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Some more pictures of the crimped ends and the front.
Think I have to follow some lessons in photography.

Front crimp:
That rough-cut, jagged end definitely doesn't look Lesney.

The rear looks better but sadly picture is out of focus.

This thread seems to have gone very, very quiet. Does no one else have an opinion?

Thought we might get more discussion from the picture posted by ''mboxmike'' on the first page about signs of protective tape near one of the whheels.

I'd like to know more about that occurence!

Ghosthunter.

I think it’s a good repaint.

The evidence for repaint: the paint is too thick, the tape that Mike spotted, and the uneven trim. I don’t know what to make of the axle crimps because the easy way to do this would be to slip the base off and spray the body, but perhaps the wheels were taken off to preserve the rivet? Is there any spray on the inside of the base?

Evidence against: the rivet looks very convincing, some early models do have very thick paint (43a Hillman Minx, for example), and hand-applied trim can be very variable (my 22a Cresta here, for example).

But on the whole, I think it’s a repaint.

It is one of those models which needs to be held by someone with years of Lesney 1-75 regular wheel experience, so by handling the model a smell test can be done and just the general look and feel of it, something genuine models exude with confidence!

Indeed the amount of paint on the inside of the base and inside the whole of the body casting could be a telltale sign...too little or too much says a lot!

Still would like to see more of that possible tape!

Ghosthunter.

Certain that it is a repaint.
Paint comes off to easy.
Don't think that the model is baked in an oven.

chrisflandria wrote:Certain that it is a repaint.
Paint comes off to easy.
Don't think that the model is baked in an oven.

First of all, thank you for posting the above. (Many collectors would be too embarrassed to make such a post.)
Second, that really is a crying shame. When I saw the photographs, I really thought that this was finally a dark blue 33a I could believe in. Unfortunately, that turned out not to be the case. The quest continues....

Idris wrote:Thank you for posting the above. (Many collectors would be too embarrassed to make such a post.)

I can remember at least one collector who found out his model was not genuine and then stopped posting. It is unfortunate that these things happen, but it is a learning experience. Hopefully Chris will stick around.