1957 | The Race Case MBX

When I bought the cab for my Matchbox Major Pack 7 recently on eBay, it came in a lot of 3 cars which included these two well-worn Lesney-era models.

Bedford was a brand of commercial vehicles produced by Vauxhall in the UK starting in 1930. The popular light commercial CA van was introduced in 1952 and made up until 1969. The Matchbox Bedford Van from 1957 would have originally had a sign board mounted diagonally across the top that proclaimed “First With The NEWS” and evening news decals on the sides and doors.

1957 | 42 | Bedford “Evening News” Van | yellow-orange | black plastic wheels

Morris Commercial was formed in the UK in 1924 and the J2 was produced from 1956 until 1967. The J2 was available as a van, minibus, or pickup. The Matchbox Morris J2 Pickup originally had “Builders Supply Company” decoration on the sides. This variation of the casting has an open rear window.

My son and I have been reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets at bedtime. We’ve seen the movies and we really enjoy the scenes with the flying car. When I read in the book that the car is a Ford Anglia, it occurred to me that I had seen a die cast version and I decided it would be fun to pick one up. There were quite a few offerings of the Lesney model on eBay, but I zeroed in on a lot of cars that included an Anglia and six other old Lesney trucks, all of them in less than desirable shape.

I’ve decided this Anglia is the version of the Harry Potter flying car after it has landed in and has been beaten up by the Whomping Willow.

1961 | 7 | Ford Anglia | light blue | silver plastic wheels

I’ve gotten to where I prefer my Hot Wheels and newer Matchbox cars to be in pretty clean shape, but for some reason I don’t mind some wear and tear on the old Lesney cars. In some ways, I think it adds to their character.

1957 | 47 | Trojan 1-Ton Van | red | gray plastic wheels