| Lesney Matchbox Major pack M4a Ruston Bucyrus |
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Lesneys model of the M4a Ruston Bucyrus 22-RB excavator was introduced in 1959, It had a maroon painted body and the cab floor and main jib and the seperately cast secondary jib and bucket which was fitted half way up the main jib by a dome head pin were painted yellow, The track bearing base was painted gloss black. It had decals applied to the sides of the cab which read "Ruston Bucyrus" and "22-RB", The "Ruston Bucyrus" was always in black & white but the "22-RB" was red on the early issues which was diffcult to see against the maroon body so it was soon recoloured to yellow. The rear of the body was detailed with a Taylor Woodrow decal which was small on the early issues and larger on the later ones, Taylor Woodrow were a well known construction engineering company. The rubber tracks were usually green but grey tracks from the 49a Halftrack can also be found on this model, The rollers were unpainted metal on dome head axles with rounded ends. There is just one known casting modification where the original spread rivet that joined the cab to the floor was replaced by a regular round rivet. The bucket jib could be moved back & forth and the body would swivel on the base and of course the model could be rolled on its tracks, It was a very popular toy in its day and this is reflected in its availability today because it is a fairly common model although prices are still quite high for mint & boxed models. It was packaged in 'B','C' and 'D' type boxes with the 'D' box being quite hard to find. It was deleted in 1965 to make way for the GMC Fruehauf hopper train. |
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collectable toy specialists. |
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collectable toy specialists. |
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collectable toy specialists. |
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collectable toy specialists. |
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collectable toy specialists. |
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collectable toy specialists. |
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collectable toy specialists. |
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