Matchbox/Lesney 63a; Ford Service Ambulance, 3 Ton, 4X4

Part of a small range of military vehicles added to the Lesney range in 1959 the Service Ambulance, Ford, 3 Ton, 4x4 remained in the range until 1963. This same vehicle was made in about 1:50 scale by Dinky with opening rear doors. It is a curious vehicle in that it took me a very long time to pin down the model of Ford on which it is based, in 1959 Ford was making the Thames Trader and this is clearly not a Thames Trader, although it always had a familiar look. I have to thank Nick Jones and his totally invaluable website (http://www.vintagebritishdiecasts.co.uk) for the answer. Ford bid for the Army contract to supply a new 3 tonner ambulance and won the tender without having a suitable vehicle in their range and had to put this truck together quickly using available and off-the-shelf parts. For the cab they went to the same maker of lorry cabs which supplied the cabs for Commer trucks. Which is why this Ford appears to have a Commer cab.

The variations to this one are mostly around wheels & axles. In ascending order of desirability and value we start with the most commonly found variant which has fine tread black plastic wheels and crimped axles, next up is the same wheels with rounded axle ends. Rarest wheel type is the knobbly black plastic wheels with crimped axles. However the most desirable - and quite valuable - variant is the fine-tread black plastic wheel / rounded axle version in a D type box. This is the blue and yellow box with a full colour illustration of the model and 'Matchbox Series' written in a continuous arc above the picture.

Matchbox/Lesney 63a; Ford Service Ambulance, 3 Ton, 4X4; Olive Drab, Fine Black Plastic Wheels, Crimped Axles, B Box	Matchbox/Lesney 63a; Ford Service Ambulance, 3 Ton, 4X4; Olive Drab, Knobbly Black Plastic Wheels, Crimped Axles, B Box	Matchbox/Lesney 63a; Ford Service Ambulance, 3 Ton, 4X4; Olive Drab, Knobbly Black Plastic Wheels, Rounded Axles

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Last Edit: 12/06/2024		Page Added 12/03/21