| Charbens Miniatures Series or "Old Crocks" 5-8 |
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Number five in the series was the 1907 Vauxhall, This one was cast in two halves and was always painted green, It had seperately cast headlights and steering wheel fitted which were gold trimmed along with the flutes in the bonnet. The mudguards were cast integrally as part of the body casting. The wheels are usually yellow metal but red wheels can also be found and the later issues had yellow plastic wheels. The one casting modification was to the windscreen which was recessed into the frame on the early issues but was filled in on the later ones. Value approximately £10-£15 Left: the early recessed windscreen and the later filled in version. |
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Next came the number six which was the 1906 De Dion Bolton. This was a one piece casting which had a steering wheel and headlights added, The model was usually painted mauve but can also be found in pale green or in a very pinkish brick red. Gold trim was applied to the steering wheel, headlights and to the radiator grille. It had tinplate mudguards which can be chrome plated or painted black and yellow wheels in either metal or plastic. Value approximately £10-£15 |
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The 1898 Panhard joined the range at number 7, It was a two piece casting with seperate die cast headlights, A metal steering tiller was fitted to the early issues and a steering wheel to the later ones, It can be found painted in light brown, dark brown or pale green, The dark brown being the most common. It had tinplate mudguards which can be either chrome plated or painted black, It was always fitted with very large wagon type metal wheels which were painted yellow, To complete the model the grille, headlights and the tiller or steering wheel was trimmed with hand applied gold trim. Value approximately £10-£15 Left: the early recessed windscreen and the later filled in version. |
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Note that the headlights are missing from this model |
The 1906 Rolls Royce (Silver Ghost) was next in the range at number 8, This was a one piece body casting which was painted silver, It had a seperately cast steering wheel and headlights fitted which were trimmed with gold paint, The mudguards are usually chrome plated metal but black painted examples may exist. The wheels were black metal or black plastic and the model featured a spare wheel fixed to the front wing, For the first time Charbens applied extra paint trim which was not gold when they painted the seats red. This model is not quite so common. Value approximately £12-£18 |
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