[REVIEW] Lesney Matchbox BEA Coach

Lesney Matchbox time again, today we examine a bus. I think I noticed someone mentioning that few buses are reviewed - if anyone has a collection of old British material, they will have numerous buses. This is Lesney Matchbox 58a, the BEA Coach. This is a model of bus made by the venerable AEC firm. This casting entered the range in 1958, and was made through 1962. It is good representative example of Lesney Matchbox of that time:

There is a good amount of detail from all angles, as one would expect, and proportion is accurate. This is kind of a deck-and-a-half style bus. Scale is quite small, I suspect around 1:95 or so, as it seems smaller than HO. Glazing was never offered on this casting - late in the run it could be had with silver or black wheels, but I have neither. This example, with two tone decals and a matte base, was probably made in 1958-59. It’s very much a period piece:

Front and rear have similar quality detail, the mask-painted badge is a nice touch, and it kind of has a face:

Base is typical of the era:

No box (I also have a boxed example), but still a model I am happy to have. It displays well and is a type of vehicle not regularly seen:

A 1:1 found on Pinterest, I have read this style bus was mostly used for Heathrow-London runs: