BOX FACTS

SERIES :	Regular Wheels	FIRST YEAR OF PRODUCTION :	September 1958
BOX TYPES :	B, C, D	SIZE AVAILABLE :	3
TOTAL VARIATIONS :	11	NUMBER OF MAJOR VARIATIONS :	7

GENERAL INFO

With no less than eleven different variations, including seven major ones, the 49A has plenty of boxes to collect. Appearing in September 1958 in a B2, size 3 box, it shows the red model with yellow front grille and carrier inside, with small numbers and light background, and the blue rectangle. One side has the right number more to the right of picture. This variation is also available in B3 sub-type.

The following box is same on both side and is also of B3 sub-type, but the numbers are very large. Then, another variation was made, using the first drawing but stretched to fit a size 3 box. This variation has the same pattern of different sides that relies on the position of the right number. A final B box was later made, a B5 sub-type with identical sides that show the model without background and a bit smaller, with yellow wheels and entirely red.

Strangely, the C box did not take the latest drawing from the B5, but the one before. There is no C box known to exist with the late B5 design.

The D1 and D2 boxes shows the green model with dark wheels. On the picture on this page, the D1 box seems to have silver wheels, but this is more due to the lightening of it.

RARITY

Very difficult to tell the less common, as they are many variations. Of course, the C box is probably the scarcest, but the late B5 may also be regarded as less common. None of the 49A boxes is particularly rare.

VARIATION LIST

RW49A - M3 PERSONNEL CARRIER HALF TRACK
Front/Back	#	Type/Sub-type	Size	Top/Bottom	End Flap	Variation #
(Red model, light background, small numbers, right #49 slightly more to the right of picture on other side of box)	1	B2	3	Blue / Black		RW-49A-B2-1a
	2	B3				RW-49A-B3-1b
(Red model, light background, large numbers)	3	B3				RW-49A-B3-2a
(Red model, light background, right #49 slightly more to the right of picture on other side of box)	4	B4				RW-49A-B4-3a
	5	B5				RW-48A-B5-3b
$C:\Users\Patrice\Documents\Pictures\Images\Matchbox Images\Matchbox\VintageLesneyOnTheWeb\NewVintageLesneyOnline2006\images\49A-BBoxYellowTires.jpg$ (Red model, no background, large numbers away from model)	6	B5				RW-49A-B5-4a
$C:\Users\Patrice\Documents\Pictures\Images\Matchbox Images\Matchbox\VintageLesneyOnTheWeb\NewVintageLesneyOnline2006\images\49A-CBox.jpg$ (Yellow and red model, black tires, light background)	7	C				RW-49A-C-1a
$C:\Users\Patrice\Documents\Pictures\Images\Matchbox Images\Matchbox\VintageLesneyOnTheWeb\NewVintageLesneyOnline2006\images\49A-DBoxD1.jpg$ (Numbers without serifs)	8	D1				RW-49A-D1-1a
$C:\Users\Patrice\Documents\Pictures\Images\Matchbox Images\Matchbox\VintageLesneyOnTheWeb\NewVintageLesneyOnline2006\images\49A-DBox.jpg$ (Numbers with serifs)	9	D2			$C:\Users\Patrice\Documents\Pictures\Images\Matchbox Images\Matchbox\VintageLesneyOnTheWeb\NewVintageLesneyOnline2006\images\EndFlaps\49A-D2.jpg$	RW-49A-D2-2a
	10			Blue/Blue		RW-49A-D2-2b
	11			Light Blue/Light Blue		RW-49A-D2-2c