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Prior to the introduction of new machines for dome rounded axles, was necessary to test these machines. Thus probably a test serie was produced. Available rest of models and axles from store house were used for this test. So, probably this model was borned.
Antonin

I happened to be on the phone with Jim discussing details about the upcoming Albuquerque Gathering, when he brought up this model that he was helping you with. I confirmed for him that I had never seen a 20a with rounded axles, and we discussed the timeline concerns. And on the surface the guides as we have them today would seem to suggest that the transition from crimped axles to rounded axles didn't occur until the 20a production had ended.
But those photos do look rather convincing that this could indeed be authentic. My hunch is that there were a number for factors that play into how these unique pieces actually came to be while in the hands of the team at Lesney... as opposed to the hands of someone trying to make a buck on deceptive models.
When I think about this logically, if I were trying to make money on modified Matchbox models, creating a rounded axle 20a would NOT come to mind as a choice that might make me money.

That's a good point Greg, it would be more sensible to make something that people are aware of existing than to create something that is only likely to be spotted by a few keen eyed collectors
My knowledge is nothing compared to most of you on here but I would think that it could be testing of new tooling as suggested by Antonin

I did see a similar one on Ebay around the time u had purchased yours which sold for approx $21 with just one bidder.The downside to that specimen was that it had a cracked front wheel at the hub section.

Nice find!
numi

numi wrote:I did see a similar one on Ebay around the time u had purchased yours which sold for approx $21 with just one bidder.The downside to that specimen was that it had a cracked front wheel at the hub section.

The fact that a second example was available on Ebay at the same time as the first example indicates to me that this may simply be other overlooked variation (like the 41a D-type Jaguar without decal location rings).