Auto Cult September 2017

By Maz Woolley

All photographs supplied by Auto Cult.

Auto Cult has announced its releases for September:

  • Small Vehicles Series – Berkeley T60
  • Streamliner Series – Wikov 35 Kapfa
  • Engineers limited production – LMX Siren
  • Delivery Vehicles – Volvo L3314
  • Emergency Vehicles – Horch 853 AS12 Lepil Fire Appliance

Auto Cult continue to reproduce models of interesting subjects which are unlike anything other ranges have made, or in many cases are likely to.

E-03013 Berkeley T60

Berkeley Cars were designed by Lawrie Bond famous for the utilitarian Bond cars built by Sharp’s of Preston. Berkeley, a large caravan manufacturer, wanted to diversify and produced Bond’s designs for lightweight fibreglass cars of a sporting character powered by motorcycle engines.

Although cars were initially four wheeled, three wheelers were introduced to widen the sales potential as the UK tax and licensing rules were easier on three wheelers. Unlike Bond’s own cars the single wheel was at the rear like the Morgan three wheeler.  The T60 had a two-cylinder two-stroke engine from Excelsior of 328cc giving 18hp. The engine was installed ahead of the front axle.

Sales were strong in the UK but predictably poor outside the UK where the tax and licensing benefits were not the same. The T60 seated two with a large boot above the rear wheel.  About 1,800 T60s were produced before production ended.

 

 

Berkeley’s caravan sales dipped badly late in in 1960 and the company ran short of cash and was forced into liquidation. No-one wanted to take over the Berkeley Cars business so they were no more.


E-04011 Wikov 35 Kapka

Wikov were founded in 1918 by the merger of two industrial concerns and were large manufacturers of agricultural machinery who dabbled in making cars all of which were expensive to buy.

The Wikov 35 was a development of the Typ 7/28. Its four-cylinder  engine had a displacement of 1,743 cc and produced 35 hp. It was a conventional front engine and rear wheel drive set up with a three speed gearbox. The top speed was claimed as close to 100kph.

The “Kapka“, drop or pearl, was streamlined to compete with the types of designs emerging from Tatra. Sadly, the way the streamlined body was made added weight to the vehicle and although distinctive in appearance only a handful were made, between three and six depending on the source of the information.

In 1935 Wikov ceased the production of passenger cars in favour of commercial vehicles.


E-05016 LMX Sirex

The Frenchman Michel Liprandi and the Italian Giovanni Mandelle founded their car company L.M.X. Automobile Srl based in Milan in 1967. They employed Franco Scaglione, a top designer, to design their sports car. Scaglione created a smooth, slightly curved shape with minimal front and rear bumpers. The bulge in the bonnet was reminiscent of US car design.

The car body was made of fibreglass. In 1968 the sports car was initially shown as the LMX 2300 HCS. Unfortunately the car was not well received.

In 1973 L.M.X. was taken over by SAMAS. The work continued on the production of the sports car and it was renamed the Sirex LMS and Sirex LMX, The new owners introduced a turbocharger to the 2.3 Litre V6 from the German Ford Taunus to give it up to 210hp and a faster performance all round. But even this boost did not improve sales and after 20 cars were made production ceased.


E-08007 Volvo L3314

In the late 1950s the Swedish military was looking for a special purpose vehicle, which would be primarily used for the transportation of troops. They asked Volvo to develop a four-wheel-driven forward control vehicle which was to provide mobility even in very rough terrain.

Chief designer Nils-Magnus Hartelius and the engineers at Volvo developed a solid ladder frame and fitted a box-shaped driver’s cab. The design was very stable and flexible enough to allow a variety of different rear structures to be fitted. Large, low pressure tyres are a key visual feature of this vehicle.

To keep production costs down as many parts as possible were derived from the existing car range with the 1800cc 75hp engine being an example of this. When mass production started in 1963 the designation L3314 was applied, but the name commonly used was the “Laplander”.  Initially the vehicles were sold only to the Swedish military but later some of the vehicles were seen in civilian uses. 7,737 vehicles were made for the Swedish forces before production ceased.


 

E-12006 Horch 853 AS12 Lepil

When the Germans fled from Czechoslovakia towards the end of the Second World War much equipment was left behind.  This 1935 Typ 853 Horsch with a powerful straight eight engine was an example of this.

