Matchbox/Lesney 61b; Alvis Stalwart; White; Green Hubs, Ribbed Load Bed

The Alvis Stalwart is a real hero vehicle to those of us who go off-road driving. It goes completely anywhere - including on the water, which when you see how heavy it is you would imagine it would just sink. There used to be one of these parked at a 'pay and play' quarry where I used to take my Land-Rovers for a bit of off road fun from time to time. I took the trouble to climb on to the roof and to get down into the cab through the hatch. It was an amazingly tough and heavy vehicle, the bodywork was all half inch thick steel and with that V8 Rolls-Royce 6 litre petrol engine it was never going to be economical. The ultimate go-anywhere load carrier though. It was mechanically related to its contemporary Alvis Saracen personnel carrier and the Saladin armoured car, both also in the Lesney range around the same time.

The Alvis Stalwart, 61b, was introduced into the Matchbox range in 1966, it remained in production through the introduction of Superfast wheels but was not upgraded. It was deleted in 1971 although Ramsay's lists a green Superfast version in metallic green released in 1978, this one came in a 2 piece pack. On green hub versions look for a smooth rather than ribbed load bed. Yellow hubs are generally more sought after than green and best of all is an orange plastic canopy.

This MBX was sourced in September 2017 from a private collection, the box is reproduction.