Matchbox Models of Yesteryear Y-19 1929 Morris Cowley Van

The Y19-3 1929 Morris Cowley Van joined the range in 1987. The first livery was for "Brasso Metal Polish" and it was painted blue with a white roof and black chassis, It was followed by the "Michelin" livery which was also blue with a black chassis and yellow roof, The final release was in "J. Sainsburys" livery which was brown body with a white roof and black chassis, It appeared in 1990 and although there were no further releases of the Y13 there were promotional issues which were released in the following colours,
Blue body with a yellow or white roof and black chassis with 12 spoke red or chrome wheels in the livery of "Vitakraft", White body with maroon roof and black chassis with "The Black Light Display" tampo, Both of these promotionals were Macau castings.

Above: The Brasso liveried van had a casting modification to the roof to stop it from being distorted when it was ejected from the casting machine. Two triangular braces were cast into the roof above the seats, All subsequent models had the modified roof fitted.
One later issue has a slightly lighter red background for the "Brasso" emblem. The Brasso issue normally had a Made in Macau baseplate but the final 1991 issue had a Made in China baseplate, There were no rare issues.

Above: The Brasso had very unusual axles which have a large nail type head,
Not to mention the clear plastic window unit.

Above left: The early type roof. Right: the later roof with triangular braces.

Above: The "Michelin" (tyres) van was released as a limited edition, It had a blue body, black chassis and yellow roof and the tampo displayed a different design on each side, It was fitted with chromed 12 spoke wheels on normal round head axles with a riveted ends. It had a chrome plated radiator with a black grille and brown seats and cab rear bulkhead, This model can have either bright yellow or lemon yellow tampo although neither type is rare.

Above: The drivers side tampo encouraged drivers to "pump up every friday" and then rear doors proclaimed "Michelin tyres technical dept" and "no charge".

Above: The "Sainsburys" Morris was supposed to be released in a blue livery but the Sainsburys management preferred that the vehicle be painted an authentic brown so fortunately for us collectors the brown livery was chosen and we never wound up with a third blue Y-19s. The model had a black chassis and a white roof, Chrome 12 spoke wheels and radiator with a black grille, The model was to be packaged in the then new clear plastic boxes so a screw hole had to be drilled into the baseplate for the model to be secured inside the box, To do this the "Models Of" lettering had to be relocated to make room for the screw hole.

Above: The "Blue Caddy Tea" and Delicious Dairy Butter" lettering on the roof sides can be blue or navy blue. All other lettering was in gold.