point of £4.50, or thereabouts, are sometimes a little pricey, but when you get models, like this, that are not produced elsewhere, or very hard to locate, then paying it is an easy option.

OXFORD DIECAST - The car that did more to destroy the Austin brand than any other, we have the Allegro estate.

My first post was the ADO16, Austin 1300, this car was the replacement for that the Austin Allegro, available in two door, four door and estate two door, it gained a dire reputation, being dubbed All Agro by many, due to its awful reliability record, and it's ability to rust very badly.

Oxford Diecast has decided to model the estate, which is great, the estate is a very underrated car, huge space and it really was not a bad car, just poorly executed, Vanguards by Corgi has made a saloon version, but as yet not many have replicated the bigger load lugger, and in harvest gold, this model stands out.

Again, the tyre size is my only niggle, they seem rather too big for the model, but that does not take away the fact that OD has given us another stunning 1/76 model, and one that I, for one, will collect every variation and colour scheme they make available.

OXFORD DIECAST - My second Austin A40 MK II saloon, this time the RAC Version.

Here we have, currently my second Austin A40 MK II from Oxford Diecast, and last, i will order more as they are released, but for now, i have  two, and this one is the special model that was used by the RAC, the Royal Automobile Club of Great Britain.

In RAC Blue with a white roof and the RAC logo on the door, this little 1/76 Austin is a great model, my only issue, the tyres looks very large on the scale model, so if you blow that up to proper scale, i can see that tyres would be far too big, but that's a small niggle that i can live with.

OXFORD DIECAST - Austin A40 MkII- Police Panda, another Oxford stunner.

The A40 is another one of these farina cars, and this on eis in classic British Police colours, I can just remember the days when the Panda cars were Blue with white doors, and there were a lot of them, and I hope that Oxford manages to make more in this colour scheme.

The farina was a small two door family car, roughly about the same size as the Ford KA is today, it was popular and there are, surprisingly a large number of them still about, well, at classic car shows, there does seem to be a number of them.

This 1/76 scale model is spot on, and I apologise for the dodgy picture, they do get better, it sells for about £4.50, so comparing it to Matchbox or Hotwheels, on price is not fair, but on quality of product and with the interior as well detailed as the exterior, the price can be justified.

OXFORD DIECAST - One of the farina range, the Cambridge is one of Oxfords latest releases.

One of the most recent releases from Oxford Diecast has been the Blue & White Austin Cambridge, it is commonly known as part of the "Farina" range of cars, that were designed with different fronts, rear lights and interiors, dependant on whether it was a Morris, Austin, Wolseley, Riley or MG.

The badge engineered cars became something of a common practice within the British Leyland Motor Corporation of the time, and has been used many times since in various scales from various diecast brands.

Vanguards did an excellent 1/43 scale version, and this one from OD has to be one of the best in this small scale, unfortunately they dont have opening parts, but then when the detail is this good, it does not need it, they usually sell for around £4.50, and is one of a large number i have collected this year that will be listed here.

First Post - OXFORD DIECAST - Austin 1300 GT, one of my all time favourite cars.

Firstly, being my first post, i need to make it clear that i did have an account ModelMadnessUK, but for some unknown reason, I can not get into the posting part of the account, I can access it all, but it will not let me post, edit and so on, so I decided to start a brand new one, and hey presto, here it is.

The model above is the Austin 1300 GT and is made by Oxford Diecast in the UK (model made in China), the 1300, was also known as ADO16, the original real cars concept code, it eventually went on to be a massive seller and was replaced later by the Allegro, which was never as popular as this model

The mode is screwed to a plastic base, with a perspex dome over the top and slid into a card, with the brands details, code, and name.

This car, in both model and actual is one of my all time favourite cars, and I look forward to the next version, which I believe is in a red colour