75 Alfa Carabo Rolamatic Prototype

[nearlymint]

Here are a few pictures of the model. The roller just sits on the rear wheels under its own weight in slots. The roller itself has 6 flats but I could only find this sticker which was loose inside the car.
I may make my own up at some time just for fun and display purposes.

75 Alfa Carabo

75a.jpg (77.3 KiB) Viewed 953 times

75 Alfa Carabo

75c.jpg (60.76 KiB) Viewed 953 times

75 Alfa Carabo

75b.jpg (69.96 KiB) Viewed 953 times

Very clever and simple construction, very pleased to have it in the collection.
Jason

[nickjones]

"All Take" sounds like the model might have been made to be used as a dice in a card game or similar, I have heard that phrase used before in a game but I can't remember where I heard it, anyone ?.

[tjlglass]

Sex game ?

[matchbox360]

Thanks for showcasing this exceptional model, Jason

From the baseplate, it appears to be a standard No. 75 but 'adapted' to its new role(amatics).. I was looking for the plastic 'pegs' on the inner wheel rims that give it the 'Rolamatic' action, but can't see them. Also, I take it there's no glazing over the wording-slot? As for the "All Take", perhaps it's part of a sentence that says: "Rolamatics - all take - a good roll - to get - the action - going"... that's 6 flats, but just an offhand guess!

I also noticed what looks like a tiny screw at the front of the bonnet, a screw where the front rivet should be and a hole where the rear rivet should be. Very improvised. It seems like an experimental prototype, a proof-of-concept. Maybe one reason it didn't get past this stage is that, being on the car's inside, it wasn't as visible as it should be.. or maybe the words turned too fast/were too small to be read easily? I'm sure you have your own theories, and would love to hear them!

A fascinating discovery, and a very valuable piece of Lesney history. Well done, Jason!

Cheers, Ken

[GHOSTHUNTER]

all take - a good roll - to get - the action - going"... Cheers, Ken

No, what it really said, was..."all take - care of - yourself - you won't - fit in - this car...

Ghosty.

[motorman]

No Ghosty you have got it wrong... you see the R & D guy working on this model was scottish and a lot of the words have been lost from the model. In fact it originaly said " Hey, you lot can all take a flying F**k to yourselves!!"

I can think why it didn't make it into production.

[GHOSTHUNTER]

Actually no, we're both wrong, I now know what it should say..."ALL TAKE - THAT FANS - WHY DON'T - YOU ALL - GET LIVES...

Ghosty.

[motorman]

Actually no, we're both wrong, I now know what it should say..."ALL TAKE - THAT FANS - WHY DON'T - YOU ALL - GET LIVES...

Ghosty.

I still cant imagine why it wasn't put into production!!!

[GHOSTHUNTER]

Take that fans probably would't know what an Alfa Carabo is, so they wouldn't but it

Ghosty.

[matchbox360]

Just another observation.. as the Rolamatic feature on this prototype is internally driven (without the wheel 'pegs' or 'lugs'), I'm wondering how the smooth wheels have enough traction to make the 6-sided roller turn in a consistent way. I think if this design had been approved, the final product would probably have those 'cut-outs' in the baseplate (for the 'wheel-pegs' to go through) which give the RM range their characteristic non-symmetrical baseplates. Alternatively, it might have a revolutionary new Rolamatics 'drive', a sort of worm-gear connected to the axle which would enable the roller to turn.

Btw, Nick offered the interesting suggestion that the spinning roller might be the equivalent of a dice, which inspired me to 'invent' a Rolamatics model I call the 'Fruit Machine Mobile'. Roll it along, and the 3 reels spin around in a blur... when it stops (and if you're lucky), the lemons/cherries/watermelons all line up and.. you win the jackpot! This would probably need 'pegs' on 3 of the wheels, each corresponding to one 'reel', and maybe also a 'worm gear drive' to augment the action. The exact mechanism would tax the most adept Lesney engineer! I can only imagine what the model would look like, something out of a Las Vegas nightmare?

Thanks to everyone for your input, keep the theories and suggestions coming!

Cheers, Ken