1966 Matchbox Opel Diplomat

The Opel Diplomat is a luxury car made by the German automaker from 1964 to 1977. In 1964, Opel’s Kapitän (introduced in 1938) and Admiral (introduced in 1937) were brought together with the Diplomat in a completely new three-tiered model range. At the high-end of the range, the front-engine, rear-wheel drive Diplomat could be had with a Chevrolet 283 or 327 V8 engine. A 2-door Diplomat coupe was also available, though it was produced in much smaller numbers than the 4-door sedan. The KAD models were redesigned in 1969 and given a slightly smaller body with a more sophisticated chassis.

The Matchbox Opel Diplomat, based on the Diplomat A (1964-1968) was first released in 1966 and was produced in four different variations up to 1970. Early versions have metallic gold paint and black plastic wheels with either a chrome or gray motor. A considerably more rare and valuable sea green variation was included in the 1967 G-2 Car Transporter Gift Set. And in 1970, the Opel Diplomat with metallic gold paint was given Superfast wheels. This metallic gold model with regular wheels and a chrome motor is one of my finds from Bondie’s Antiques back in October.

This is actually the second example of this variation of the Matchbox Opel Diplomat that I’ve added to my collection; click here to see one in slightly worse condition.

The Matchbox #36 Opel Diplomat features a hood that opens to reveal the Chevrolet V8 engine.

Matchbox | 1966-1969 | #36 | Opel Diplomat | metallic gold with chrome motor | England | black plastic wheels

1964 Matchbox Lincoln Continental

The first Lincoln Continental was a coach-built prototype convertible created in 1938 for Ford Motor Company President, Edsel Ford. Since then, Lincoln has produced 10 generations of the Continental, which has served various roles from the base model to its flagship. The fourth generation Lincoln Continental, with its famous suicide doors, was made from 1961-1969 and is the model on which the Matchbox Lincoln Continental is based. In 1961, the real-life Continental received a bronze medal from the Industrial Design Institute of New York and was given Car Life’s Engineering Excellence Award.

Introduced in 1964, the Matchbox Lincoln Continental was produced in about 5 different variations up to 1971. This metallic blue model with black plastic wheels is from my recent eBay score of 1960s Matchbox models.

The Matchbox Lincoln Continental features an opening trunk large enough for several bodies (at scale, of course).

Matchbox | 1964 | 31 | Lincoln Continental | metallic blue | England | black plastic wheels

1967 Matchbox Ford Tractor

I was on eBay recently, looking for a Matchbox #65 Claas Combine Harvester to go with my nice collection of #47 Combine Harvesters. I found a seller who had a Claas, along with a bunch of other fun 1960s Matchbox for a very reasonable starting bid. So I bid on the Claas and several other items to take advantage of combined shipping. I ended up winning 8 different items. However, about the only one I did NOT get was the #65 Claas Combine Harvester.

This 1967 Matchbox Ford Tractor is one of my scores from that seller and it will make a very suitable companion to my Combine Harvesters. The #39 Ford Tractor can be found in about 4 different variations, with variations in body/cowl paint colors, though all have the same black plastic wheels with yellow hubs.

Click here to compare the Matchbox Ford Tractor with the tractor in the Tootsietoy #1451 Farm Tractor Set from my childhood.

Matchbox | 1967 | 39 | Ford Tractor | dark blue with blue engine cowl | England | black plastic wheels with yellow hubs

1968 Matchbox Mercedes-Benz Trailer

I was on eBay the other day, looking for trailers for my recently acquired Matchbox Super Kings Ford LTS Tractor and Majorette Mercedes-Benz NG Tractor. When I didn’t find anything I wanted for either of those, it occurred to me that I hadn’t yet found a Matchbox Mercedes-Benz Trailer to go with the Mercedes-Benz Lorry that I found at a garage sale years ago.

Well, I had a little more success there. I located one I liked, made an offer, and here it is. Since my lorry is missing the orange plastic canopy, it didn’t bother me that the trailer was missing its canopy as well. (Although, it would be nice to someday have canopies for both of them).

Matchbox | 1968 | 2 | Mercedes-Benz Trailer | mint green, missing canopy | England | black plastic wheels | $10

Matchbox | 1968 | #1 & #2 | Mercedes-Benz Lorry and Trailer

 

1968 Matchbox DAF Girder Truck

The Matchbox DAF Girder Truck was first released in 1968 with 8 red plastic girders in the back. This example – the early version with black plastic wheels (missing the girders) – is one of the keepers I found in the box of toys my friend, Leslie, let me sort through. The Girder Truck can also be found in cream with Superfast wheels and in metallic gold with Superfast wheels.

