Matchbox Sky Busters

Matchbox Sky Busters is a range of die-cast model aircraft produced under the Matchbox brand, initially by Lesney Products and later by Mattel.

The earlier Sky Busters were produced in 1973 from London, England. During the 1970s, Skybusters competed against Dyna-Flytes, produced by San Diego based Zee Toys and the Ertl Company distributed-Hong Kong manufactured Lintoy.

Skybusters combined military and commercial aircraft models at their earlier stage. The United States Air Force, Air France, Federal Express, Lufthansa and QX Express were among the first brands to advertise with Skybusters. Some of the first Skybusters released were Learjet, Airbus A300, Boeing 747 and Corsair AD7 airplanes.

In 1976, the Skybusters line returned, at a time when the die cast airplanes market was largely dominated by Dyna-Flytes. The brand kept coming on and off the market until the 2000s, when Mattel decided to release the models each year. Currently no airlines are under contract with Matchbox to produce Skybusters models, the most recent ones being American Airlines, UPS, British Airways, Alaska Airlines,^[1] Lufthansa and DHL (Delta Air Lines and United Airlines did not have a contract with Matchbox since the takeover of Northwest Airlines and Continental Airlines, respectively), but jetliners are released under fictional airline names, such as Matchbox Airlines (also called MBX Airways).

Bulgarian Skybusters[edit]

A series of Skybusters models were produced in Bulgaria, including TU-144 in the colors of Balkan Bulgarian Airlines and Coca-Cola.^[2]

Skybusters production line[edit]

