Lesney Matchbox time is here again. Today we take a look at Lesney Matchbox 32b, the Jaguar E-Type. This model entered the range in 1962, remaining until 1968, and is a shining example of the brand reaching its peak position:
By the early 60s, Lesney products were fully evolving from the soft mellow castings of the 50s into precise diecast models with an amazing amount of detail for their size and price point. This secured them market leadership, which would last for at least several years until being challenged by an upstart with free rolling wheels later in the decade. The 1-75 series was the dominant small scale line across the globe, and the brand did not rest on its laurels. This model shows off the prowess of maker - ample fine line detail and excellent proportion, something not easy on rounded designs such as the E-Type. This model features glazing, still a recent innovation at the time of its introduction along with a detailed interior, and the wire wheels used on this model and a few others are exceptionally nice. This is not a large casting, but neither is the real world car, I suspect scale in the 1:60s, likely relatively close to the standard of small scale. From all angles, one can imagine this exotic of its day and seen as a landmark design today today zooming down a period Motorway during that brief period when they were unrestricted:
Front and rear have plentiful detail, and the coppery red paint of this model suits it perfectly:
The underside contains model and maker identifying data, and this view shows the grey plastic wheels:
This model is lucky enough to live its crisp original Type D1 "new model" box, dating it to 1962:
I'm happy to have this model in my collection, as this casting is a classic, and being an early variant on grey wheels makes it all the better. Pictured with an old dime for scale:
Image of a similar 1:1 from collectingcars.com:
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