What do you make of this 45b Corsair?

[DrJeep]

I picked up this one because on the listing photograph the interior was obviously not the normal bright red. I'd welcome your views. It's an early Corsair with a silver-painted base. The paint is a much creamier and less yellow colour than other silver-based Corsairs, and the interior is definitely not bright red. There are no obvious casting differences but both axles are peened on the same side, which is relatively unusual but not unprecedented in the Corsair. The colours of both the exterior and the interior are very even, so it hasn't been faded by the sun, though it could be faded as the result of other environmental exposure. Thoughts?

[Idris]

Any chance of a comparison shot with your off-white/cream GPW example, Glenn?

[DrJeep]

I thought you might ask... I’ll take some more pictures in daylight later in the week, but this one is much closer to the normal yellow and the interior is paler than the cream Corsair.

If this all seems very mysterious, here are the pictures of my unusual cream Corsair.

[kerbside]

45b on box 320x304.JPG (38.51 KiB) Viewed 1528 times

1-45b X 3 col..JPG (50.86 KiB) Viewed 1528 times

My three 45b models and the single model with the Silver-Grey base.

George T.

[DrJeep]

more pictures with my strange cream Corsair. All of these have the painted silver base. I think that the new one is a pale, almost cream yellow. The interior is a dark red (the side picture shows this best), but not the deep red-maroon of the cream Corsair.

[Idris]

Superb comparison photographs, Glenn! Thank you!
I would be tempted to say that this model suffers from variability in both the paint and the plastic colour, with your latest acquisition simply having both extremely pale paint and an extremely dark interior. Alternatively, it may simply represent the combination of an early paint mix with an early batch of plastic, i.e. before Production had arrived at standardised formulations.
It is also interesting to note that your cream models appears to have a pinkish hue, rather like some 74a Mobile Canteens.

[johnboy]

Is it possible to have a base shot Glenn?

[DrJeep]

Is it possible to have a base shot Glenn?

Here you are. The paler Corsair is on the right, with some paint loss. It doesn't seem to be any different from the one next to it. I have noticed, though, that there are two different base castings. The Corsair on the left has more spacing in the line that says "MATCHBOX SERIES No 45" so that the M is further towards the back of the car. I think both bases were in use throughout production.

silver bases

IMG_6807.jpg (413.66 KiB) Viewed 1423 times

I think there are also two different body castings - some have a number 1 in the middle of the bonnet, and some are blank. Again, I think they're both in use throughout production. You can just see the number if you peer past the wheels and use a torch.

I would be tempted to say that this model suffers from variability in both the paint and the plastic colour, with your latest acquisition simply having both extremely pale paint and an extremely dark interior. Alternatively, it may simply represent the combination of an early paint mix with an early batch of plastic, i.e. before Production had arrived at standardised formulations.

I have a feeling that most of the paint variability is in the later models with the plated bases - this is when the greener version appears, I think. I'm sure that Antonin will know how variable the silver painted models are. He has a vast range of colours but I don't think he's shown them by base here. It would be interesting to know if anyone else has a similar interior. I haven't ruled out fading either, though again all the others I have are remarkably consistent in their bright red interior colour.

It is also interesting to note that your cream model appears to have a pinkish hue, rather like some 74a Mobile Canteens.

I agree - in the hand, there's a definite pink hue, though overall it's close to the Rentaset colour, which is quite a rich cream. Here's another comparison picture. This Cresta is definitely pink, and it's a normal Corsair on the right. Context is everything - from this picture you could easily mistake it for a normal coloured Corsair, but it really does look as different as the earlier pictures show. I suppose that's why no-one noticed it on eBay!

colour comparisons

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[GHOSTHUNTER]

Do you have any examples of #56 Fiat to compare the interior colours as those in the fiat may be a shade or two darker than those first fitted in the Corsair.

Ghosthunter.

[DrJeep]

Do you have any examples of #56 Fiat to compare the interior colours as those in the fiat may be a shade or two darker than those first fitted in the Corsair.

Good lateral thinking! I have two 56b Fiats and both have a bright red interior, just like the Corsairs. They're both the later version with extensions to the interior under the front wheel arches. Early versions could well be different.