1973
- Airbus A300B
  - Air France, Lufthansa
- Alpha jet
  - German Air Force
- Boeing 747
  - Aer Lingus
  - British Airways
  - British Caledonian
  - Cathay Pacific
  - El Al
  - KLM
  - Lufthansa
  - Middle East Airlines
  - Olympic Airways
  - Pan Am
  - Qantas
  - Saudia
  - Singapore Airlines
  - Virgin Atlantic (1988)
- Cessna 210
  - Generic, white and orange
  - DHL
- Cessna 402
  - Generic, green and orange
  - Generic, beige, blue and brown
  - Generic, green and white
  - Generic, blue and yellow
  - DHL
- Corsair AD7
  - Generic, green and white
  - Generic, blue and white
  - United States Air Force
- McDonnell Douglas DC-10
  - Aeromexico (1988)
  - American Airlines
  - Continental Airlines
  - KLM
  - Sabena
  - Swissair
  - Thai Airways
  - United Airlines
- Junkers 87 B
  - Luftwaffe
- Learjet
  - Generic, yellow and white
  - Generic, white
  - Datapost
  - DHL (2000s)
  - Federal Express
  - QX Express
  - United States Air Force
- Mikoyan MiG-21
  - Various generic types and colors
  - United States Air Force
- Mirage F1
  - Various generic types and colors
  - French Air Force
  - United States Marines
- A4-F
  - United States Marines
- Spitfire
  - Generic, beige and brown
  - Generic, gold and green
- Lockheed F-104 Starfighter
  - Canadian Air Force
1975
- Corsair F4U
- Phantom F4E
  - Various generic types, colors
  - United States Marines
  - United States Navy
  - Royal Navy
1976
- Wild Wind
1977
- Helicopter
  - Air Aid
  - Police
  - Rescue
  - RAF rescue
  - Shell Oil
  - United States Army
- Lightning
  - Royal Air Force
- Piper Comanche
  - Various generic types, colors
  - XP
- Ram Rod
  - Generic
1978
- Tornado
  - Various generic types, colors
  - Flight System
  - German Air Force
  - Rescue Helicopter
  - Royal Air Force
1979
- Concorde
  - Air France
  - British Airways
  - Supersonic Airlines (fictional)
  - Heinz 57, a promotional issue for ketchup company, Heinz
- F-16
  - Various generic types, colors
  - Israeli Defense Force
  - United States Air Force
1980
- Space Shuttle
  - NASA
- Pitts Special
  - Generic, white
  - Matchbox
  - Virgin Atlantic (1988)
1981
- Cessna Float plane
  - Various generic types, colors
  - James Bond
  - National Park Service
- Harrier Jump Jet
  - Various generic types, colors
  - Royal Air Force
  - Royal Navy
1983
- Airbus A300
  - Air Malta
  - Alitalia
  - Eastern Airlines
  - Federal Express (in the 1990s, as FedEx)
  - Iberia
  - Korean Air
  - Lufthansa
  - Swissair
1990
- Bell Jet Ranger helicopter
  - Generic, white
- Boeing 747
  - British Airways
  - Cathay Pacific
- Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II
  - Various generic types, colors
  - United States Air Force
- Grumman F-14 Tomcat
  - Various generic types, colors
  - United States Air Force
  - United States Navy
- Lockheed C-130 Hercules
  - United States Coast Guard
- Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk
  - Generic, black
  - United States Air Force
- Mil M-24 Hind-D helicopter
  - Various generic types, colors
  - Russian Air Force
- Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird
  - Generic, black and red
  - NASA
  - United States Air Force
1992
- British Aerospace 146
- Boeing 737
  - Britannia Airways
  - KLM
- Boeing Stearman
  - Australian National Airways (ANA)
  - Crunchie
  - Ditec
- BAE Systems Hawk
  - Royal Air Force
1997
- Boeing 777
  - Generic, not painted
  - American Airlines
  - Boeing house colors
  - Continental Airlines
2000
- Cessna Citation
- MD-90
  - Matchbox Worldwide (fictional)
  - D.A.R.E (Promotion for the anti-drug program D.A.R.E)
2002
- Messerschmitt Bf 109
2003
- Airliner (Douglas DC-3)
- Aztec Tours(Helicopter)
2004
- Boeing 777
  - Continental Airlines
- Helicopter
  - Canyon Tours Services (fictional)
2006
- Hydro Prop (Consolidated PBY Catalina)^[3]
2007
- Boeing 737
  - Alaska Airlines
  - Alaska Airlines 75th Anniversary
  - Sky Air (fictional)
  - American Airlines
- Tilt Rotor
2008
- Boeing 747
  - MBX Airways (fictional)
  - MBX Airways Flight 55 (Matchbox's 55th Anniversary Colours)
  - Northwest Airlines
  - Lufthansa
- Boeing 737
  - American Airlines
  - Continental Airlines
  - DHL Express
  - Alaska Airlines (Dark Blue)
  - Alaska Airlines (White)
  - Bolt Airways (fictional)
- McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender
  - M.B.A.F (fictional)
- Boeing 787-8
  - Boeing house colors
  - Continental Airlines
  - MBX Airways (fictional)
  - Flight School
  - DHL Express
- A-10A Thunderbolt II
  - United Alliance (fictional)
- Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit
  - United Alliance (Black) (fictional)
  - United Alliance (Blue) (fictional)
  - United Alliance (Desert Colors) (fictional)
- Robinson R44 Clipper II
  - Various Generic Types, Colours
- F/A-18 Super Hornet
  - United Alliance (fictional)
- Sky Force sea plane based on Boeing 314

2009

- Pusher Prop

2010

- Lockheed F-35B Lightning II
  - Grey Camouflage

2015

- Cirrus Vision
  - Pingo Island Resort (fictional)

2018

- Boeing 747 in Boeing house colors

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Bamca.org
https://web.archive.org/web/20100112045113/http://www.matchbox.com/showcase/category.aspx?category_id=7507 - Sky Busters Page

This article "Matchbox Sky Busters" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Matchbox Sky Busters. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

[1] ttp://companystore.alaskasworld.com/detail.aspx?ID=2591^{[permanent dead link]}

[2] ttp://www.bulgariancollection.com/matchbox_bulgarian/airplanes-jets_bulgarian_matchbox_skybusters-made_in_bulgaria.htm

[3] Meine Sammlung der Matchbox Sky Busters - #69-A Retrieved on 31 December 2009

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Matchbox Sky Busters

Contents

Bulgarian Skybusters[edit]

Skybusters production line[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

📰 Article(s) of the same category(ies)[edit]