[REVIEW] Lesney Matchbox Morris Minor 1000

(note: I had another copy of this scheduled, it vanished, maybe it will show up again, kinja?)

Lesney Matchbox time is here again. Today we examine Lesney Matchbox 46a, the Morris Minor 1000. This casting entered the range in 1958, and had a short run, remaining until 1960. This is a model that couldn’t be more British:

The Morris Minor, an iconic car in Britain, where it provided affordable modern mass market motoring to austere car-starved Britain. This was a beloved car, in production for over 20 years in various forms. The Lesney Matchbox version captures the car well, with good proportion and ample fine line casting detail. As this is a 1958 casting, it is hollow without glazing or moving parts, but is still a high quality item. Scale is hard to estimate - it is a diminutive casting, but the real world car also isn’t huge, I estimate this to be in the upper 1:60s. From all angles, there’s no mistaking it:

Front and rear have similar quality detail, with the handpainted bumper trim and rear lights standing the test of time:

The base is basic, as was the style of the time, and has identifying data:

This example is lucky enough to live in its small version Type B box. With this box type and model variant (dark green, metal wheels), this is likely an earlier release made in 1958:

A fun artifact, the original price tag: one shilling sixpence. This was originally sold in Britain or a non-decimal part of the commonwealth:

I am no doubt pleased to have this in my collection. This is an attractive little gem, a good example of the charming mellow quality of early Lesney Matchbox models:

And a few images of a 1:1 from simoncars.co.uk