Matchbox Superfast MB2-d Mercedes Trailer

The #2d Mercedes trailer joined the SuperFast range for just one year, packaged either in a ´G´ box or any USA or Canada blisterpacks with 1969 or 1970 copyright dates. All were painted metallic gold, with the initial release featuring leftover orange canopies from the regular wheels issue, and one of these early issues features in the 1971 collector catalogue on the Matchbox motorway.
The bulk of production featured the intended yellow canopy, with most having standard thin 12.5x2mm thin 4 slot truck wheels fitted although the earliest releases and most of the orange canopy versions had the short run 11.2x2mm thin 5 slots.

Unusually,this toy departed from previous standard practice of using removable axle clips, instead featuring rivited plastic axle clips. Canopies carry mould segment numbers between 1 and 6 and exist in equal numbers while the trailer bed is from a twin mould.
The tooling spent 5 years in storage before being revived for the introduction of two-packs in 1976. The initial red release , the very first , TP1 , featured lemon yellow canopies with smart green ´INTERNATIONAL HAULAGE ´ stickers and the 4mm wide version of the previous pattern 4 slot truck tyres.

For 1981, the TP1 trailer was recoloured powder blue and the yellow canopy´s sticker changed to read ´IMS International Haulage´. From 1977, military TP15 followed with the earliest run being painted in a rather dark but typical British Army matt olive drab without hot foiling on the standard 4 slot wheels and a tan canopy with one of 2 different sticker designs. About half of these were fitted with a newer type of 5 slot 12.5x4mm wheels.
Subsequent runs of this very successful two-pack were made over 5 years in a noticeably lighter satin dark olive with the same two types of wheels both being used in large numbers but rarely mixed on the same toy as well as the same two canopy sticker designs re-appearing.

In the final year of Lesney it was recoloured yellow, fitted with the newest 5 arch 12.5x5mm wheels and given a white canopy with an ´Alpine Rescue´ sticker. Beyond the scope of this site, this version continued in production into the Macau years of Matchbox International and survived until 1994 in a multitude of variations. An unbranded close copy of this trailer was made in very large numbers in China in the 1980s and 1990s.