[REVIEW] Lesney Matchbox Ford 3 Ton 4x4 Service Ambulance

[fintail]

Lesney Matchbox time has returned. Today we examine Matchbox 63a, the Ford 3 Ton 4x4 Service Ambulance. This casting entered the range in 1959, remaining until 1963, and is another example of the trend for this part of the lineup :

Yes, another military vehicle, as is the theme in this part of the range - and there are more to come. This casting resembles a WWII vehicle to my eyes, but apparently the real world vehicle dates from the 50s, also known as a Fordson Thames E3/E4. This model has significant fine line detail and accurate proportion, existing as a toy car and a scale model at the same time. Scale of this model is once again not easy to estimate, as I am not familiar with the real world vehicle, but it appears to be a large truck - I will guess around 1:75, as like with many others, this was made to fit in a box. One can imagine this 4x4 rig extricating someone out of difficult terrain:

Front and rear contain substantial casting detail similar to the rest of the model, the finely cast grille being well-done:

The base is typical for the era, with maker and model information - almost all castings of military vehicles have black plastic wheels:

This model is lucky enough to live in its pristine original Type D box. This box type is scarce for this model, indicating production in 1962-63:

I am pleased to have this example in my collection, as it is in time warp condition, and the box is somewhat rare. Pictured with an old dime for scale:

Image and data of a similar 1:1 from imcdb.org

[415s30]

@fintail Must be British, I've never seen an ambulance over 2.5 tons.

[fintail]

@415s30 Yep, British Ford.