Dr Jeep's eBay finds

[nearlymint]

Nice group of models Glenn, I love the K23 in yellow. Been on my wants list for a long time.
J

[DrJeep]

I thought you’d like it! Not in the best condition but there aren’t many of these around. Vectis has sold two (2006 and 2015) though they could be the same model sold twice, and Antonin has one, which could of course be one of the Vectis models.

As far as I can tell it’s the same as Antonin’s prepro. For comparison, here it is with my even more playworn prepro 73c.

[yellowfoden]

..... there’s a variation that’s hard to find and not listed in Nick’s guide.

The 9c is nice, always nice to have a code 1 of any model especially given this is the only variation with crimped axles of over 20 variations.
Is the unlisted you speak of the colour combination of the 29a Bedford Milk truck, a catalogue colour description I have always had problems with when talking browns versus tan or cream? The light colour with white interior and rounded axles???

Love the Yellow K23. What is a bonus is the lack of tyres and those hubs look good and have yet to suffer the chemical reaction with the tyres we so often see with some kingsize.

From the condition it looks like it gave some child a lot play value, very nice find.

Bert

[DrJeep]

Thanks, Bert. I’m very pleased with the K23. The 9c is the unlisted variation:

Nick’s guide has code 1 as crimped axles and three areas of silver on the back. I do have one like that, but now two like this, with only the central area painted. I think the crimped axle Merryweather is fairly rare.

The pale 29a seems to be just a remarkable level of fading, perhaps from an aggressive cleaner? The original colour shows under where the grille used to be silver. It does have white crates. I’ll do some more colour comparison pictures.

The other model of some interest is the 55d Mercury, which seems to have two colours of paint, with cream painted over white. Or is this normal for this model?

[jsherwood]

The other model of some interest is the 55d Mercury, which seems to have two colours of paint, with cream painted over white. Or is this normal for this model?

Here's my Mercury 55d - I sold this, but I don't remember 2 colours of paint on it.

Cheers

John

[Idris]

The other model of some interest is the 55d Mercury, which seems to have two colours of paint, with cream painted over white. Or is this normal for this model?

Sounds like it could be the typical "waste not, want not" Lesney mentality. Rather than bin/recycle a run of bodies erroneously painted in white, they were simply resprayed in cream.

[DrJeep]

Sounds like it could be the typical "waste not, want not" Lesney mentality. Rather than bin/recycle a run of bodies erroneously painted in white, they were simply resprayed in cream.

That’s a good explanation, except that the 55d is only listed in “bright white” and there are no shade variations on Christian’s site, so there’s no obvious reason to spray a white model in cream. I have a Mercedes ambulance with a similar finish somewhere - I will dig it out and start a new thread somewhere.

[Idris]

Very odd.
What do you see on the inside of the bodyshell - white or cream?

[DrJeep]

What do you see on the inside of the bodyshell - white or cream?

A single coat of white, I think. At first glance it looks like someone painted over the body, but it’s cream under the sticky remnants of the label on the bonnet, and there’s no paint on the windows and no brush marks. It hasn’t been apart.

Also in this picture is a 3c SF Mercedes with a similar paint finish. Again, this one doesn’t seem to have been apart and the second coat is thick but not hand-applied. I’ve had this one for a while and never known what to make of it.

For colour comparison, here they are with a white 55c.

[Tinman]

UV exposure causes old solvent base white to "yellow" and go to a warm off white. Most likely these started out as a nice crisp white.