1967 Matchbox Hay Trailer Repair & Upgrade

While I was on eBay looking for the Ford Tractor and Harrow, I came across a Hay Trailer that had loose tires but still had the yellow plastic hay racks. I decided I could use the hay racks to upgrade the Hay Trailer already in my collection that was missing the racks. So I bid on the Hay Trailer and was fortunate to land it (along with a couple of bonus cars, as you shall see soon.)

Once I had the Hay Trailer in hand, I was concerned about being able to remove the hay racks without breaking them. So I turned my attention to the loose tire situation. Years ago, I read a tip online explaining that the reason the tires fall off is because the plastic hubs shrink over time. The solution is to wrap a layer or two of tape around the hubs, increasing their diameter just enough so that the tires fit snugly again.

I gave this a try and it worked pretty well. Very thin strips of tape wrapped around the outside of the hubs made it so the tires fit without falling off.

Hay Trailer | 1967 | #40 | Hay Trailer | blue, yellow plastic hay fences | England | yellow hubs with black tires

I’m pretty happy now with my Ford Tractor and Hay Trailer combo.

1978 Matchbox Bedford Horse Box Fixer-Upper

While I was perusing the 50 cent tub at J & J’s Treasures back in May, I came across a fairly nice England-cast Matchbox Bedford Horse Box that was missing the door. These days, I mostly pass over anything that is missing parts. But then I saw a different, complete Bedford Horse Box – a later, China-cast example – and decided I would use it as a parts donor.

I was able to pop the door out fairly easily without breaking it, and snap it into place on the older model, giving me a complete, if unique, Matchbox Horse Box. The original door would have been dark brown (click here to see the other example in my collection), so the black door is not exactly accurate.

The Matchbox #40 Bedford Horse Box was first released in 1977 and has been produced in nearly 50 different variations. Early versions came with two plastic horses inside, but they are unfortunately missing from this one.

Click here to compare to my Matchbox AEC Ergomatic Horse Box, an earlier casting that was issued from 1969 to 1972.

Matchbox | 1978-1979 | #40 | Bedford Horse Box | orange cab with beige box, missing dark brown door (replaced with black door from 1999 Kentucky Stables release), green windows, black metal base | England | Superfast open-dot-dash wheels