Oxford Diecast 76AEC021

AEC Matador Wrecker Crouch Recovery 1:76

Manufacturer catalogue image - please note that pre-release images may be CAD renders or CGI images rather than photographs

Prototype Eras
Era 3 (1923 to 1947) The Big Four (LNER, LMS, GWR and SR)
Era 4 (1948 to 1956) British Railways Early Crest
Era 5 (1956 to 1966) British Railways Late Crest
Era 6 (1967 to 1972) British Rail Blue (Pre-TOPS)

Manufacturer description

Crouch Recovery has become a firm favourite on Oxford commercial recovery trucks and the fleet grows even more with their bright orange colour scheme making a welcome return on an AEC Matador Wrecker.

The company began in 1948 when David and Barbara Crouch ran a local filling station and recovery service.  Three generations on and Crouch has grown into one of the biggest and fastest growing recovery operations in the UK – and still family run. As they are proud to say - Breakdowns, road traffic incidents, wheel changes, bus and coach movements and trailer repairs are all in a day’s work!  And they have the vehicles to achieve that.

Originally, the AEC Matador was a heavy 4 x 4 truck and medium artillery tractor made especially by the Associated Equipment Company for Allied Forces during WWII. With an AEC 7.6 litre engine and a speed of around 30 mph, it saw service in many military roles. Post-war, the heavy duty and powerful Matador was a natural choice for civilian use, including as a recovery truck. It also had good off-road performance on rough terrain and when used as a bus fleet recovery truck, many were fitted with lifting jibs for suspended towing.

All these plus points made it an ideal vehicle for Crouch Recovery and here we see it in 1:76 scale miniature.  Decorated in the signature orange colour scheme with black and white graphics, the flat fronted cab features its distinctive curved roof with the Crouch’s name printed on it, also repeated on the cab doors. A beacon has been added to the cab roof above the windscreen. The white lettering on the front of the vehicle details the 24 hour service – Recovery Engineers. To the rear, the flatbed trailer has a recovery winch complete with tow hook fixed to the brown planking and the huge wheels with orange inserts sit on a black chassis.  The vehicle is registered Q492 DNR, indicating it is a specially derived vehicle.  Whatever its previous life, nothing can detract from its extremely powerful capabilities as part of the Crouch recovery fleet!

Catalogue listing

Oxford Diecast's 1:76 scale model of the AEC Matador Wrecker Crouch Recovery is a miniature representation of a vehicle from the early days of British Railways.

The model is based on the AEC Matador Wrecker, a vehicle used for recovery and towing, and is depicted in a Crouch Recovery configuration. This scale model is produced by Oxford Diecast, a well-known and respected manufacturer of scale model vehicles.

The model is designed to represent the early crest era of British Railways, a period in British railway history that spanned from the late 1940s to the early 1950s.