TEXAS TOY MAN

Matchbox Yesteryear # 1909 Thomas Flyabout-1956

The Lesney Matchbox ‘Models of Yesteryear’ Series was started in 1956.  These cars were produced as copies of vintage and antique cars.  They were built just slightly larger than Matchbox’s regular 1-75 series which were produced starting 1953…the regular series continues in production to today.

 

Although the Yesteryear cars were supposedly discontinued after a 36 year production run (1992), this was ‘not true’ totally since Matchbox continued to produce the Yesteryear cars but packaging them in other Matchbox assortments.  Therefore, in spite of the announcement of the discontinuance of Yesteryears, we still find Yesteryears appearing in different series introduced to the market by Matchbox today.

The posted picture of the Matchbox Thomas Flyabout ‘Models of Yesteryear’ Series produced in 1967 has the following features:

Bright blue in color

Tan colored plastic roof “smooth surface”

Gold colored spoke wheels

Dark red plastic seats

Dark red grill

Black plastic steering wheel

‘Made in England by Lesney’ embossed on chassis

‘1909 Thomas Flyabout’ embossed on chassis

‘By courtesy of Harrah Collection Reno, USA’ embossed on chassis

‘Matchbox No.Y12’ embossed on chassis

‘Models of Yesteryear’ embossed on chassis

Black rubber wheels

If you are looking to start a Matchbox collection of Yesteryears, the pricing should always include the car and its original box -  and both should be in perfect shape if you are looking to have your collection for investment purposes, not just for fun.

11 Tips on Selling Your Collection

 

Our website – TexasAntiqueMall.com - gets a lot of emails from people want to sell their toys – sometimes single items, sometimes collections. Most of the time information is very limited. I’ve put together the following list to help you put information together if you are planning on trying to sell something either via email or directly to an individual. Having the answers to these questions will make the process easier for both you and the potential buyer.

Tips:

1. 1. Know name of manufacturer
2. 2. Have information on any maker’s marks or numbers
3. 3. Have the dimensions (width, length, depth, diameter, etc.)
4. 4. Take some good digital picture(s), preferably not to exceed 600×450 pixels in size
5. 5. Have a brief description including condition
6. 6. Say if the box available? If so, what is the condition.
7. 7. List all parts. If the item has working parts, are they working?
8. 8. Disclose if there are any parts missing?
9. 9. Include any other information that will help the buyer make a decision to purchase (provenance)
10. 10. Include the price you want – don’t expect people to make offers
11. 11. If you’re selling a collection, have a list and price in mind that you want for the whole collection

Following these ‘tips’ should make selling your collection or item much easier. 

Corgi James Bond Aston Martin Dicast Car

 Special Agent 007, James Bond

Austin-Martin D. B .5. Number 261

… was modeled and based on the car driven by James Bond in the movie “Goldfinger.” Box is marked – Copyright Glidrose Productions Ltld & Danjaq S.A. 1965.

Produced in Great Britian by Play Craft Toys LTD., London in 1965, this gold colored Corgi comes ‘action packed’ with the followig features:

• James Bond Figure
• Bad Guy Figure (Removeable)
• Retractable Machine Guns (on front)
• Opening Roof
• Operational Ejector Seat
• Rear Bullet Screen
• Telescopic Over-Riders
• ‘Secret’ Instructions
• Length: 3-7/8″

Just a point of information, if you’re trying to locate value prices on Corgi cars, remember that most price guides only show values for items ‘Mint in Box’.