My Morestones and Budgies

[DrJeep]

Just to manage your expectations I don’t have either the Cooper-Bristol or the Ford Thames! I’ve seen quite a few Coopers so I don’t think they’re very scarce in the UK, though I’ve never seen one at a price I wanted to pay. The Thames is really rare: it was produced for a very short period and I’ve only ever seen a single, really badly repainted example. I’m still looking.

[Squid]

I’ve seen quite a few Coopers so I don’t think they’re very scarce in the UK, though I’ve never seen one at a price I wanted to pay.

I oftentimes see models I want with asking prices that I'm not able or willing to pay. I will have to do a search for Budgies and Morestones for sale...maybe there are some in the States, after all.

Edit: Googling "Budgie Toys For Sale" returns a lot of playthings meant for Melopsittacus undulatus. I should have seen that one coming! Adding "die-cast" gave results more in keeping with what I was looking for.

[DrJeep]

Here's another fairly common Morestone / Budgie: No 15, the Austin A95 Westminster Countryman. At the top of the Austin range, A95s weren't common and the Countryman version must have been quite unusual. The real A95 was introduced in autumn 1956, with the Morestone model following in 1957. The model remained in production until 1970, and it comes in blue, orange, and metallic mauve (not easy to find). Early Morestones have the silver flash on the side. It was also produced as a "Q-car" (unmarked police car) in metallic blue or black, and in white with a red light as an emergency vehicle.

I've photographed it with the Lesney A50 Cambridge, a more common car in real life, but with a distinct family resemblance. I think it's interesting to see how the two different companies approached similar subjects.

[Squid]

Morestone definitely had a thing for somewhat unusual subject matter. Sort of like modeling a Pontiac Safari instead of the much better-known Chevy Nomad. I like these little models...thanks again for sharing!

[DrJeep]

As an aside, my favorite models in the "Petrol Pump Series" are the Land Rover, Cooper-Bristol, Thames van, and Foden dumper.

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Here's the Foden dumper - an interesting model that was nicely made, with the chassis looking particularly realistic. The yellow tipper is a Morestone, made between 1957 and 1959. The grey version is a Budgie, made between 1960 and 1966.

Sadly, neither of these is perfect. The yellow body has been touched up, and the front of the grey tipper has been repaired and the body repainted. The open chassis must have been very fragile, and the grey tipper has an extra brace above the second axle. Unfortunately this holds the tipper off the top of the cab - not a great modification!

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Morestone and Budgie Fodens

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[DrJeep]

Here are a couple of unusual Budgies, both from the end of production in around 1970. These were hopelessly old-fashioned compared to Matchbox, both being based on cars from the early 1950s. They're both revivals of earlier castings.

The fire chief car is the Wolseley police car with a new base. This one seems to be a very good repaint; the silver trim is too thick, there's red paint underneath the silver-painted speakers, and the rear lights are orange (the real vehicle had trafficators on the B-post, not flashing indicators). But it's the right base and the right colour, so worth having.

The A95 Emergency Vehicle is the A95 Westminster estate with a new, red base and a light in the roof, which is simply a plastic peg forced into the hole. These are very scarce (though not at all valuable), so I was pleased to find this at the NEC.

[DrJeep]

Here's the Morestone Cooper-Bristol. It's a nice model of the 1952 Cooper T20, with hand-applied silver trim on the wheels, exhaust and grille. This one is in good condition. But look at the fatigue on the wheels and driver - it's a common problem with these.

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