Lesney Matchbox 18e field car

Moko Lesney Matchbox 18e field car

The Lesney model of the Field car joined the Matchbox 1-75 series in 1969,
It bears similarities to an International scout or possibly a Mercedes but as no manufacturers name is cast on the model it is difficult to give it a definite identity and as it does not match any particular vehicle it was probably a made up design and bear in mind that it appeared just before the superfast range and that had many such made up designs.

It was always painted bright yellow with a reddish brown plastic roof, The interior and tow hook were off white plastic and it had a spare tyre fixed to the tailgate,
The base plate was attached by the grille which was part of the baseplate protruding through a slot in the front of the body and by two round rivets below the rear bumper.
First issues has a black painted baseplate but this was soon changed to a silver plated baseplate and it is usually found with 6mm red wheels with 13mm black plastic tyres on dome head rounded axles but a few have been found with 6mm green wheels, These are quite rare and much sought after but many fakes exist,
It featured spring suspension and Lesneys 'autosteer' system which meant the front wheels could be steered by pressing down on the side to of the car you wanted to steer towards.

There are two casting modifications which took place at the same time, There are two round pips under the front wings on the early issues, The final run had the pips altered from round to oval, At the same time the triangular openings in the metal supports under the plastic roof were cast closed, Also on the final issue a satchel was molded into the rear parcel shelf on the plastic interior,
Bearing in mind that it was only in the range for a year it must have been a popular model as it is still quite easy to find, It was sold in 'F' type boxes and was converted to superfast wheels in 1970.

code number	general	wheels & tyres	roof panels	satchel + studs
code 1	yellow body, brown plastic roof, off white interior, black baseplate	6mm red plastic hubs 13mm tyres	open	no satchel, round studs
code 2	yellow body, brown plastic roof, off white interior, black baseplate	6mm green plastic hubs 13mm tyres	open	no satchel, round studs
code 3	yellow body, brown plastic roof, off white interior, silver plated baseplate	6mm green plastic hubs 13mm tyres	open	no satchel, round studs
code 4	yellow body, brown plastic roof, off white interior, silver plated baseplate	6mm red plastic hubs 13mm tyres	open	no satchel, round studs
code 5	yellow body, brown plastic roof, off white interior, silver plated baseplate	6mm red plastic hubs 13mm tyres	closed	with satchel, oval studs

box types	notes
F2	none

values

red hubs black baseplate £35

red hubs silver baseplate £25

green hubs £500

values are for mint models in mint boxes

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