My friend, Brad, told me he had one of these as a child. He jumped out of bed and landed on it, driving one of the metal posts into his foot. After that, his dad took some tools to it and made it a very flat bed. I notice on later versions, the bed was recast to remove the metal posts and create holes in the bed that secure a plastic carrier which holds the girders.

Matchbox | 1968-69 | 58 | DAF Girder Truck | cream white with missing red girders | England | black plastic wheels

I decided my Girder Truck needed a payload. There are reproduction girders available online, but I decided instead to cut some short sections of wooden dowel and paint them. It’s not original, but I think it looks pretty good with this well-worn model.

1966 Matchbox Fire Pumper

The Matchbox Fire Pumper was first released in 1966, with about five variations produced up until about 1982. I found mine last weekend in the 25-cent tub at the Wichita Flea Market. It’s missing a lot of paint, the plastic insert that carries the hoses and ladders, and the labels on the cab. (Or it may be the version that came with no labels.) So, would I pay a dollar for this? No. But I would give a quarter any day.

In 1970, the Fire Pumper was given Superfast wheels. On a later variation, the plastic insert was modified to include a water cannon.

Matchbox | 1966 | 29 | Fire Pumper | red missing/no labels, missing plastic hose/ladders | England | black plastic wheels

Other 1966 Matchbox cars in my collection include the #9 Boat and Trailer, the #14 Daimler London Bus, the #36 Opel Diplomat, the #48 Dodge Dump Truck, the #55 Ford Galaxie Police Car and #59 Ford Galaxie Fire Chief Car, and the #64 MG 1100.

[Edit 06/23/24] Awhile back I ordered some 3D printed reproduction parts on eBay. They were produced in a kind of milky-looking material and had some imperfections and extra material here and there, so after a little clean up and a couple of coats of satin white, I feel like I got them looking okay.

In the case of this Fire Pumper, the straps that hold the ladder to the side are much heavier than they are on the original molded piece. But still, the addition of the 3D printed hose insert makes the model feel more complete.

1959 Matchbox Saladin Armoured Car 6×6

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.

Reunited 1966 Matchbox Boat and Trailer

After I found this Lesney Matchbox boat trailer recently at the Wichita Community Market, I went on a search for a boat to make it complete.

I did a similar thing a few years ago when I found a loose Lesney Matchbox Jennings cattle trailer, reuniting it with a Thames Trader cab to make the Major Pack 7.

I did a search on eBay and, sure enough, there were a couple of loose boats. I landed this model, in good shape but with just the right amount of residual grime to match the trailer.

I believe the dull blue boat paired with the black plastic wheels on the trailer makes this the earliest variation of the #9 Boat and Trailer, which was first released in 1966. In 1969, the trailer was given Superfast wheels, and there are about 13 versions of the Boat and Trailer, with differences in boat color and decoration, as well as trailer paint color and wheel type.

Matchbox | 1966 | 9 | Boat and Trailer | white hull, dull blue deck, blue trailer | black plastic wheels

The next part of the project was to find a nice tow vehicle. My first thought was to find an old Lesney station wagon, but when I realized that my Lesney Matchbox Land Rover Safari had a tow hook, I decided I already had just what I needed.

Lesney Matchbox Bedford “Evening News” Van and Morris J2 “Builders Supply” Pickup

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.

1958 | 60 | Morris J2 “Builders Supply” Pickup | light blue | open rear window | gray plastic wheels

Lesney Matchbox Major Pack 7

In the box of cars I acquired from RR, I found this lonely Lesney Matchbox trailer. I knew right away I had to find a mate for it, after all, how much fun is a trailer without something to tow it?

A little research told me what I needed to find, and eBay offered a few possibilities. I settled on this cab from a lot of 3. The gray plastic wheels match the trailer, the well-worn condition fits with most of my other Lesney-era toys, and I really like the other two models in the lot (which you will see in a future post).

The Major Pack #7 first came out in 1960 with the Thames Trader cab towing the Jennings Cattle Truck. There are some variations in the trailer casting and the color of the plastic ramp (missing from mine) and some versions have black plastic wheels. Personally I think my reunited pair is greater than the sum of its parts.

1960 | Major Pack M7 | #7 Thames Trader cab & Jennings Cattle Truck | red cab with tan trailer | gray wheels