PLEASE NOTE: I will no longer be altering the variation codes. All new discoveries will be inserted in to their correct place in the timeline and given a suffix.
So a new variation that would be nearest to variation 4 would become the new 4a, etc.

Moko Lesney Matchbox 35b Snow Trac

The Lesney Snow Trac was an accurate representation of a real snow going vehicle, It was powered by a flat 4 VW engine as found in the Beetle but unlike the Beetle the engine was mounted in the front.

The model joined the Matchbox series in 1964 at number 35 replacing the ERF Horsebox, It was only painted in one colour scheme which was a deep red with a silver baseplate which had the grille detail cast in so silver trim was not needed on this model, It had a green tinted window unit, 6mm Black plastic rollers on domed head rounded axles and 25 tread white rubber tracks which tend to perish with age but reproduction tracks are available from specialist die cast dealers but for the purist the repro tracks only have 24 treads. Green tracks have also been reported on a handful of snowtracs but it has not been possible to confirm that they came from the factory this way, It is possible that the tracks were swapped at some point.

There are four casting variations, The first concerns the very fine braces cast on to the base that give strength to the area where the axles go through the base, the braces were added very soon after the first issue was released.
The second casting variation concerns the underneath of the mudguards, There is a ridge where the mudguard joins to the body, On the early issues the ridge runs the full length of the mudguard and on the later issues the ridge stops short of the curved part of the mudguard,

Thirdly the side of the vehicle where the decal is applied, Some models were made with smooth sides for the decals to be applied to and on some models without decals the name 'snow trac' is cast into the sides instead.
Finally very late in its life an ejector post was removed from the center of the roof which is quite hard to see because of the dark green windows

The Stannard guide did not list the smooth sided version as a variation, believing it to be an error piece but this version is shown in the Matchbox pocket catalogues so the model was released as it was intended and is included as a variation here.

This was a very common toy and there are no rare variations, The issue without axle braces is hard to find but does not command a premium simply because it is not a variation that would stand out in the display cabinet. It was only available in 'E' type boxes and in 1969 it was replaced by the Merryweather fire engine.

Updated 19/04/2013 with thanks to Antonin Schenk and various members of the forum.

above: 25mm and 22mm decals

above: smooth sides, no decals

above: 'snow trac' cast into sides

left: first casting with no axle braces
right: all later models with axle braces

above: short and long mudguard ridge

all Snow Tracs had the roof ejector post but it was removed for the final casting
photo courtesy Antonin Schenk

code number	general	rollers & tracks	decal type	mudguard ridges	axle braces	roof ejector post
code 1	red body, silver base green windows	6mm black rollers, 25 tread white tracks	25mm 'snow trac' decal	long mudguard ridges	no axle braces	yes
code 2	red body, silver base green windows	6mm black rollers, 25 tread white tracks	25mm 'snow trac' decal	long mudguard ridges	axle braces	yes
code 3	red body, silver base green windows	6mm black rollers, 25 tread white tracks	25mm 'snow trac' decal	short mudguard ridges	axle braces	yes
code 4	red body, silver base green windows	6mm black rollers, 25 tread white tracks	22mm 'snow trac' decal	long mudguard ridges	axle braces	yes
code 5	red body, silver base green windows	6mm black rollers, 25 tread white tracks	22mm 'snow trac' decal	short mudguard ridges	axle braces	yes
code 6	red body, silver base green windows	6mm black rollers, 25 tread white tracks	no decal smooth sides	long mudguard ridges	axle braces	yes
code 6	red body, silver base green windows	6mm black rollers, 25 tread white tracks	no decal smooth sides	short mudguard ridges	axle braces	yes
code 8	red body, silver base green windows	6mm black rollers, 25 tread white tracks	'snow trac' name cast into sides	short mudguard ridges	axle braces	yes
code 9	red body, silver base green windows	6mm black rollers, 25 tread white tracks	'snow trac' name cast into sides	short mudguard ridges	axle braces	no

box types	notes
E1	one black side one blue"new model"
E1	two blue sides
E1	light blue sides
E3	light blue sides
E3R	light blue sides

values

all models £30

values are for mint models in mint boxes

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