Not sure if anyone will see this as the LaLD domain name is still not active. Lesney Matchbox time is here again. Today we take a look at Lesney Matchbox 24b, the Weatherill Hydraulic Excavator. This model entered the range in 1959, remaining in a long run until 1967, and is a return to something often seen in lower numbered 1-75 series vehicles:
That being a piece of heavy equipment. Models occupying spots with lower numbers were often heavy equipment or commercial vehicles as Lesney focused on these early on. This model features accurate proportion and ample fine line casting detail, and features a moving part which no doubt provided plenty of play value along with the driver feature featured in a few period models. I suspect scale is in the 1:60s, probably not far from standard small scale. From all angles, one can imagine this hard worker on the job site moving material where it needs to be:
Front and rear have ample detail, with the "WH" grille design at front being a nice touch, along with the rear "Weatherill Hydraulic" decal having survived the past 60 or so years in good condition:
The base identifies the maker and model deep in the hollow area of the casting, and shows off the grey plastic wheels:
The excavator shovel piece is hinged for a wide range of movement:
This model is fortunate to live its clean original Type D1 box, indicating production around 1962-64:
I'm pleased to have this model in my collection, as this variant looks good on grey wheels. Pictured with an old dime for scale:
A couple 1:1 images from malcolmharrison.co.uk and reddit - this is another where it is impossible to find a modern image of an identical surviving vehicle, as nobody saved these, so here are a couple similars:
Nice one.