In the Soviet dominated aftermath of the Second World War no private citizen would be allowed to be driven round in a vehicle like this, with its Nazi connections and luxurious nature. But such a vehicle was too good to waste in those days of shortages and post war rebuilding.   The solution was to put it to work.

The Czechoslovakian body maker T. Lepil, known for his body designs for Czech car makers, created a complete new body for the convertible. It was rebuilt as a Fire Appliance with a fully glazed roof.

It is thought that the vehicle was re-built between 1946 and 1949. It is likely that the engine of the Horch convertible remained in its original condition and therefore the local fire department of the Brno-Komin district had not only one of the most extraordinary emergency vehicles at this time but also one of the fastest.


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Atlas Dinky Trucks 514 Guy Van Slumberland

By Maz Woolley

The latest in the Dinky Trucks series has arrived. This is a reproduction of the 514 Guy Van already seen in this series. This time it is seen in Slumberland livery.

The model comes in a reproduction of the original box which changed later to having blue and white stripes. The model was sold between 1949 and 1952 and was the first of several liveries on this casting including the Lyons Swiss Rolls one already seen in this range.

Atlas Dinky Toys Slumberland

The model is based upon the Guy Otter chassis which appeared shortly before the Second World War and gained a diesel engine when relaunched after the war. They were widely used by the nationalised British Road Services though Dinky never produced them in that livery.

Play value was added to the model with the opening rear doors.

The livery is beautifully printed. Slumberland are a UK firm producing mattresses and are a well known brand name even today.

The model had several different types of hubs over time but here Atlas have had the classic simple early type fitted.

To the front the lights and grill are neatly printed and the Slumberland logo is nicely reproduced on the raised van section.

This is another model from Atlas that I am sure will please many collectors and again it is a UK Dinky model which means that this series at least is meeting the original expectations set.


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Atlas Dinky Toys – 562 H Citroën 2CV Wegenwacht

By Maz Woolley

The latest model I have received in this series is a reproduction of French Dinky 562 H Wegenwacht 2CV Citroën van. This was model originally produced specially for the Netherlands in the livery of their national breakdown service.

The box is reproduced with all printing in Dutch except for the Dinky Toys elements and the Atlas details. The model was on sale from 1965 to 1968 and good examples are quite expensive to buy at auctions.

The opening rear door was a play feature though it is not easy to open for little, or even big, fingers. It also revealed the fact that there were no seats or other internal details.

The model has the Wegenwacht livery neatly printed though the originals came with decals or paper stickers. There are also quite a lot of lights and reflectors picked out in paint.

The ribbed rear section and bonnet are nicely captured and the yellow paint is not too heavily applied though at points it is a little thin on ridges.

All in all a nice model though I do wonder if we will ever see a UK Dinky Toy in this series again.


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Large Märklin Unimogs

by Karl Schnelle

When you search for Märklin Unimogs online, a lot of HO scale, plastic ones show up.  That’s not too surprising because Märklin is known for their HO scale trains.  So by ‘large’, I mean the 1/43 scale Unimogs that started out in their RAK line of toy cars.  Actually,  Märklin bought LGB in 2009, so there is even a larger Unimog in G scale that could be described as an LGB/Märklin.

A few weeks ago, we published an article on RAK replicas, so I dug out my replica Unimog from 2009 for a closer inspection.  The original #1830 Unimog came only in green, marked ‘Made in Germany’ on the bottom.  The orange reissue is #18310 and marked ‘Replika’ instead. Some plastic parts are different colors, but otherwise, they look identical.

In looking closely at the two versions, the speedwheels are a bit different.  The inserted, metal wheels are flat with obvious holes on the original.  The newer ones are more rounded and convex which hides the holes.

The replica came in a large blue box with all the original accessories reproduced as well.   It was part of the Märklin 150 year anniversary and thus came out in 2009.

 

Originally, the seven extra parts came as a set with the truck (#1831), or in two smaller packs.  I have one of them (#1833) and have been looking for the other one for many years!  The originals were sold from 1970 to 1975, when the RAK series was cancelled..

 

The original boxes were yellow and featured nice line drawings, a lot like their HO train boxes from that era.

Back to the internet to continue my search for the other original accessories, #1832!


