[REVIEW] Lesney Matchbox Morris J2 Pick-up

Lesney Matchbox is here again. Today we examine a casting that may seem familiar. This is Lesney Matchbox 60a, the Morris J2 pick-up. This model entered the range in 1958, remaining until early 1966, and is just the kind of thing some here might like:

This may seem familiar to old timers here, as I reviewed one a few years ago. However, I have numerous variants of this casting, and this one is a bit different. Here’s the first review:

A smallish cute forward control/cabover pickup? Checks a lot of boxes for many people. This casting dates from the earlier days of Lesney products, where the models were hollow castings with mellow colors and accurate details, but not as sharp as 1960s era material. Being a pickup with an open bed, this must have had a lot of play value, so it remained in the range alongside newer castings with amenities like opening parts, glazing, interiors, suspension, etc (this casting gained none of those) for several years. One can see the appeal here, aside from the bed, detail and proportion are accurate, there is ample fine line casting detail, and the decals are crisp and realistic. Scale is likely in the ~1:60 range. From all angles, one can imagine this carrying a load of supplies:

Front and rear have similar quality, with casting detail including in the bed, and the mask painted front trim has withstood the test of time:

The base is basic, the style of the time, and contains identifying data:

This example is lucky enough to live in a nice Type D box. With this box type, the fine tread black wheels, and rear window filled in, this dates from the end of the production run, ~1964-65:

I am definitely pleased to have this model in my collection. I have numerous variants of this casting, wheel types being the main differentiation, along with box types, and the rear window casting. The casting is also not terribly rare, if one keeps an eye out, they can probably snag one reasonably. There’s a lot to like here:

Some 1:1s from bringatrailer, oldclassicar.co.uk. and a period promo illustration similar to this casting from flickriver. These were actually sold in small numbers in NA, so these can actually be found: