| Benbros "TV Series" and "Mighty Midgets" 33-36 |
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Number 33 was the Breakdown Lorry which was another 23 AEC cab and chassis with another new body, This time a traditional 1950's style breakdown recovery unit. The recovery body and crane boom appear to be seperate castings but the hook was just a cast in hanging ball of metal that had been silver trimmed along with the headlights and grille, It has unpainted metal wheels and has been seen painted in metallic blue and in pale metallic green. It was later updated with a Bedford S type cab and black plastic wheels and has been seen painted in blue or in orange Value approximately £30-£40 |
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Number 34 was the AA (Automobile Association) Land Rover which was quite an accurate model of the series one Land Rover, The body was cast in one piece and a die cast baseplate was fitted, For some reason a large slot was cast into the base which makes it very fragile as I found out to my regret. It had metal wheels and on the sides "AA Road Service" was cast in. It was always painted yellow and silver trim was applied to the grille and front bumper. It often gets mistaken for the Morestone AA Land Rover which is easy to identify because it has a black painted roof and wheels. Value approximately £30-£40 |
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Number 35 was the Army Land Rover which was more than just a recolouring of the AA Land Rover in that the "AA Road Service" lettering had been removed from the sides of the body which seems like doing it the hard way to me. Although it was a military vehicle it was given silver trim to the grille & front bumper. I cant help thinking that it would have been so much nicer if it had a set of decals and black wheels. Value approximately £30-£40 The pictured model sat hidden in the bottom of a wardrobe from the late 1950's until 2001 when I purchased it and promptly put my thumb straight through the baseplate, handle with care! |
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Number 36 was the Royal Mail Land Rover which was painted red all over, It had silver trim to the grille and front bumper, This version had "Royal Mail" and "EllR" cast into the sides. The three different versions of the Land Rover all appear to have come from the same set of dies so the lettering was altered between production runs. It was a fine model but spoiled by the red painted wheels. Value approximately £30-£40 |
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