'70s Matchbox Construction Vehicles

I'd nearly forgotten some of my childhood Matchbox cars down in the basement until photographing the Matchbox On a Mission 5-pack in my last post. For myself, the distinction between Matchbox & Hot Wheels was non-existent in my youth- a diecast car was a diecast car, all the same to me. I now appreciate these examples of British manufactured cars a little more, produced within a decade prior to Lensey's bankruptcy and subsequent sale. In 1982, Universal Toy Co. absorbed the Matchbox brand, soon thereafter moving production to China.

Tractor Shovel, 1976

So very little has changed on this tractor shovel, the new blue one I got even bearing the same year stamped into the base. As with all of these, the worn condition tells me I treasured this tractor shovel, and I must say that I like the new one as much.

Site Dumper, 1976

The site dumper has a little less wear than the tractor shovel, but the axles are bent worse. I actually scrubbed some soil out of the bed when cleaning these up. There was also one released with a red dumpbucket as well...

Faun Dump Truck, 1975

Released in '76, my Faun Dump Truck has a '75 date on the bottom and a metal bed, which Mattel replaced with a plastic bed around 2007. It looks more realistic than my new 3-axle dump truck, like an old Tonka with it's yellow paint. A Faun Quarry, as they are sometimes referred to, was released in '79 with a red dump bed, but was otherwise released in this original form annually from '76 to '82. (Matchbox Wikia)

Fork Lift, 1972
I'm unsure of the circumstances surrounding my acquisition of this forklift, but '72 was the year I was born, so I probably received it later in the '70s, or possibly in a trade in '80 or '81. Still, I remember it from pretty far back, and favored it for the moving lift and bright red color. There was a variant with a painted yellow lift and gray forks as well...

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