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On Die cast junkie's model you can clearly see two different coats of paint. So, his model indeed has had two coats of paint applied.

Tinman wrote:On Die cast junkie's model you can clearly see two different coats of paint. So, his model indeed has had two coats of paint applied.

Definitely. It shows clearly on the front. The question, I think, is whether this was done in the factory or later. I think the silver grille looks very Lesney.

kerbside wrote:This is not a repaint, nor has it been painted twice, I have been informed by a very reliable collector who has some paper work,that some models were sent out to another company that painted (sprayed) them with enamel paint..That is why the paint on this model and DiecastJunkie looks so thick..

Please tell more!
Why was enamel paint used? Was this some kind of experiment? Was it only trialled on the 37a? Are there actually two coats or does it merely look like that?

There are other models that have a thicker coat of paint such as the 22a models, mainly the Red one, this was not an trail.

Because it is an enamel paint it is much thicker than the paint that Lesney used on their models.

So it is not two coats of enamel paint, as suggested.

When the paper work about this comes to light it will be shown.

George T.

DrJeep wrote:

Tinman wrote:On Die cast junkie's model you can clearly see two different coats of paint. So, his model indeed has had two coats of paint applied.

Definitely. It shows clearly on the front. The question, I think, is whether this was done in the factory or later. I think the silver grille looks very Lesney.

B699F8BC-5817-44D1-AF2A-11F47D047DAB.png

I will try and get some more close ups of it over the weekend for you guys. I agree it does look like a second coat, but also factory done? As there is not any tampering with the axles, and the underside is as heavy as the outer body. The thing that strikes me is that appears to have never has any decals or even the slightest trace of a decal. I don't know...Which is one of the reasons I signed on here, there are much more experienced and educated serious collectors of early Matchbox than anywhere else.

...and we are glad you did join us because we love trying to understand models like this, it gets all the brain cellls working.

Ghosthunter.

DiecastJunkie wrote:...and the underside is as heavy as the outer body.

I agree with DiecastJunkie. Having taken another look at the photographs in this thread (and assuming that the information over third-party enamel painting is correct), it looks to me as though the way to spot one of these might be the thickness of the paint on the inside of the bottle load, the inference being that the third-party deliberately fully-coated both the inside and the outside of the model whilst Lesney concentrated their efforts on the outside.

My feelings on the 37a Carrier Bantam of DiecastJunkie is that the main coat including the hand applied silver trim are Lesney authentic.
Where the model is chipped and we see another layer is of most interest.

As the axles and crimps look as though they have not been disturbed I can not see that this is repaint especially the good quality of top coat.

I have taken the time to photograph one of my models that is factory painted. And it the “REAL THING” pun intended

What this shows is multiple layers of paint but using two colours. Of particular interest is the image 3 where the chipping has occurred a bit like a scarf joint (explained with plywood image) and layers are evident.
I have taken photos of the areas where the light yellow still exists but not in contact with the dark yellow and also photos where it is layered.
Image 5 shows an area circled in red not unlike the chipped area of DiecastJunkie model
My model is the thin side rail version so just a tad earlier than the DiecastJunkie 37a but the paint process may have been the same, albeit using the same colour paint as two coats on the DiecastJunkie model as apposed to light and dark yellow as in my case.(suggesting four coats)
Where the model of DiecastJunkie has chipped it could have revealed an under layer of the same colour paint.

Bert

Thanks, Bert. That's a really strange one: it looks like it's been undercoated and painted, and then undercoated and painted again. There's no sign of any undercoat on this one, but the paint is patchy: thick on the roof, but thin behind the door, on the crates and especially on the chassis. It would have benefitted from another run through the paint spray!

Thanks, strange compared to many and perhaps unique with 4 coats. I have several played with uneven loads but each are similar to yours. My mint one is very thick but there is a bit of reluctance to chip it just to see if it is multi coat.
However if you look here I believe Jason has a similar model that I can see has two coats. Page 2 of that thread he shows what could be another top row third from the left. This indicates there was more than one way these were painted and not out of the question that some were painted with two coats using the same colour as per DiecastJunkie.

I thought I would add an underside view showing excess paint along with full shot to show the thin rail from the left and enlarge an area where it looks like two yellow circles but these are actually the third coat.

Bert