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Hi again,

apologies for the raft of posts but everyday is a school day as they say. I have been doing a little research around the box information page (which is excellent) that Bert kindly provided. I noted on the 49 D box variants that it makes mention of the Army Half Track Mark III being present. I cross referenced against my three and noted that one has Army half track MK. III, is this normal?

smudger wrote:Hi again,apologies for the raft of posts but everyday is a school day as they say. I have been doing a little research around the box information page (which is excellent) that Bert kindly provided. I noted on the 49 D box variants that it makes mention of the Army Half Track Mark III being present. I cross referenced against my three and noted that one has Army half track MK. III, is this normal?

I see Pat does not include this end flap on his site yet for the D box but it does rate a mention on the B box, so I would send him a PM using your post as reference as I am sure he would be interested in an image.

Bert

Excellent, thank you Bert, unfortunately I do not know Pat's details so cant find him. Any further assistance would be greatly appreciated

Hello again,

You can send Pat a pm via his member id of matchboxpat or if you want to do it by email that is matchboxpat@yahoo.com.

Regards

Bert

Thank you kind sir, I will do that, kind regards, Adam

Idris wrote:

DrJeep wrote:Could they have been surplus shop stock, I wonder?

That would be my guess since it not only explains the duplicates, but also the condition of the boxes.

Those were my exact thoughts upon viewing the photos (old shop stock, i.e. new old stock).

Tinman wrote:

Idris wrote:

DrJeep wrote:Could they have been surplus shop stock, I wonder?

That would be my guess since it not only explains the duplicates, but also the condition of the boxes.

Those were my exact thoughts upon viewing the photos (old shop stock, i.e. new old stock).

On the other hand, if that were so, would you expect three different boxes for the 49a models?

Idris wrote:On the other hand, if that were so, would you expect three different boxes for the 49a models?

I think there are 23 49a half tracks, 18 62a army trucks, and various other military vehicles too. With the exception of one of the 62as they look like they've never been out of their boxes before. We know the military vehicles weren't a huge success, and this looks like the kind of assortment that would be left at the back of the store room as new models replaced old. Add in a bit of poor stock rotation - all the 6c Euclids are early, and as you say, there are three box designs for the 49a - and you can imagine these languishing for years in a small toyshop. Even now, the market isn't very strong for most of these, though they'd still do well because of the excellent boxes.

They're an amazing find - it would be fantastic to find out more about their history.

There are several models and or boxes that do not tie in with shop stock or new old stock and those being a worn 62a, a grubby 73a, a repaired 73a box and a repaired 16b C box.
Although the majority of this group have the hallmarks of old shop stock.

When the Millstream attic find was closely examined there were also two or three box types for the same model. The time span of contents of that lot was about 4 years.
Interestingly that also had large quantities of the 49a and 55a.
I suppose if the shop keeper did not sell the oldest stock first you will see new boxes and models mixed in with the old.

One of the reasons I suggested to Adam that as much care as possible to keep the model with the box should be taken is to either confirm existing timelines or add new information.
The 49a is a good example where with a combination of wheels axle end and roller types ties in with years of boxes. (ie until they are swapped about)

When Adam reads this perhaps he can give us an idea how many of the 49a are crimped axles as well as how many have gpw or plastic rollers.
There is at least a four year span and could be as much as 8 years of this model alone subject to closer scrutiny of box v model.

Bert

DrJeep wrote:They're an amazing find - it would be fantastic to find out more about their history.

I agree and it would also be interesting if Adam can recall if there were other Lesney related items in the same sale.

Bert