15a Yellow Prime Mover

[hydra427]

Hi Everyone, I have the opportunity to add this 15a Prime Mover to my collection and would like to know your thoughts on the authenticity of the item. All looks good in the pictures but the base rail look like they were resting on something as the paint dried. A few small chips on the drivers side but something I can live with. Let me know your thoughts and opinions. This model is coming out of an estate sale so I have no other information on provenance of the given item. Thanks in advance, John

[GHOSTHUNTER]

Looks good but what has happened with the near side forward rear wheel...


...looks like a crimping machine (or pliars!), has caught the hub area very close to the crimped end.

Ghosthunter.

[hydra427]

Ghosthunter, I saw that and examined several of my orange 15a's and it seems to be more common than not. Will still see what others think as well.

[Idris]

My only comment would be that the silver trim looks very precise.

[numi]

This is indeed an interesting specimen.Whats with the color....could it be the dark yellow/buttertone?
Everything looks authentic as far as i can see.The wheel damage caused by axle-crimping is common on most of these models so theres nothing odd about this one.The Lesney chrome silver paint is perfect on the tank and grille and very hard/almost impossible to replicate.This certainly isnt a repaint and the base blemish is caused by these sitting on rails/grids after painting and whilst curing!
The crimps look good but the axle-heads are smaller & domed!?
Wheres Tinman in all of this?
Numi

[numi]

Here are some of my pics.Note the wheel damage whilst crimping and the paint blemish & drips at the base.
numi

[hydra427]

Numi, Thank you for the great photos of your model and the vote of confidence. I contacted several others and they all basically said the same thing including Graham. When it comes the the axles I always refer back to the Stannard guide. In referring back to Stannard, he says in the axles paragraph up front in the book that  "These axles often have an almost flat head and are referred to as such in the catalogue, 'but' the size and shape of the heads on these axles is inconsistent and there are many different types".   Some of the 'round' domes are more bulbous looking. I guess we all have to take chances now and then. It's not going to cost me an arm and a leg so i will take a gamble.

[hydra427]

I have ended up purchasing the 15a Yellow Prime Mover and am quite happy with the results of the purchase. I will be posting pictures of the model as soon as photobucket is back up and running. I have examined it thoroughly and based on what I know it is the real deal. I even went as far as to mic the axles and they are consistent with other prime movers that I own. As someone pointed out earlier that they thought the silver looked to precise they are far from the point. I did compare it to other models and it is not the butterscotch color that the original pictures showed but more of the yellow on the 11a tanker. I took a picture with both the yellow tanker and butterscotch tanker and you can clearly see the difference. The heads of the axles are more domed shaped than they are flat head but as it is pointed out in the Stannard guide "These axles often have an almost flat head and are referred to as such in the catalogue, but the size and shape of the heads on these axles is inconsistent and there are many different types". We can all read what we want into anything but in the end a model is what it is. I will post pictures as soon as possible and Thank you to all that commented and the numerous dealers that all gave me a vote of confidence on the model.