Also in my garage: classic cars and Matchbox models

By Mario Laguna

| 29 Feb 2024

Classic & Sports Car – Also in my garage: classic cars and Matchbox models

“In addition to our everyday car, I have a 1930 Peugeot and a 1966 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia cabriolet in my garage,” says passionate Matchbox collector Jean Birsens.

“But, in my mind, my real, Lilliputian garage is inside the house.

“The Karmann Ghia is fun to drive, especially when my daughter is at the wheel, but the Peugeot is pretty rare in its original, road-legal condition with matching numberplate.”

Matchbox models span the company’s history in this impressive collection

“Amazingly, it still needs little servicing and we drive the 201 to classic shows and autojumbles around the country,” Jean continues.

“Hopefully weʼll celebrate its 100th anniversary without major trouble.”

Jean has known he wanted to be a Matchbox collector since he was 15 years old, when he bought his first miniature.

But he couldnʼt have imagined that 40 years on he would be a world expert in the field.

Collector Jean Birsens has a 23,000-strong collection of Matchbox models

When answering the obvious question – why? – Jean is modest and reckons he never aimed to amass one of the most important Matchbox collections in existence, but his museum hosts perhaps the most complete set of its type in Europe.

Back in the day, Matchbox models and toys cost pocket money, but not having a multi-digit bank account meant Jean still had to save every cent when he became a serious serial buyer.

The collection today amounts to in excess of 23,000 models, which means making a full inventory is an achievement in itself.

Outside, the garage is home to a 1930 Peugeot 201 saloon and a ’66 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia cabriolet

Jeanʼs Matchbox passion goes back to the very first model produced in 1953 and extends all the way to present-day specimens, although he laments the drop in quality of contemporary models.

“The ʻmade in Chinaʼ items have lost most of the craftsmanship and glamour of the original English Lesneys,” he says.

Jean is a perfectionist, and keeps most of his models in their original – and pristine – boxes, which often provide precious period information sometimes missing from the models themselves.

A Peugeot moped is also on display in this private Matchbox museum

Nevertheless, he buys unboxed toys in the case of the rare examples that are otherwise near-impossible to find.

Jeanʼs appetite is not limited to model cars, but expands to every item made by Matchbox, be they trains, lorries, buses and the entire toy production.

Among them are a few prototypes, moulds and factory blueprints, too.

Early Matchbox toys and original English Lesneys are tricky to find

Jean lives in Luxembourg on the banks of the Sûre river, and when it flooded in July 2021 the water was a metre high inside the house.

He lost some treasured boxes, but was able to save the models with meticulous cleaning.

Happily, the core of the collection is on the first floor.

Jean’s Matchbox collection, which goes back to 1953, is open for pre-arranged visits

Not an inch of space is free in the coupleʼs crammed house, but still there is room for the models to share their display room with a Peugeot moped, a few pedal cars, plus oil cans and some family memorabilia.

Meg is quick to give away Jeanʼs best-kept secret: “He always has in his pocket the very first Matchbox model he bought – a Lesney Superfast number 45 Ford Group 6 Le Mans car.”

The paint has been completely worn away over the years, but it is Jeanʼs talisman.

The coupleʼs museum is not open daily, but Jean and Meg are keen to invite classic-car enthusiasts, researchers, collectors and historians to their home in the idyllic town of Hinkel.

Visitors are welcome by appointment: contact meckjangalana@gmail.com

Images: Mario Laguna

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