40a Bedford 7 Ton Tipper

[Diecast]

Welcome back to Forum Dick, I have missed you and your really very professional contributions here. I can confirm George´s and your tipper variation. There is af lot of shades varitons also.
Antonin

[Diecast]

There are perhaps three colour variations of the cab:
a) orange-red
b) bright red
c dark red

[Diecast]

There is one unlisted variation, perhaps prepro or the very first short run, without two stop protrusions on the tailboard. First, I thought that the protrusions are broken, but there is a painting and the ribs have the sharp ends. Typically the first models have a dark tan tipper, but this variation has lighter tipper, but not the same colour as the models with GPW. The model has MW and FC axles.
Antonin

[Diecast]

. NAMC's variation 40-1A (matching AIM's variation 40-1a) has a dark brown tipper, MW and c/a. If confirmed, this could be slotted into the variation table as the new variation code 2.

Yes Hugh, I can also confirm this variation, I have three variations with MW and FC-axles. Lighter-sand brown tipper (without protrusions), dark brown and light brown tipper. All variations have HA-silver trim.
Antonin

[Diecast]

Here is the difference between dark and very dark brown tipper (sorry, not easy to take a photo with the shades)
Antonin

[kwakers]

Very nice Posts Antonin! Yes, Kwakers will soon be back to working 5 normal 9 hour days instead of the 6 days and 60 hour weeks the Cement fleet demands of me during our busy season. There just isn't enough time left for family, house work, car work, and a full time Lesney hobby. Thank You for the complements on my rambling Posts, after 51 years and so many friends, the hobby has been a huge part of my life.
That early Tailgate on your flat crimped axle version is intriguing Antonin. If we Forum members all check our collections, a second being found will upset the Code number one in Nick's table as well as the very early flat crimped axle M/W Code with darker Tan body that still needs to be added now.
This morning I now have been inspired to ask the Forum members an obvious question about Michael Stannard's decisions in writing his 1985 Lesney Guide. The significance of Phillip Bowdidge's "Oldies But Goodies" listings I posted here never struck me until now. Here is a quotation from Mick's Acknowledgements on the second page of his Guide. "Phillip Bowdidge for his assistance in finding and confirming many variations and for the use of his collection as a basis for the colour (Rare model only COLOURS?) photography". I have always used the term "Colourblind Stannard" since first reading his Guide in 1985. With his close collusion with Phillip and Ray Bush during his writing of his (very) casting detailed guide, and Phillip's recognition of three distinct shades of "Light Brown" Tippers used on the variations in his collection, why did Stannard feel these colours could just be written away with a subnote that read "Tipper colour varies in shades from pale to light Brown". The "shades" shown in Antonin's Post are 3 totally different colours, not just shades to my eyes. The models in between those three colours may be called "shades", but not the distinctive Pale, medium, and then dark shade of tipper that Lesney intentionally painted these bodies over the life of this model. Antonin's earliest unknown casting in a much lighter Tan is proof positive that Lesney's use of these tipper tan colours was an intentional choice they made at the time of their production. The colours chosen during different periods were perhaps picked to match the colour of other models in production at that time to be able to cut down on the factory's paint inventory held at any one time. I have an early 1958 Fred Bronner colour ad showing his cardboard 1-#55 display, and the #40 Dump shown there seems to share it's rear tipper body colour with the 10B's Trailer unit that is in the same display. Of course many of Bronner's display models were received from pre-production lots, so little can be drawn from his model's colours used for his promotional ads. The newly released #52 red Racer is without it's decal in this early 1958 display, and the famous pre-production #53 Aston Martin in red is also shown there, so these actual colour illustrations are priceless for their "small" details.
Perhaps Mick only entering the hobby in 1978 (Stated also in his guide) kept him from having direct knowledge of Lesney colour progressions, but with Ray Bush and other veteran collectors mentioned, and also a HUGE supply of models he used in writing his guide, he chose to be a bit colourblind on quite a few models. I have said that about Mick for years now, but no one (Until our Forum in adding many new details as a collaboration) has ever matched his efforts in documenting the minute casting details in the regular wheel line of Lesneys. He spent years of his life devoted to our hobby, so I in no way will ever fault him in any matter other than colours. Why did he not use colour in his Guide as Phillip did in his collection's details? We may never know for sure. Any early veteran collector would have been flattered to work with Mick on Lesney's colors, but he must not have found them important enough at the time to document I would guess?.....Kwakers

[yellowfoden]

That early Tailgate on your flat crimped axle version is intriguing Antonin. If we Forum members all check our collections, a second being found will upset the Code number one in Nick's table as well as the very early flat crimped axle M/W Code with darker Tan body that still needs to be added now......Kwakers

Welcome back Antonin and you too Dick, both your postings have been missed of late.

Great images Antonin of the 40a

Back in April this year ford_a_30 Chris asked if anyone had seen this 40a tipper tail gate without the tabs.
Chris said his was a code 2 (dome and crimped) model but did say there was no paint where the tabs ended he said they could have been broken but there was no ridge to indicate they had snapped off.

Whilst his thread was viewed there were no responses here

I have not seen Chris post for a while so in his absence here is the photo he posted earlier this year.

Dick, I seem to recall you have spoken with Chris a number of times, perhaps you could follow up with him to see if he still has this 40a for another inspection.

All the best
Bert

[fixer]

Well good old unobservent (?) me I have one too with dc axles, can't comment on the colouring as it's the only one I have
Sorry about poor picture it's a quick snap before popping out

[Idris]

Back in April this year ford_a_30 Chris asked if anyone had seen this 40a tipper tail gate without the tabs.
Chris said his was a code 2 (dome and crimped) model but did say there was no paint where the tabs ended he said they could have been broken but there was no ridge to indicate they had snapped off.

I knew it rang a faint bell....

[kwakers]

That is three of these gates without their two tabs that we have now seen, and most of us have'nt checked our collections yet! We again owe Thanks to Antonin, but also an apology to Chris for not seeing his Post on this early style gate. I may have Chris' info here in the States, so I will look into contacting him this week if I can about the Dumper he showed us. Most Forum members must have missed Chris' post on that gate if there were no discussions or answers to it. It now seems that Lesney may have released quite a few of these early gates if they lasted into the domed axle period, and in fact I have found a third domed axle with that early gate pictured online this weekend bringing the total to 4 that we know of so far......Cheers! Kwakers