Flatbed Haulers, Part 3: Matchbox Real Working Rigs International Flatbed and Western Star Tow Rig

The final look at the flatbed saga includes two cool, but short-lived, tow trucks from the short-lived Matchbox Real Working Rigs.  The series was created in 2009 to allow Matchbox to get the scale right on large rig vehicles and tractor's, while at the same time adding more moving features and removable parts to add more play value to the line.  It was a cool idea, until recent decisions at Matchbox decided to replace the realistic rigs with generic versions designed just for the kids only, then completely axe the series.  What a shame because as you'll see these vehicles have some interesting features and, as in the flatbed truck, packaging issues are non-existent here!

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International Durastar 4400 Flatbed

One of the most popular flatbed, or chassis, trucks out there is the International brand.  For decades the trucks have been seen all over the place from school bus, box trucks, utility trucks, flatbed, trash, and more.  The body has went from square '70's and '80's to a smoother hood line in the 1990's.  The current generation has  more smoother hood with sweptback headlight's.  The cab on this casting feature details like the gas tank's, large mirror's, storage boxes under the bed, and out back tri-taillights and mud flaps.  The bed is large, long, has the correct frame details, and has indents to hold the wheels of the vehicle riding along in place.  The bed slides and tilts down as well, but the coolest feature that you really don't see often in this scale is the added hydraulic fork that allows for a second vehicle to ride along in a typical boon and hook fashion (with the two rear wheels still moving on the ground.  The interior has the typical utilitarian look of medium-sized truck's, but at least the dash layout is much cleaner and well-organized than what I've seen from trucks in this class.  The engine is the Turbodiesel I-6 producing 350 hp through a choice of two automatic and three manual transmissions up to nine gears.  Front suspension is a beam axle with leaf springs, but the rear axle has air springs to aid in the assistance of pulling a vehicle onto the flatbed.  As for the Matchbox Flatbed it works flawlessly, though the rear fork sits too low to the ground (as does the ground clearance of the whole truck).  Even though there seems to be a bit too many of these trucks being made as replica's, Matchbox did a nice job giving us a proper flatbed truck for 1:64 cars.

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Western Star 6900XD Series Tow Truck

If there was a truck that was long-overdue to be properly done is the tow truck that handles the heavier tractor-trailer cab's.  There's been a few that have been done in the past, like Hot Wheels Ford Rig Wrecker and Matchbox Peterbuilt Tow Truck, but again packaging restrictions in 1:64 made these trucks way smaller than what they actually are.  Again, thanks to the Real Working Rigs packaging, this Western Star lives up to the real big boy's!  This truck is longer than the International and has a higher ground clearance to really give the height.  The frame on the 6900 series is the largest frame offered by Western Star designed for logging, mining, and towing heaver loads like a tractor-trailer cab.  The front cab is shared with the 4400 series but has square fenders, and matchbox adds a chrome grille to give a front a bold look.  Air filters and steps detail the sides of the cab and the best part is the chrome exhaust stacks behind the cab. The sides of the trailer has several storage area's for tools and utilities, light bar at the top, and one huge hydraulic boon that means business.  Pull the hook arm out and flip the fork down to give something for the truck it's towing something to rest its front wheels on.  The interior is well laid-out with gauges and switches angled toward the driver.  Engines are a choice of three different Detroit turbodiesel I-6 producing 400-500 hp. with torque ranging from1400-2000 Ib.-ft. of torque!  Transmission manual gears range from 10 to 18 gears.  Front and rear axles are supported by large leaf springs to handle the weight.  As a person who has a neighbor in the area with one of these rigs you can definitely tell when he's passing by with that unique low-pitch growl from all that engine torque moving this beast! 

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As for the towing operation of this casting, well let's just say that it works carrying large trucks but again the fork hovers close to the ground and the arm has a hard time holding up even moderate weight at a 45 degree angle.  Also I imagine parking this thing would be a big pain, too!  Still it's one of the most impressive tow truck's in my collection and I hope Matchbox finds a way to revive these Real Working Rigs because they were cool, and no one sums it up better than this Western Star Tow Truck!

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Update 1/18/20:  In 2019 the Matchbox Working Rigs returned and so did the International and Western Star tow trucks mentioned above.  The paint and the decos look close to same as the 2009 releases, so the only one that I got again was the Western Star that was offered a second time in blue and note Wiersma on the sides as a reference to former Matchbox Ambassador Chuck Wiersma.