ROVER 3500

As time moves on, so does nostalgia. Generally, people look back fondly to what they recall from their youth and so people in the their 40s or 50s are now remembering cars of the 1970s or ’80s.

This fact was not lost on Lledo, a company started in 1982 by Jack Odell, who had been one of the original founders of Matchbox. At first, Lledo made vintage vans in promotional advertising liveries. Collecting these became very popular and vast numbers were produced.

In 1996, Lledo launched a new line of more detailed models under the Vanguards name, consisting of cars in 1:43 scale and commercial vehicles in 1:64 scale. The cars proved more popular than the lorries, thanks to the choice of hitherto neglected subjects such as the Ford 100E, Ford Anglia 105E and Rover P4. Made in the UK, they faced increased competition from China and the company was taken over by Corgi, itself now part of Hornby Hobbies.

Thanks to the Vanguards models, collectors of the early 21st Century were able to enjoy cars that had not been available in model form for a long time, including the Rover 3500 pictured here. Corgi still produces the Vanguards range and it has continued to move in step with trends within the classic car market. The emphasis is now on cars from the 1970s onwards, such as the Ford Escort, Granada and Cortina MkIII and MkIV.

The older Vanguards may not have increased in value but, because they include subjects that many collectors have long wanted, they’re always going to have a certain amount of desirability.