Finally, let's have a look on the code 2 Ikarus Matchbox busses, distributed as promotional items:
In 1996 Matchbox went into an contractual agreement with a company called 'Advertising Specialities and Premiums' - ASAP for short. ASAP would be supplied
blank models to produce short run production models.
These models would be produced as "authorized by Matchbox" and therefore fit into the category of 'code 2'.
These short runs are very rare as Matchbox and ASAP do not supply any reference lists to what has been made.
There are models made early on they we as collectors may never know about! These items come in white generic boxes clearly marked
"Special Limited Edition! Matchbox".
Among the 23 models supplied to ASAP we can find the 'Ikarus coach'.
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| 25. White promo-base |
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White body, white roof and white interior. Usually promotional items are based on such full-white models as this coach,
and their livery, or decorations are altered, removed, or replaced by a third party with the full agreement of Matchbox.
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| 26. AFLAC |
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Aflac Incorporated is the largest
provider of supplemental insurance in the United States.
Their corporate logo can be seen on the left side of this Matchbox.
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| 27. Alameda Power & Telecom |
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Again a gift distributed by an American company.
Alameda Municipal Power (formerly Alameda Power & Telecom)
is a municipal utility serving the City of Alameda, California.
It doesn't belong to our topic, but it's important to notice,
that this utility is known as being "The Greenest Little Utility in America".
Over 80% of Alameda Municipal Power's portfolio consists of renewable resources,
including geothermal, hydroelectric, landfill gas, wind, and solar facilities.
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| 28. Celebration on the Hill (purple) |
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Unique model, which was not painted, but got decorated with waterslide decals.
Celebration on the Hill 2006
was an American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
event celebrating cancer survivorship and empowering survivors
and others to advocate for laws that will help fight the disease.
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| 29. Celebration on the Hill (blue) |
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Another version of the previous Celebration on the Hill coach, but fitted with blue decals instead of purple.
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| 30. Suburban Express |
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Suburban Express - based in Illinois - specializes in weekend transportation for college students. Standard promotional model, with red labels.
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| 31. RTA (1) |
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Riverside Transit Agency (RTA) is a joint powers agency that provides
public transportation in western Riverside County, California, United States.
It operates more than 250 vehicles. RTA's 2,500-square-mile (6,500 km2) service area
is the second-largest in the nation.
It's important to mention, that the most common vehicles in the fleet are NABI
busses which have Hungarian origin.
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| 32. RTA (2) |
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Another version of the previous RTA coach.
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| 33. Citrix |
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Promo model for Citrix Systems,
which is an American multinational corporation that provides server and desktop virtualization, networking, software-as-a-service
(SaaS) and cloud computing technologies for more than 230,000 organizations worldwide.
In an unusual way the logo is on the roof atop the windshield.
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| 34. Ferris State Univerity |
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| 35. North American Title Company |
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Promotional item of North American Title Company,
one of the largest real estate settlement services organizations in the United States handling
both residential and commercial transactions.
The promotional white Ikarus is tampo painted. Left side: 'On The Road from GOOD to GREAT' .
Right side: the company's name and their slogan 'Like clockwork'.
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| 36. Opta |
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Unidentified company. White model, both sides labelled: 'OPTA'.
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| 37. Pace |
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Unidentified company. White model, both sides blue-printed: 'PACE Safety Comes First'!
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| 38. Seminole County |
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Would you promote a county with a toy coach?
Seminole County
(located in Florida) did so.
On the port-side their logo and the slogan 'Florida's Natural Choice' is visible, on the starboard side a web address can be found.
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| 39. Southfork Asset Management Corp. |
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It seems this American company doesn't have a website, so if this model didn't exist, we didn't know about them...
What do you know about 'Southfork Asset Management Corp.'?
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| 40. Wackenhut Corrections |
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G4S
- former called as Wackenhut Corporation - is the world's leading international security solutions group.
The livery of their promo model is not very complicated, blue label on white background.
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| 41. Z Bus |
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Z Bus
is the third transportation company which gave Ikarus coaches to its business partners.
On both sides of the bus you can find the pink-green corporate logo, and the text 'Zanesville, Ohio'.
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