This is always one that says to me MB made some very cool rides back in the day!

Such dignified rides from Matchbox. Pretty sure the emoji here is drinking a nice stout cup of Earl Grey Tea!

Always loved this one. Looking for the Superfast version with fat wheels, but with the opening trunk instead of doors.

If only RR would be willing to let Matchbox make their beautiful cars again, can you imagine the great models we could get.

As a child of the 60's and 70's, I grew up with wheels and tires somewhat of a one-size/design fits all approach to all the cars in the lineup. You'd find the same rims on a Rolls Royce, Ford Pickup, and a Dodge Challenger, etc. It's kind of charming in a nostalgic way, but I do like that the manufacturers are much more easily able to install more appropriate rolling stock on the various vehicles they make.

Silver Shadows (both 39E and 24C) are among my all-thyme favorite MBX castings.

Great comment. I'll second it.

Very nice collection of variations! I remember when 39 was introduced in 1979, along with the red and white Lincoln Continental Mark V and Mercedes-Benz 450 SEL and thought, "Yeah, Matchbox is solidly back in business," after years of trying to compete with Hot Wheels fantasy cars. The '77 5TL "Le Car" and '78 Cougar Villager began the renaissance of accuracy and realism, but this trifecta of luxury models was a perfect transition into "The Me Decade 1980s". I even remember acquiring these models at a now long-defunct local department store where these were displayed in the revolving carousels and sold to the new owner in the picture box rather than blisterpacks.

Wow - crystal clear memory. Interesting comments - I hear ya. My collecting was on "pause" at that point in time, but now have all but the Villager. Must have a slew of those 450SELs for some reason. Just checked the database and between the plain blue sedan, the white/green Polizei, and the beige taxi, have a total of 18 (most in good condition and one is carded). Only have one Lincoln Mk V that I picked up a year ago (rough condition) in the Adirondacks. The one that jump-started my collecting (in 1986) was the Jaguar XJ-6. I was standing in the grocery store checkout line, and there it was hanging from a peg. It was a realistic looking car in that great shade of red (made famous by the 24C Rolls) and I just couldn't resist. From that point, it's been hopeless.

LOL, Jeff, I have just LOVED cars from an early age, and only recently recognize and credit my Mother for starting that fanaticism. She'd identify all the cars for me so I was annoying my teachers in Kindergarten and early years with talk about makes and models. That Villager I bought at a discount chain called "Twin Fair" when it came out, and even though I wasn't familiar with the real Villager, only the Cougar, it had that Ford wagon style and the drop down tailgate. I continued collecting well into the 1980s until late high school when I thought I had to grow up! I do love the absolutely perfect Matchbox XJ6, and bought several examples of those at the time, and added to it this year when I acquired the non-Matchbox 1/1 scale by a company called 'Jaguar'. Matchbox, like all other diecast companies seems to go in peaks and valleys. I was fortunate because when I was collecting as a kid, the renaissance was starting, even with Hot Wheels and the cool 1980 Seville, the Dodge Aries Wagon (with Woodgrain!!!), Citation, and other gems from Larry Wood. I was doing my Jay Leno best to get my hands on the 1/64 scale equivalent of cars that intrigued and impressed me.

Congrats on getting the 1/1 scale XJ6. Did it include a 1/1 blister pack? Looked at one many years ago but it had been the seller's uncompleted project and was beyond my skill to take on. True about company "peaks and valleys" and the "renaissance." Never spent much on custom or fantasy models, so that MBX XJ6 reminded me of the modest, regular wheel series collection from my kid years (which I still had/have). I too scored the Aries wood-grain wagon and silver-gray w/ purple Seville HWs last year on vacation (both fair cond.). The more time passes the more they start to look right (or at least acceptable and worthy of being rescued). Was not paying attention to HW or MBX for a longsome period (~ mid 70s to mid 80s), so some of them are a surprise to "discover" (like the Aries wagon). Liking the Jay Leno comparison. It's hard to define a strict pattern of behavior, but first choice is probably vintage European, or other, older ones that were representative of real vehicles in their day, or even older ones in good condition (sympathy for survivors perhaps - like first gen. MBX, HW, Siku, etc.). No doubt my interest in cars began by admiring the Matchbox regular wheel series (much time spent on the base-plates to i.d.) during the mid-late 60s. High winds here. Lights flickering. Clicking "Post Reply" now to be on the safe side.

LOL, thanks for the congrats, and the 1/1 Jaguar was a Diecast Liberation Model, alas, but near mint. My absolute dream car since I followed its spy photo development in car magazines prior to release. And when the Matchbox model came out, I was buying the boxed models through a printed mail-order catalog from a company advertising in the back of "Model Railroader" magazine, and the blister model at Child World. Yes, the color is almost the "go to" color of many real models.

Sounds great. Happy to hear you scored your dream car. I guess the early Silver Shadow (chrome bumpers) in that same dark red would be a dream car for me, but one thing that puts me off are motoring reports (from the era) of the handling characteristics. Would also like a Jag Mk II sedan (same dark red). Recently looked at a big Jag four-door (circa 2000?). Dark green with tan hides and acres of wood trim. Gorgeous thing, and it had the nice price. Sat in it, started it up, etc. But too many stories about reliability issues. Also, what would I do with another car? In Ireland (in 1989), the XJ6 was badged "Sovereign" if memory serves me correctly. Could be confused. The Irish ones had the full glass headlamps, not the sealed beams that we get here. Love at first sight for sure.

In any event, I hope Carcollector doesn't think I'm hijacking his topic, but here is the Aries wagon from a September 2018 haul-o-rama (mentioned up the page a bit). Even though it was rough, it was still making idle conversation with me (LOL).