Being built in the BMC and then British Leyland era ensured that straight forward marque badging of their J4 was never going to be an option! Starting life in 1960 badged as either an Austin or Morris to placate the separate dealer chains it then became a BMC badged product after the merger in 1968. Never one to resist poking the fire whilst Rome burnt it then became an Austin-Morris product where it saw out its days until 1975 by which point it had become a major embarrassment and well behind the competition from Ford and Bedford.
Its fitting that some of the first examples of the new Oxford Diecast models come in liveries reflecting some of the bigger institutions who bought them in big numbers for their fleets and no doubt extended the life of this ancient slow and noisy old van in the same way the Dodge Spacevan and Bedford CA vans continued well past their natural sell by dates.
Oxford Diecast obviously know their stuff and have badged various versions of their J4 to reflect the different times they were built. Morris means this beautiful Royal Mail edition harks back to the 1960's and is faithfully reproduced in their usual manner. The prices of 1/76 Oxford products seem to rise every time I buy them making them an occasional treat but when they look as scale perfect as this its hard not to resist. Every panel is intricately detailed right down to wheels and bumpers and the casting itself is pure rounded forward control J4! I hope the upcoming Austin Maxi looks as good as this. Mint and boxed.
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