Lesney Matchbox 24c Rolls Royce silver shadow

Moko Lesney Matchbox 24c Rolls Royce silver shadow

The Lesney model of the Rolls Royce silver shadow was introduced in 1967 taking the number 24 spot from the Weatherill hydraulic excavator in the Matchbox 1-75 series,
It was the third Rolls Royce to appear in the range, the first of the earlier issues was the 44a Silver Cloud which was followed by the 44b Phantom V.

It was painted metallic red with a cream plastic interior, a clear window unit with the front passenger window in the open postition and either a gloss or flat black baseplate,
To add to it's play value it was fitted with an opening boot (trunk) lid, the lid can have the number 0, 1, 2,or 3 cast on the inside.
I originally had this one listed as being fitted with 10 x 45 black plastic wheels but as the info came from a single old photograph posted on the MCCH forum which we have been unable to verify so it must be assumed that the model started with 10.5 x 45 black plastic wheels with silver hub caps,
Later they were changed again for 6mm chromed hubs with 10.5 x 45 black plastic tyres,
Dome head axles with rounded ends were used on all versions.

There were several modifications to the baseplate,
First two tow guides were cast at the front and a patent number was added later on, the final issue can be found with gloss or flat black baseplate,
The body also had casting changes, First the boot (trunk) hinge gap was made smaller and later on a tow guide extension was added to the area below the front bumper,
Models can be found without bumper or baseplate guides, With bumper extension but no baseplate tow guides or with no bumper extension but with baseplate tow guides or with both bumper and baseplate guides.

The Rolls Royce was sold in 'E' and 'F' type boxes with a blue Rolls illustrated on the early issue 'E' boxes,
It was converted to superfast wheels in 1970 where it kept its regular wheel colour scheme and was deleted in 1973 to make way for the 24d team matchbox racing car.
The casting was brought back into production in 1977-78 for a Japanese issue. It was painted gold for this final release.

Updated: 16-11-10,George Marshall has found a final issue Rolls but it has the larger gap inside the boot, Georges version has been added to the listing at number 9, This means that both the first and the last issues have been found with the large gap which raises the question are there any more variations with the wide gap waiting to be found ?.

code number	general	wheel type	base type	tow guide bumper extension	baseplate colour	boot (trunk) hinge gap
code 1	metallic red body, cream plastic interior, clear windows	10.5 x 45 black plastic with hubcap	no patent number, no tow guides	no extension	gloss black	large gap
code 2	metallic red body, cream plastic interior, clear windows	10.5 x 45 black plastic with hubcap	no patent number, no tow guides	no extension	gloss black	small gap
code 3	metallic red body, cream plastic interior, clear windows	10.5 x 45 black plastic with hubcap	no patent number, no tow guides	with extension	gloss black	small gap
code 4	metallic red body, cream plastic interior, clear windows	6mm chromed hub, 10.5 x 45 black plastic tyre	no patent number, no tow guides	no extension	gloss black	small gap
code 5	metallic red body, cream plastic interior, clear windows	6mm chromed hub, 10.5 x 45 black plastic tyre	no patent number, no tow guides	with extension	gloss black	small gap
code 6	metallic red body, cream plastic interior, clear windows	6mm chromed hub, 10.5 x 45 black plastic tyre	no patent number, with tow guides	no extension	gloss black	small gap
code 7	metallic red body, cream plastic interior, clear windows	6mm chromed hub, 10.5 x 45 black plastic tyre	with patent number, with tow guides	with extension	gloss black	small gap
code 8	metallic red body, cream plastic interior, clear windows	6mm chromed hub, 10.5 x 45 black plastic tyre	with patent number, with tow guides	with extension	flat black	small gap
code 9 NEW	metallic red body, cream plastic interior, clear windows	6mm chromed hub, 10.5 x 45 black plastic tyre	with patent number, with tow guides	with extension	flat black	large gap

box types	notes
E4	"new model" blue rolls shown
E4	"new model" red rolls shown
E4R	red rolls shown
F2	none

values

all models £25

values are for mint models in mint boxes

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