1958 saw the introduction to the Matchbox 1-75 series of the Lesney model of the Ford 300E which was the van version of the 30a Ford Prefect, Initially it was painted a pale green but later issues were a darker 'kelly' green, Silver trim was applied to the headlights, grille and the front and rear bumpers but later the trim was omitted from the rear bumper.
The baseplate was painted flat or gloss black on the first issues and gloss black on the later and it was attached to the body by a tongue and slot at the rear and by a single round rivet at the front.
The wheels were either grey or silver plastic and the axles were originally dome head with crimped ends which were later superceded by dome head with rounded ends.
It was enhanced by the addition of decals, the side panels had 'Singer' in orange or red which was outlined with yellow and the doors had 'singer sewing machines' in white on an orange or red S which was also outlined with yellow, Casting variations can be found on the front doors where the decal is located, on early models the decals were aligned to the door by eye, soon decal guides were cast in to the door making the location of the decal more accurate and a little easier, it also made the decal less likely to chip or wear off during play.
Two more casting variations can be found on the underneath of the bonnet(hood). Firstly a large round ejector ring was cast centrally and later an additional but smaller ejector ring was cast next to it on the inside of the right side wheel well.
I recently came across a mint grey plastic wheeled model without door decal guides or door decals and purchased it with the intention of fitting a set of repro decals and two days later I saw another one on ebay without door decals so now I wonder if this could be an unlisted version as I have since seen two more, incidentially the illustration on the box also shows the van without decals to the doors.
The Ford was sold in the 'B' type box and was replaced by the 59b Ford Fairlane fire chief car in 1963, It is hard to find with silver wheels or with the dark green paint, the first version without door decal guides is not too common either.
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