[REVIEW] Lesney Matchbox Jaguar 3.4 Litre

Lesney Matchbox time is here again. The previous Matchbox review was of a blue bus, and someone remarked that they liked the shade of blue. This casting is a similar blue. This is Lesney Matchbox 65a, the Jaguar 3.4 Litre (Mark 1). This model entered the range in 1959, and had a relatively short run, remaining until 1962. It is a good example of the pleasant quality of Lesney Matchbox of this era:

Detail and proportion are consistently good from all angles. Scale seems a little small, I suspect just under 1:65. This model exists with no wheel variations (all had grey wheels), and only one paint variation, a metallic blue which I also have. This model also has a couple of trim variations, some such as this have silver numberplate and light details, but not all. This model never had glazing. 65a was superceded by the red Jaguar Mk 2 I posted some weeks ago, which is a little larger. From all sides, you can tell this is a Jaaaaag:

Similar detail at front and rear:

Base is typical of the era:

This is another unboxed car (I have a couple of boxed ones for review who knows when), but I am still glad to have it. It’s a nice little casting, and a good example what made Lesney Matchbox products succeed as the brand was expanding:

A 1:1 car from classicandperformancecar.com: