[REVIEW] Lesney Matchbox Bedford Wreck Truck

Lesney Matchbox time again, today we examine another pleasant mellow old casting. This is Lesney Matchbox 13b, the Bedford tow truck (O Type). This casting entered the range in 1958, replacing a slightly smaller nearly identical truck, and remained until roughly late 1960. This relatively short run little casting is a good representative of Lesney Matchbox of this period:

This is a casting that predates glazing or having an interior. The prior truck, 13a, is nearly identical, this is kind of a hybrid of that early casting, and some details seen in a casting of time this was introduced. I’d estimate scale to be around 1:75 - the real truck isn’t small, and this is a fairly dainty casting. With metal wheels, this was made in 1958 - later variants had grey plastic wheels. Although it lacks fancy features, it still has a good amount of detail from all angles:

The front and rear have similar detail. Of course, the tow hook adds immense play value:

Here’s the truck in action - I’m not implying anything by it towing a Jaguar, it just happened to be the closest model to me that fit on the hook...yeah, that’s the story:

The base is basic, typical for the period:

This is the final unboxed Lesney in this series of reviews. It’s a charming period piece that I am happy to have displayed with my unboxed models:

And a 1:1 similar truck from car-from-uk.com: