Matchbox Superfast MB32-c Leyland Tanker

The Leyland ´Ergo´ cabbed BP tanker joined the SuperFast range in 1970. It was packaged only in ´G´ boxes or USA & Canada blisterpacks with copyright dates between 1969 and 1971.
It was always fitted with 11x2mm 5 slot thin tyres which can be either solid or hollow or a mixture of both types.
The baseplates are usually chrome plated however a small proportion of the BP liveried production was issued with unplated gray plastic baseplates.
There is one casting variation which exists in equal numbers, because one half of the tool that produces 2 chassis cabs per operation has a block cast behind the cab at chassis top level, and the other doesnt!

One of the most sought after ´G´box issues is the Aral liveried alternative to BP which was produced for the German market. The chassis cab is painted in the same shades of blue that were used on the same cabbed #60 site hut truck. ARAL paper labels were carried over from the regular wheels issue unchanged.

American Lesney collector Mr Bob Brennan of the NAMC commisioned the Hackney factory to make 2 small runs of hundreds not thousands of these tankers in special colours with unique decals/stickers.
Initially metallic purple chassis-cab with silver tank decaled ´the National Association of Matchbox Collectors´ was produced and hundreds sold to NAMC members. Unfortunately many collectors back in 1972 regarded this issue as being in colours normally associated with Mattel Hotwheels and as a consequence the scores left over were sold onto toy dealers without any decals fitted so both versions can be found today.
The lesson from this resulted in a second much smaller sell out run in conventional red chassis cab with white tank featuring ´THE MINIATURE VEHICLE´ stickers. These all came in standard ´G´ boxes and command high prices today.

Lesney kept a stock of these tankers partially assembled at the factory after deletion from the 1-75 series in 1972 for use in the G1 Service Station Giftset which would have been packed each year in good time to be delivered to shops each Christmas 1970-73.
Those packed for Christmas 1973 featured ´Burmah´ stickers from the newly introduced #63 tanker but retained BP green chassis cabs.

Collectors may speculate that the a well known red with black baseplate 1970 pre-pro or the 1972 short run of red cabbed #32 tankers for NAMC special issue may have been part of the plans as colour trials for gaining Esso or Burmah Oil sponsership once BP deal expired however there is no evidence whatsoever and Mr Brennan personally chose red for his NAMC special.

Large quantities of unused labels and decals were sold to collectors after the Hackney factory was closed and it is possible to fit all sorts of other odd labels these past 25 years, although there is no timeline evidence to support their being genuine Lesney factory variations.