Lesney Matchbox time has returned. Today we examine Lesney Matchbox 5b, the Leyland Double Decker Bus. This model entered the range in 1957, remaining until 1960, and is maybe the most stereotypical vehicle to be modeled by a British maker:
That being a London style double decker bus, something everyone associates with England. Every British diecast maker likely had at least one double decker casting in their history, and Lesney had numerous, in numerous lines and scales. In the 1-75 series, #5 had several variants of a double decker in the 50s and 60s, this is the second. As this is a 50s casting, detail is not as sharp and precise as later models - there's still a soft mellowness to this casting, but it also has detail. Scale is a little tough to determine, perhaps in the 1:70s-1:80s, as these are a tall vehicle in real life, but made to fit in a standard size box. The "Buy MATCHBOX Series" decal has withstood the past 65+ years in virtually new condition. From all angles, one can imagine this double decker plying the streets of any major British city in the 50s and 60s:
Front and rear have ample detail to match the rest of the model, the hand painted gold grille at front stands out, along with the "No 5" at front and rear being a nice touch to signify both the model number and perhaps the number of a bus or route:
The base identifies just the maker, as typical for the time:
This model is lucky enough to live its pristine original type B2 box, dating to 1957-58:
I'm pleased to have this in my collection, as it is in time warp condition, coming from a similar condition collection I bought some years ago. Pictured with an old dime for scale:
Image of a similar 1:1 bus from imcdb.org:
Beautiful, as usual. I received one of these, in much worse shape, in a lot I picked up at a flea market. Seen here with the other double deckers in my box