My wife and son and I went to the Wichita Flea Market at Century II last month and I came away with a few good finds. I spotted this Matchbox Saladin Armoured Car in a case of unrelated odds and ends. It was priced $8, but after I pointed out to the man that it was missing its gun barrel, he let me have it for $4.
There is only one variation of the Matchbox 67A Saladin Armoured Car 6×6. It was first cast in 1959 and was in the lineup until 1967. It holds a decent value in good shape, but it’s difficult to find with an intact gun barrel.
This Matchbox is modeled after the real-life Alvis FV601 Saladin six-wheeled armoured car. It was designed in 1954 to replace the AEC Armoured Car in the British Army. It had a crew of three and was armed with a 76 mm gun. Matchbox offered several military models at the time, including the Saladin’s cousin, the Alvis Saracen personnel carrier, which was first cast in 1958.
Matchbox | 1959 | 67 | Saladin Armoured Car | olive green | England | black plastic wheels
For many years, Wichita had a regular monthly flea market at the Pavilions on the grounds of the Kansas Coliseum north of town. When the Intrust Bank Arena opened in downtown Wichita in 2010, the Coliseum was closed and the entire complex was sold. The new owners leased the Coliseum to Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research, but continued to operate the Pavilions as exhibition space for several years. In addition to the flea market, the space was home to gun shows, auto parts swap meets, car and motorcycle shows, dog and horse shows and other agricultural events. But by early 2017, the owners stopped hosting events and instead offered the buildings to rent for storage or manufacturing space.
It took about a year and a half for the flea market to come back, but since July of 2018, there have been regular events held at Wichita’s downtown Century II Expo Hall. Now, with talk of remodeling or even demolishing Century II, the flea market has scheduled events for later this year and into next year at the Kansas Star Casino in nearby Mulvane.
The Race Case MBX 