EVERETT — Everett Transit wanted just a couple of Matchbox replicas of its buses to show children at Imagine Children’s Museum. So the transit agency called the world’s largest toy maker, Mattel, Inc.

The bus, interestingly, isn't a fancy Samba variant with 20-plus windows, but rather the basic 11-window design. It features cool dog-dish wheel covers, a sturdy-looking roof rack loaded with gear, ...