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1/43 Vanguards History

by Karl Schnelle

Bob Neumann of the Illinois Matchbox Collectors Club (USA) just passed this information on to me.  I have some old Corgi Toys and a few Lledo’s in my collection, but I do not follow the modern stuff.  So I had not seen the new Corgi blog!   Their blog or Diecast Diary has come out every month and since it is written by “The Corgi Team” includes new releases and information that Corgi wants their customers to know about.

The last five articles have had a series on the history of Vanguards and how they passed from Lledo to Corgi ownership.  Two of the driving forces (men) behind them are also discussed.  I always enjoy reading about the history of our hobby and the people behind it.  So I thought our MAR Online readers would too!  For a company blog used for sales and marketing, there is a lot of information in this series.

Click on the menu on the right and read all five articles.  The fifth one is this link.  Scroll down the page until you see the Vanguards banner: some fascinating background from the designer as well as photos of some pre-production models are there.

Here is one of the early Vanguards (a small, fit-the-box, 1953 Pontiac) that are mentioned in the blog; my Mother bought it for me many years ago!

The second blog article mentioned that the Lledo factory was “established on Woodhall Road in Enfield”.    Wasting time on the internet, i did find a Woodall Road in Enfield.   The funny thing is that when you zoom in to it on google maps, the label Gilbow Holding shows up on one of the buildings!   I recognized that as the holding company for EFE (recently acquired by Bachmann).  The EFE History page says they moved to Enfield in 2002, and Lledo was bought by Corgi in 1999, when they downsized everyone, and moved all the tools to China (according to these Corgi articles)!   A very ‘small diecast world’!  

Maybe that is common knowledge for UK collectors, but that was interesting news for me!


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Auto Cult August 2017

By Maz Woolley

All photographs supplied by Auto Cult.

Auto Cult’s latest announcements are as follows:

  • The “Early beginnings” series – Panhard et Levassor Type Q Double Phaeton
  • The ”Past brands” series – Tempo E400 Kombiwagen
  • The “Streamliner” series Kamm K3
  • The “Prototypes” series – Tatra JK 2500

These are all made in resin in China for Germany and the featured models are made to 1:43 scale. Auto Cult has informed us that their recent  1:18 scale Mercedes Benz SL-X has sold out.

E-01004 Panhard & Levassor Type Q Double Phaeton

Panhard et Levassor were in business from 1890 and were one of the major firms in early car production. The Q type was produced from 1905 to 1910; 108 cars were made. Each car was coachbuilt with a metal reinforced wooden chassis and was powered by a 10 litre four cylinder engine. The four seater car gave the rear seat passengers cover, doors and luxury seating but the front seat passengers were exposed to the elements.


E-02008 Tempo E400 Kombiwagen

By November 1930 one thousand Tempo three-wheelers had been made. The E400 type was introduced in 1936 with a 396cc engine and an all steel construction replacing the previous plywood and steel cabin and chassis. Tempo sold over 3,300 by 1938 when the E400 was withdrawn. The E400 was accompanied by an E200 and E600 to give a whole range of vehicles which sold well, though the E200 was the best seller. The E400 was also known as the “Athlet” and was fitted with a water cooled two stroke engine which produced 12.5hp. This was transferred to the front wheel by a three speed gearbox and chain final drive

E-04012 Kamm K3

This Kamm K3 still exists today. It shows how advanced streamlining was by the 1930s. It was designed by Wunnibald Kamm who was born in Basel 1893 and whose name lives on in the “Kamm Back” used to reduce drag and made famous by the 1960s sports racers and Le Mans cars in particular.

In the 1930s he designed and built four car bodies with this rear styling . The third vehicle, the K3, was based on the chassis of a Mercedes-Benz 170 V and has a modern faired in shape and smooth profile combined with the abrupt cut off rear.


 

E-06017 Tatra JK 2500

Another “might have been”. Engineer Julius Kubinski worked in the post war Czech motor industry. In 1951 he began working on a project with the company designation JK 009. His employer gave him scope to design a sporty two-seater car inspired by Italian styling. Later Julius Kubinski  went alone to develop the car himself working with limited resources and sixteen engineers the sports car reached prototype form in 1954. It proved to be disappointing to drive as the engine was not powerful enough to make the car as fast as it looked.

Shown in a Czech car magazine in 1956 the Heads of State were initially very keen on the car and instructed Tatra to look at full scale production. The car was worked on with an improved V8 engine and performance was markedly improved. Sadly the investment needed  for Tatra to produce these cars was so large that the State decided not to fund production of the car.  Julius Kubinski was given his car back and drove it for another 13 years before he sold it.


