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On the second page some unique, commercially not available Matchbox Ikarus coaches are presented:
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| 18. Voyager Prototype |
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The grandfather of all Matchbox Ikarus coaches. This is a rare pre-production issue model. The first samples from the factory had these dark windows and the plastic was changed to a lighter shade for production. It was never sold officially.
You can see this version in the collectors catalogue of 1986 - the year of the launch of the Ikarus series by Matchbox - with a caption: "Coach". Next year you already find a clear window model, the caption stating: "MB-67 Ikarus Coach".
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| 19. City Line - Tourist Prototype |
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Hand made pre-production colour trial in white & green, black base, grey-brown interior (which is overpainted by hand in white)
and decorated with waterslide decals, screwed "Macau" base. Later production models had a "China" base,
got a slightly different shade of green, different interior colour (white) and deco was tampo printed
(and the base was of course riveted).
Sample model to check out the new colour/livery. Even with the
"Macau" base this model was made at the then still UK based R&D department.
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| 20. Beige (prototype?) |
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A simple, beige coloured Matchbox. The seats are hand painted, but otherwise the model seems to be original.
According to an Australian collector this one is also a pre-production item. He’s obtained two of this version with the help of a friend working for Matchbox Research and Development Department in Hong Kong.
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| 21. Collection 1999 |
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We found this picture in Charlie Mack's legendary Matchbox Encyclopedia. This is a preproduction model, unfortunately never
got into serial production.
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| 22. Volánbusz |
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A very-very rare repaint of the Ikarus coach. This is the official livery (jokingly called parrot) of 'Volánbusz',
the biggest Hungarian coach transport company.
This model was built on behalf of Volánbusz. The plan
to order models from the - at that time - still existing Hungarian Matchbox factory failed, so the company
purchased about 50 pieces at the stores and these commercial items were tampo printed.
They were not merchandised, but were distributed among business partners.
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| 23. OK Motor Services |
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OK Travel was a bus and coach operator in County Durham, North East England. First established in 1912 as OK Motor Service, the company was bought by the Go-Ahead Group in the 1990s. Following rationalisation and rebranding, the OK livery disappeared from the roads as services were integrated with Go North East.
No evidence was found on the origin of this model, but most probably it was hand painted by an OK fan.
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| 24. Limited Chrome Version |
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This chrome plated bus is a hard to find Code 3 model.
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| 25. Ikarus 10/100 Limited Edition |
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A code 3 item produced for an Australian Collectors Club. Windows are labeled: 'ebc Model Car Club Swapmeet 98' and according to the decal on the box
this is the 10th exemplar of a limited series of 100.
On the other hand this model is based on the beige colour coach which was issued in Hungary in the year of debut.
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| 26. A Chinese copy |
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A Chinese copy of Matchbox's Ikarus coach. Probably the Far Eastern manufacturer (Express Wheels) obtained somehow the used,
worn out tools used to produce this model. One can clearly recognize the main characteristics
of the original Matchbox coaches, but the details are blurred. Also the materials used are of poor quality.
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