Lesney Matchbox is here once more. Today we examine Lesney Matchbox 39b, the Pontiac Convertible. This casting entered the range in 1962, remaining until 1967, and is a good representative of its era:
As the 60s progressed, Matchbox models started moving on from the mellowness of 50s er castings into models with much finer detail. The early 60s in particular was also a time with some unusual traits, such as multiple wheel colors and numerous baseplate colors, and some models from this era are among the most desirable Regular Wheels castings. This model, which appears to be based on a 1960 Pontiac Catalina, has all of this - ample fine line casting detail, a non-black base, non-black wheels, and it has innovations that were new for the era - glazing and interior. I suspect scale is close to 1:70 or so, smaller than the standard for small scale, as this model has a slightly small feel in hand while the real world vehicle is not small. From all angles, one can imagine this cruiser out on the highway, top down, with doo-wop on the AM radio:
Front and rear have ample detail, with mask painted silver trim at front being a nice touch, and the tow hook adds play value, This view also shows some interior detail with the red steering wheel catching the eye - a steering wheel differing from interior color is a detail seldom seen in other models:
The crimson colored base contains maker and model data and shows off the silver plastic wheels:
This model is lucky enough to live its clean original Type D2 box, indicating likely production in 1962:
I'm quite pleased to have this model in my collection. This casting is fairly desirable in any color (more often seen in yellow), in violet with silver wheels with two interior colors, it is sought-after and eye-catching. Pictured with an old dime for scale:
Image of a similar car from motoexotica.com:
WOW that casting is pretty sweet and the color is so very nice. What is the typical value of this casting?