VBD2 is closed. Please go to https://vbd3.co.uk instead.

photo

Thanks for sorting out your photo editing!!!!.....that is much better and should promote more discussion Thank you

Sometimes collectors are in denial over their purchases or finds.
Sorry but your specimen is a fake and do not possess any traits of the original factory peened ends.Copy this pic to desktop and enlarge if required and view the tampering of the axle-ends and look at the arrows that demarcates the areas where a metal file had been used.
numi

50 euro is a bunch of money (way over priced) for that model in that condition! Only the wheels would boost that model to that amount.

Another case solved Senior Detective Numi!!

I agree with Numi, the file marks are clear to see. In side view photo (looking straight on at the small axle ends) you can clearly see the white-ish damage to the wheels and the enlarged wheel holes.

In the below photo, notice how the outboard edges of the round over have a flat filed edge where it would normally come to a much sharper edge.

When models are tampered with in this manner, the wheels have to be forced over the axle ends and will not pull back off. You cut the axles off the donor model (leaving the black wheels pristine and you cut the grey wheels off the tanker and file the edges of the round over on the tanker axles (like shown in the photo). The donor wheels force over the round over but are nearly impossible to remove with force. Both drilling and forcing the wheels causes that white-ish damage around the hole in the center of the donor wheels.

I'll go further than Greg's comments, I've never seen a real BPW tanker in any condition (but I've seen several fake ones). This one has too many clear cut signs of tampering to be anything other than a fake.

Here's a photo of the axle ends on a very play worn refuel tanker. It's so play worn that the decal is missing and the tank end is missing, the wheels also have a significant wear. However, you can see that the edges of the axle end round over come to a much sharper edge.

I agree with Dick, the only thing what is suspecious: "The holes in the center of these black wheels look to have been drilled out to slip over those smaller ends of these Tankers axles". The ends of the axles are absolutely in the norm. I can show you dozens of photos with a similar or same axle ends. Some are smaller, some are higher, some are straight, some are slanting, some are flat, some are rounded, some have sharper ends, some have rounded ends, ......and most of them have the "rays" from the center, but not all and that all sometimes on the same model (exactly as it is on the photos from lesney0905). The silver ends (with no rust) are typically in the areas where the wheels rotate relativelly to the axles and they polished the surface from the rust. It could be also the traces of the file, but the traces, in my opinion, are too "nice" to be from the file. The wheels have really larger diameter and they were (very probably) pressed over the riveted ends.
Antonin

Tinman wrote:I've never seen a real BPW tanker in any condition (but I've seen several fake ones).

In this context, it's worth noting that neither AIM nor NAMC list the BPW variation.

Thanks for your answers, I still have doubts, evidently false if it is done very well! I have it the same in my collection, thanks.