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Oxford Diecast Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I

By Maz Woolley

All photographs by, and copyright of, the Author except where otherwise stated.

The latest 1:43 scale Rolls-Royce by Oxford Diecast is another new casting; a Silver Cloud I. The Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I was made by Rolls-Royce Limited from 1955 to 1959. It replaced the Silver Dawn and was replaced by the Silver Cloud II. The J. P. Blatchley design is part of the evolution away from the upright pre-war style still used for the Silver Dawn. The Cloud I had a six cylinder 4.9 litre engine which was replaced by a larger V8 in the Cloud II. In 1957 performance was increased by the fitting of twin carburetors. Brakes were hydraulic and servo assisted and the suspension was independent coils at the front and semi-elliptic springs at the rear.

Rolls-Royce did not build a monocoque car until the Silver Shadow in the 1960s so the Cloud body sat on a frame. This allowed some special bodied versions to be made but the overwhelming majority sold were built with the standard Pressed Steel Company manufactured steel body shell. A lightweight aluminium based alloy was used for the doors, bonnet and the boot lid.

The British Motor magazine tested a standard factory-bodied Series I in 1956 recording a top speed of 102.9 mph and acceleration from 0-60 mph in 13.5 seconds. The car tested cost  £5078 including taxes.

The car modelled by Oxford Diecast is a real one which was auctioned for over 21,000 GBP in May 2015. It was originally made in 1959 and the model retrains most of the original’s features though it does not reproduce the red pinstripe and red stripe on the wheel trims.  Photographs by the Silverstone Auctions of the original in 2015 are shown below.

© Silverstone Auctions
© Silverstone Auctions
© Silverstone Auctions

43RSC001 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I Sand and Sable.

The Oxford model is another excellent Rolls-Royce model from them, particularly as it sells for only a little more than Atlas models and less than most Corgi Models. Whilst it lacks any photo etched parts it really doesn’t miss them. Oxford has again used multi-part windows which press fit into all window apertures to give flush glazing. The side window glazing has chrome printed on raised frame lines which gives an excellent effect.

The paintwork matches the original well. Please note that  my photographs make the sable area look a little lighter than it really is. One or two minor items have been dropped from this model such as the red wheel trim on the original but this is not missed and could be added if one wished.

As on all the Oxford Rolls-Royces a lot of effort has been made to capture the RR radiator and mascot with a finely printed RR symbol on the radiator setting it off well. The mascot is again a little overscale but that is understandable since it would be easily breakable if modelled to scale size.

The rear is lovely with number plate, RR symbol, and handle finely modelled. The only slight let down is the rear lights being printed in flat red and orange on a silver printed background and the left hand light being raked inwards more than the right hand one. If Oxford has to print these lights then printing the base fitting straight and using a translucent paint over the silver would give a much better effect.

The wheels are good with the central section of the cap hinting at the flat side sections. The white wall on the tyre is kept small in keeping with that on the original car. The side view of the car is excellent capturing the flowing lines of the original really well though the thicker lower brown paint does slightly soften the cast lines on the body.

The interior has been finished to a high standard with wood effect dashboard, door cappings and seat back fitments. Seating is in white which is a match to the white leather fitted to the original car. The instrumentation is printed on the dash and the door fitments have been printed in chrome too.

Underneath, the frame, engine, propshaft and rear axle and springs are all modelled in a basic manner.

The Silver Cloud has been modelled by many in the past with the 1:45 scale Budgie/Seerol model  perhaps being the most commonly seen in the UK, especially as it was on sale in London Souvenir shops for many years. Less commonly seen is the Lone Star model of a four headlight 1960s Silver Cloud. My personal favourite obsolete diecast Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud is the Verem model which also comes in a Sand and Sable finish. This was an enhanced casting based upon the 1960s Solido Silver Cloud. Although we have had many Chinese resin Silver Clouds from a variety of makers many have not captured the Cloud accurately in some respects.

Although Minichamps Silver Cloud II does have separately inserted rear lights to my eyes it offers nothing else that the Oxford does not. The available paint schemes are also less attractive, though the white and black solid colours may make them popular as replicas of wedding cars.  At about half the price of the Minichamps the Oxford model is outstanding value for money.

