<p>Managing mediocre metal model mess.</p>

I wouldn't really call it a collection. The vast majority of my Matchboxes are survivors from my childhood and what can be found in the 50p rummage boxes underneath the trestle tables at toy fairs. Yes, I meanwhile have a reputation to move along on my hands and knees at these venues, having reached an age where getting up in between stalls became too onerous.

New Matchbox models are surprisingly hard to find in the UK, which strikes me as odd since they were so omnipresent when I was a wee lad. In those good old days you could find them everywhere, including at the checkouts of grocery shops, so I could conveniently pester my mother during the entire queuing phase.

Nevertheless, I managed to obtain these 2020 issues.

A few pics of what else is slumbering down in the dungeon. This is by no means all of them and I should really pull the finger out and do a proper inventory one of these - errr - years.

I bought these boxed ones from the first money I ever got for paid work, copying blueprints in my father's drafting office. I was so proud that I kept them in the boxes and moved them around the globe a few times all these decades.

The only other boxed ones I have are these:

I bought The Londoner quite recently in a toy shop, believe it or not, while being accused by Daughter #2 of having an obsession with red London double deckers. I told here this is not the case, I do not collect red London double deckers, I just happen to have a lot of them.

The only slightly unusual stuff I have as far as I can tell is this factory error:

And this Gladiator with the green interior variation:

<p>I see they stuck  a police base from the #55 on the #59 Fire Chief Car. Nice find.</p>

Yes, and it appears to be the only one that hitherto turned up this way.
There must be a police car with a fire chief baseplate out there somewhere.

This is unrestored.

This is restored.

They go well together.

You have got quite a collection. There. Matchbox will always remain a favorite of mine. Got many Regular Wheels tucked away. Only my Routemaster buses are on display.

The Superfasts came out exactly at the time I conciously started recognising cars. I didn't like them at all, so I hoovered up leftover RWs still lingering in shops. They often were marked down, which was good for a kid with a measly pocket money allowance.

When I saw this for the first time, I realised an era has come to an end.

I was Eight.

Interesting, I used Google translate to find out what it says.

In English it means "the times when things were cool are over".

VNM Caravan. Unrestored.

That Jaaaag has meanwhile met its restoration fate.

So did a Radio Rentals Commmer.

You even have the TV sets. Great

paintwork looks crisp on that Tv van I must say nice work and jaguar isn't looking half bad either.