Sf #15 Fork Lift Truck 'iRiON'

[Sir_Matchbox_96]

Hi all,

my Sf #15 Fork Lift Truck with 'iRiON' labels arrived saturday.

http://www.irion.biz/

Greetings,
Linus

[Idris]

This isn't a promotional I'm familiar with. What is it? Code 1? Code 3? Can anyone give some background, please?

[motorman]

It's not a code 1 Hugh, personally i have never seen an example with this label. I have seen one with a similar label which had red lettering, which i may have an image of ......standby!!

[motorman]

This is the other one i saw on e bay a while ago which sold for big bucks.

The labels on this one look a lot more professional and are round edged as opposed to Sir_Matchbox_96 version which are square edged and a little on the rough side. Odd!

[Sir_Matchbox_96]

Thank you Idris and Motorman. I saw the variation Motorman shows, too. And yes my one have definitely square labels.
I would say that the style 'iRion' is written is the same at both models, except for the colour.
The labels from my one looks professional, too. But they should be placed better, because they would fit to the sides of the Fork Lift Truck without protruding the rear.

I wolud say the labels were not applied by Lesney. The glue which is used on my example is different to the typic Lesney Matchbox glue. Matchbox labels hold and hold and hold, what causes that you are able to find very playworn Matchbox with a label or a piece of it. This glue seems different.

It's very hard to find information of it.

Greetings,
Linus

[GHOSTHUNTER]

The name "IRION" is the make of the Forklift truck (really a loader), but who and when the labels were put onto the Matchbox models is not clear, so many Matchbox models are now being discovered with non-standard Lesney labels applied, it is simply not possible now, to know who is doing it and all we can say is that they may well be company promotional models or long serving workers gift models, a photo of an "Irion" Forklift truck is shown below.

GHOSTHUNTER.

[cody6268]

So, why chose Irion labels, while the model the MBX is modeled after is a Lansing-Bagnall?

[GHOSTHUNTER]

So, why chose Irion labels, while the model the MBX is modeled after is a Lansing-Bagnall?

'Artistic Licence' comes into play here, the 'MBX' may have been the more accessible and cheap to buy 'lots of' model at the time the company wanted a small Forklift model and I would say the 'MBX' models were more easily available than any other brand.

Ghosty.

[GHOSTHUNTER]

Here is a Silver Spirit with very accurately applied label...viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2174&p=17777#p17777

GHOSTHUNTER.

[tjlglass]

I found this on ebay