[REVIEW] Lesney Matchbox Hillman Minx

Lesney Matchbox time is here again. Today we examine one of the numerous popular castings of the early years. This is Matchbox 43a, the Hillman Minx. This casting entered the range in 1958, remaining until 1962, and it exemplifies what Lesney Matchbox products were all about at this time:

One may remember this casting from a review way back when:

But this example is different. Time to move on to a different batch from the collection, and the next several months of reviews (theme days notwithstanding) will feature unboxed models, sometimes with a little playwear - yes, every single model in my hoard isn’t from a time warp. Or maybe this is from a time warp, that being a carefully played with collection from 50+ years ago.

With these early castings, what you see is what you get, and what you see is often something kind of pretty and charming, with mellow colors and details. This is some time before glazing, interiors, or moving parts. I estimate scale to be around 1:60 at smallest, it has a slightly chunkier feel compared to other period models, and the real car was not huge. From all angles, there is plenty of fine line casting detail, and the two tone paint adds appeal:

Front and rear have similar detail, with the tow hook adding play value. The silver paint and rear light detail was still hand-applied at this time, great workmanship for something of this price point:

The base is basic, as was the style of the time, and contains identifying data. With metal wheels, this is an early production variant, made earlier in 1958:

I am no doubt pleased to have this in my collection. I have several examples of this casting, as I like the real world car, and the Matchbox version is quite attractive in its two tone livery:

And a 1:1 from oldparkedcars.com: