1966 saw the introduction of the Lesney model of the rather boring MG 1100 saloon into the Matchbox 1-75 series,
It was hardly one of the most exciting models made by Lesney but it was a very familiar sight on British roads of the 1960s and 1970s but with the very wet British climate it was terribly prone to rusting problems so very few of them exist today although some well kept cars can still be seen at classic car shows up and down the country,
The MG was painted a darkish green gloss which did nothing to enhance a rather plain model and it kept the dark green colour scheme until the model was upgraded to superfast wheels,
It had a silver plated baseplate which was attached by an L shaped bracket at the rear of the body that located through a hole in the baseplate and by a single round rivet at the front,
The baseplate has a weak spot just behind the rear axle and with rough play it can often found with the last quarter inch of the baseplate missing altogether. The headlights, grille and bumpers were all cast in as part of the baseplate so silver trim was not needed on this model.
The MG had an ivory coloured plastic interior complate with driver and a dog on the back seat and it incorporated the tow hook which was included as part of the interior molding,
It had clear plastic windows and suspension to all wheels which were 10 x 36 or 11 x 45 black plastic wheels on dome head axles with rounded heads.
There was just one casting variation which is difficult to see but on the inside of the bonnet (hood) there is a stud to locate the interior, early models had a small stud but the later issues had a larger stud,
Although it was a rather uninspiring model it is still very common so it must have been popular in its day, I believe the MG was also included in the M2 Matchbox motorway as a part of the set.
It was packaged in 'E' and 'F' type boxes and was converted to superfast wheels in 1970,
It kept the same colour scheme for a short while but was soon changed to a much more attractive metallic blue.
There are no rare variations of the regular wheeled MG but the green regular wheel body paired up with the superfast base can be quite a hard to find variation.
It did not stay in the superfast range for long before it was deleted to make way for the Slingshot dragster in 1971.
Updated: 14-04-11, Antonin Shenk has sent us pictures of unlisted casting variations to the body and to the baseplate, Unfortunately these variations can't be seen unless the baseplate is removed so they have not been added to the listings proper.
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