I look forward to Oxford making this car to 1:76 scale at some point in the future which is sure to be popular as collecting in this scale seems to be growing at the moment.


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Harley Davidsons to 1:43 Scale

By Maz Woolley

Models of motorcycles in 1:43 are rare. This is a shame as displays and dioramas would benefit from some Motorcycles. The problem is that making a 1:43 scale motorcycle probably costs about the same as a 1:24 scale one and the perceived value of the model and hence its sale price has to be lower.

Schuco has produced some as loads on vehicles and trailers  over the last few years, most are derived from its Bub range which are diecast. Whilst quite nice to use as background vehicles in displays they are a little heavy and toy like.

The James Bond model collection had a nice Kawasaki and sidecar, but it is a shame they did not model the BSA Lightning from Thunderball as well.

When looking at eBay recently I saw a posting for 1:43/O Scale Motorcycles with eight models available at a modest price shipping from China. The pictures were not terribly good but the models looked worth taking a risk on at the low “buy now” price. They have now arrived in the UK and there are actually seven different bikes one of which has been supplied twice. They are all Harley Davidson machines with quite detailed tank markings printed on and each represents a different model. Sadly my knowledge does not allow me to identify the exact Harley model names so if any reader who can let me know I would be grateful for the information.

Research on the internet shows that a boxed set of four Harley Davidson bikes were made by MTH Model Trains of the US in their O Gauge Rail King brand under license from Harley Davidson in around 2005. But looking at the picture shown below though they are very similar to the models I bought recently none are the same. Firstly the WTH models are said to be diecast and they also have overscale and miscoloured front indicators which are completely missing on the ones I have.

MTH still had two sets of motorcycles in their catalogue in 2016 but these are in diecast metal and though not badged, or sold as Harley Davidsons, they are clearly related to the earlier boxed models right down to the yellow indicators.

The models I received are a mixture of plastic and a soft rubber for handlebars. Wheels are solid and in the case of most of the the spoked ones a technique similar to that used by Oxford Diecast can be seen where a clear disk is used with spokes printed on. There is a considerable amount of printed badging and chromework as well as lot of pipework and pedal mouldings around the engines. Quite a bit of effort has been expended detailing the engines and side panels in different colour finishes. Foot boards and back rests are fitted on models where they are standard, and there are even hand holds fitted on the Tourer as well as the detailed top box. The front wheels are movable, though stiff on some models. There are no stands fitted but small separate bike stands are supplied that allow the bikes to stand safely.

The models have no makers markings on the models or on the plastic bags that they came in. One wonders if this is a new series of licensed Harley models which have left the factory to be sold unofficially before general release, or whether they are models which were made for a cancelled order? If neither then maybe the domestic market may be good enough in China for models like this to sell well.

All I can say is I hope that they also make Japanese and European bikes as well as they would also look good alongside European cars.


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Greenlight – Hitched Homes

By Maz Woolley

The photographs included are by, and copyright of, the Author. Advertising Illustration is copyright of Greenlight.

Over the years many collectors have asked manufacturers to make Caravans (Trailers) to go with their cars and trucks. A few manufacturers have done so with variable results.  In one case a smaller maker of 1:43 models put a lot of effort into making some classic Caravans only to see cheap models of exactly the same subjects flooding out of China in various scales and even being adopted into some German diecast ranges. The suspicion was that the UK made models had been copied and that is unfair on the original maker. At one point a series of resin Caravans was proposed to cover popular UK brands such as Sprite but this did not “take-off”.

The success of the Caravans already issued in the Greenlight Hitch and Tow series like the Shasta Airflyte and Airstream Bambi no doubt encouraged them to make a new series of Caravans without any towing vehicle called Hitched Homes. Greenlight make Caravans in 1:24 but make more in 1:64 scale. Sadly there appears to be no prospect that they will be made in 1:43 scale too. In this article we look at the three caravans on the top row in the Hitched Homes publicity illustration above. All of which are new castings not seen in the Hitch and Tow range so far.

1958 Catolac DeVille Travel Trailer

British Caravaners in the 1950s would have been shocked by the bright colours of this caravan.  UK Caravans were generally painted in subdued colour schemes and awning would have been of green or brown canvas and not like an awning at an Ice Cream parlour.

DeVille trailers were manufactured by Catolac Corporation of California. and they made trailers from 1927 to 1970. The company slogan was “It’s not how many you make, But how well you make them” – That’s the Catolac way”.

