[REVIEW] Lesney Matchbox Cadillac Sixty Special

Lesney Matchbox time is here again. It’s been awhile since we have examined a Lesney Matchbox example of an American car, and this is about as American as it gets. Today we take a look at Matchbox 27c, the Cadillac Sixty Special. This casting entered the range in 1960, and had a fairly long run, remaining until 1966. This has always been a popular model, and it is easy to see why:

As one can see, this is based on a 1958 model year Cadillac. This casting dates from the time when Lesney Matchbox was still relatively new in the US market, and knew that the baby boom had produced a huge number of kids of collecting age - so some American cars were desired in the range to attract these consumers. This model was made with numerous variations, especially variances in wheels and baseplate colors. This is also one of the earlier vehicles with glazing, but it predates interiors, and nothing opens. There is a tow hook for play value, and this is the kind of vehicle that could easily tow a boat or camping trailer. The real vehicle is fairly massive, but this casting is not, I estimate scale to be around 1:70. This is a quality item, there is ample fine detail from all angles:

Front and rear have similar detail - the quality of work on the grille/headlight area, and the rear bumper/taillight area is impressive for a casting of this size and age:

The base has complete identifying detail, as typical of the era. As one can see, this is a red base and silver wheels variety:

This casting is one known for mismatched wheels (“mixed wheels”). I have another of these with three silver wheels and a grey wheel (at top left):

The example featured here is lucky enough to live in a nice type “B” “new model” box, which dates from 1960:

Definitely a model I am happy to have, and I wouldn’t mind coming across more varieties. It is not a rare model, but is quite popular even today:

A few 1:1s from motorera.com , stlouiscarmuseum.com, and hagerty.com: