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Listed on ebay, model without Pat number on the base, this one is a prepro with crimped axles.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/321702315324
J

numi wrote:It would be interesting & exciting to find a specimen Mercury Cougar without patent nos on the baseplate.
numi

nearlymint wrote:Listed on ebay, model without Pat number on the base, this one is a prepro with crimped axles.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/321702315324
J

This is an exciting discovery.I truly believed that the Cream Cougars without base patent had never existed and i was wrong.Hardys pre-production prototype is another chapter in/of Lesney history.
Thanks for the link Jason and i am now a happy lassie
numi

Thanks Jason for this link to a non-patent base Cougar model for optimist kwakers to smile over. I never saw Numi's post last year calling all Cream Cougars pre-production models, and that statement never seemed to be discussed any further by Forum members.
Please also take note of this linked Cougar's very crudely done rear base rivet, and also of the door spring posts on this model which have always been accepted as only being found on the 'second' type body casting found in both Nick's and in Mike Stannard's Guides.
Also, the red interior on this odd crimped axle prototype gives us food for thought as to what was done at the Lesney factory in this model's early life, and what other odd variations of it may still exist in secretive old collections around the world. Hopefully this model will influence how we view and evaluate strange models that are shown on the Forum that we sometimes cannot explain, and are sometimes dismissed prematurely as just 'fakes' or base swaps. Were it not for this one's base without the stock two lines of patent number info and it's early window unit, this model might have been quickly condemned in a Forum discussion. Are those crimped axles 'perfect'? I doubt it under ultra-high magnification. Would they have been deemed acceptable out of the prototype shop at Lesney in June of 1968? Many may have questioned their use on a model other than this one. It would have been an interesting discussion for sure......
Does Hardy's model shown here have the 'Top Secret' early casting details you need to see to authenticate Hardy's model as a very early Cougar production body casting Numi? You were very quiet on Hugh's original cream Cougar he shared with us a couple of months ago, and he still may be waiting for your details to be shared with him privately......kwakers