 

The model reproduced by Greenlight is was a compact trailer, for the US, with all the usual features though it had no toilet fitted. The woodwork in the interior was of very good quality, birch panelling  whilst the outside was  made from 1 inch thick Mesa Deluxe sheets.

Whilst the windows are all painted on and whilst there is no interior the caravan does have an awning that clips into the main body and a blind for the front window to protect it when travelling and from the sun.  The usual screw is supplied to fit to the front of the trailer to allow it to stand or to be lifted for towing. These are now supplied as a separate part to fit yourself and great care needs to be taken when opening pack as they are  prone to dropping out.


1959 Siesta Travel Trailer

 

No awning supplied with this one and it looks a little plainer with only the red detailing and the fact it has a large fridge in it making it look different to European caravans of a similar age. No fold down flap to cover the front window on this one.

 

Sadly I cannot find any history of the makers of this caravan but from the number of pictures of renovations it must have been a popular one in its day.

1964 Winnebago 216 Travel Trailer

The name Winnebago to the British mind is synonymous with the huge RV vehicles the size of a British Luxury Coach but the company was only formed in 1959 and the first self powered RV was not launched until 1966.

Winnebago is the name of a native American tribe, and Forest City where Winnebago started is in Winnebago County, Iowa. John K Hanson a local funeral home manager liked camping and managed to convince Californian supplier Modernistic Industries, to open a manufacturing facility near the banks of the Winnebago River.  Unfortunately things didn’t prosper and in 1959 when Modernistic’s prospects were slim a group of local businessmen, led by Hanson, bought out the operation. He changed the company name to Winnebago Industries in 1960 and established the manufacture of dedicated components right down to furniture designed and built especially for the trailers. One Winnebago innovation was the “Thermo-Panel,” with insulating foam between an aluminum exterior sheet and inner paneling. It kept weight down and made the vehicle more like a home away from home.

The Greenlight model has the “W” logo nicely printed to the side, rear and front. Again the windows are printed black and there is no interior. The movable blind at the front was apparently an extra cost optional extra.


The remaining caravans in this release include a current Winnebago trailer which is new casting and one that will appeal to collectors of more modern US vehicles. The Shasta Airflyte that has already been seen in several colours in the Hitch and Tow series and the Airstream Bambi has also been seen in that series several times previously. Though the Bambi in the series does come with a new awning not seen before.

Greenlight are to be congratulated on these models which though basic in some ways do look good when hitched to a period US car.


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Atlas Dinky Trucks – 25JJ Ford Calberson

By Maz Woolley

All photographs by, and copyright of, the Author.

The latest Atlas Dinky Truck series model to be sent to me is French Dinky 25JJ Ford Poissy in Calberson livery.  Dinky France made extensive use of this cab. originally as a flatbed with or without end boards, then as a truck, a tanker, a high sided truck, a tipper, a dustcart and a tow truck before making the covered truck with a liveried tilt in Calberson, Grand Moulins De Paris and SNCF liveries. The final version was as a Nestlé milk lorry fitted with churns like the Studebaker already seen in the Atlas series.

Calberson are now part of the major French logistics company Geodis Calberson.   They first started road haulage work in 1921 and by the end of the 1940s Calberson was set on expansion buying up smaller hauliers to grow the business. So in the early 1950s more and more vehicles would have been seen on French roads in the distinctive yellow with red grille and wheels.

25JJ was introduced in 1949 and deleted in 1952. Despite the short run multiple variations exist as the decals were changed several times. Dinky also made an articulated truck in Calberson Livery based upon the Panhard lorry.

Ford opened their Poissy plant in 1940 only for it to be taken over after the German invasion and for its output to be dedicated to the German war machine managed from Ford’s Cologne works. After liberation its output was then switched to supporting the Allies across Europe. Production of the 5 ton Ford F698W nicknamed “Poissy” started in 1946 . It was a development of the Matford  F917WS  trucks produced during the war.

The Atlas model has been nicely produced replicating the original well with an early version of the Calberson livery showing the outline of France with a train and lorry superimposed. The later liveries replace France with a globe with aircraft and ship images superimposed reflecting Calbersons livery changes as the company grew and became an international as well as a national carrier. The yellow paintwork with red contrasted grille and wheels has been well replicated and even the cast in tow hook is there at the rear.


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