Matchbox SuperKings; Volvo 245 Estate

This was the standard vehicle of choice for a generation of middle class, middle England families. If these cars had been still around at the time I guess I would have owned one instead of the Discoveries and Grand Voyagers which I used to ship my kids around the countryside when they were small.

In some ways it is a splendid model, but MB King Size always managed to get some proportions wrong on their car models, however I love the way the rear hatch opens ands even better - it has a sprung front bumper, a feature I only noticed when I picked it up after doing the photos. I owned a Volvo 164e when I was in my twenties and, like the 240s & 260s, it had rubber mounted impact absorbing bumpers, Lesney were modelling that feature - wonderful. The sunroof by the way is a paper sticker - which is a rubbish piece of detailing. The street version of the car was available in dark red, green and blue.