Removving a brace would have required the addition of metal to the tooling, something which I understand is extremely difficult once the metal has been surface hardened. Removing such a brace would theredore almost certainly have required retooling, meaning a clean finish would be expected.GHOSTHUNTER wrote:I also agree with the way the the effect of broken metal suggests a brace, or bracing of some sort may have been there, but on the pre-production models and removed for full production.
That green model is now in my collection but, unfortunately, the photographs are on my home computer. However, I have the idea that the baseplace is the later braced version, meaning that the model is not a pre-production. (I'll post a photograph next time I'm back home.)GHOSTHUNTER wrote:I have three pictures of the supposed pre-pro model in medium Green, but sadly the baseplate is not one of them and nothing can be seen inside through the windows for any top bracing.
...is the major flaw in the idea that the brace has been removed. But the front axle on the no-brace model does have an obvious oval indentation that could be a new piece welded onto the mould? I have no idea if adding something to the mould would have been impossible or just very hard to do.Removing a brace would have required the addition of metal to the tooling
...is a really interesting idea. I don't think it explains the same broken look at the back, because surely there would be some Crestas with a back axle brace too?It is conceivable the baseplates were all cast with the brace, but then removed by hand before being painted
What you say is certainly true of expensive cast components, but i struggle to see Lesney using had-fettling. Many other threads have referred to defective components simply being thrown back into the melting pot, and remember that there were cheaply made items where the profit margin was slight and the buisness model relied on volume production/sales.GHOSTHUNTER wrote:It is conceivable the baseplates were all cast with the brace, but then removed by hand before being painted and assemled with the axle/wheel assembly. Any engineering, sub-assembly or mechanical based workplace would have a policy of hand fettling or hand finishing of sub-standard products. Faulty products could be produced for a short while because of a fault with the machinary or the model components. Production would be haulted while the fault is rectified. The faulty items could be rectified by hand at a later date and even by sub-contractors (have been involved in this myself),
If that brace was not cast correctly it would foul the axle making it harder for the Girls to push the axle into it's channel on the base. A quick fix is to have someone break away this brace clearing the path for the axle.
Put those slightly modified bases back into production and they find their way painted Black and placed on to the bodies.
After the tiny 21a coach this was the first Matchbox with a separate baseplate and I'm sure it's the first with a riveted baseplate. Does this help explain the complex engineering? Was Matchbox working out how to get this right? Both Morestone and Benbros also made cars around this time with separate bases, and they're all remarkably similar to the Cresta. I've shown the inside of the Morestone A95 and the Benbros Hudson tourer because they're relatively easy to photograph, but the Morestone Beetle and Wolseley police car were also introduced in 1956....gives the impression the tooling for this area was quite complex. Why was it felt the axles need so much bracing when there was already the standard slim curved bracing at extreme edges of the baseplate?
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