You can't match matchbox

Man's enduring attachment to the automobile is never more evident than when little boys--most likely joined by their fathers--play for hours with their Matchbox cars and trucks. As a tip of the cap to Matchbox's 35th anniversary, Mattel, Inc., El Segundo, Calif., has issued something(s) old and something(s) new.

The Matchbox Collectibles Superfast 35th Anniversary Collection brings back the classic line of die-cast vehicles originally introduced in 1969. Thirty-six models ($2 apiece) will have been introduced by the end of the year, with limited runs of 10,000 pieces per model. Our favorites are the Corvette C6 and Dodge Viper GTS.

On the new product front, those old cars look great racing around on a pair of new Hero City playsets: Haunted House ($19.99) and Rocket Park ($39.99). A working elevator, built-in launcher, and moving bridge held up by a skeleton's hand await any car--a glow-in-the-dark auto is included--brave enough to venture inside the Haunted House. Rocket Park, meanwhile, looks like something right out of the old Flash Gordon serials--and cars actually do blast off to another planet. Ah, the marvels of modern engineering.

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