Lesney Matchbox time is here again. Today we take a look at Lesney Matchbox 6b, the Euclid Quarry Truck. This model entered the range in 1959, remaining until 1963, and is continues on a typical theme for lower-numbered 1-75 castings:
That is being a heavy duty commercial vehicle. A significant amount of lower numbered models aren't passenger cars, perhaps reflecting the early days of Lesney which focused on commercial and industrial machines. This casting shows the start of a transition from 50s style castings to 60s style material - it has some of the diminutive size and gentle look of older material, but sharper detail is shining through at the same time. The interesting Euclid logo door decals have withstood the past 60+ years in as-new condition. Scale is difficult to estimate, but as the real world vehicle is huge and the casting is not, I suspect in the 1:80 or smaller range. From all angles, one can imagine this heavy truck transporting ton(ne)s of material day in, day out:
Front and rear have respectable detail to match the rest of the model, the finely cast grille being a nice touch:
The base identifies only the maker (in the cab), as typical for the time:
The dumping bed is hinged at a wide angle, no doubt giving plenty of play value:
This model is fortunate enough to live its nice original type C box, dating to around 1961:
I'm happy to have this model in my collection, as it is in pristine condition, and for some reason I like the decal. Pictured with an old dime for scale:
Images of similar 1:1s from flickr and quarryingandminingmag.co.nz:
Nice! Was this version replaced by the Euclid with 2 rear axles, or the other way around?