Morestone Fodens
Posted: Thu Oct 10, 2013 11:08 pm
I am very much a 'collect only what I like' kind of guy, and there is such a long list that I tend to shy away from variations unless I get them by chance - one of every model on the list will take a long long time. BUT! Every now and again I see a 'complete' display of all the models in one series, or loads of colour and body variations of one basic model and a little part of me thinks 'Hmmm - that looks nice'
I am however a fussy git
- I've looked at loads of possibilities from the Morestone Miniatures to the Matchbox Majors and there is always at least one model I just don't like 
I was aware of the Morestone Fodens before, but that didn't stop me jumping to the immediate conclusion upon reaching the bottom of my joblot box that this was a Dinky, it wasn't until I turned it over that I realised it was a Morestone, and I must say I rather like it. So I went 'googling' - and here is some of what I found
The Morestone Fodens seem to have been produced for a relatively short period of time, roughly from 1955 to 1957 and there were 4 different models in the series:
#1 was a Petrol tanker in Esso livery. I've seen this with 2 different decal types but wonder if some of them are Dinky decals on home restoration jobs.
#2 was the Long Distance Diesel Wagon - basically a dropside - and I've only seen it with a tan and red colour scheme
#3 was the 14 ton Milk Wagon - a flatbed with chains - I've seen it in green/cream and green/white
#4 was the Express Delivery Diesel Wagon - a flatbed - I've seen this in yellow/grey (mine); orange/grey; red/grey and a lovely (but was it original?) green/brown one with grey tyres.
I would be very interested to know if there are any other variations out there, or indeed if anyone has a collection stashed away that they'd like to share photos of!
My own particular model has a loose flatbed, caused by a vanished rivet, and the breakage of whatever part of the bed came through the round hole in the front baseplate. I don't know if this is a common problem but at least one of the other Fodens I've seen on ebay has a completely detached flatbed so I'm guessing it may be. The cab roofline does not look like the Dinky one, and I have seen it described on another forum as 'ugly' which I think is a bit extreme, but then 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder'. I wonder if the success of the Dinky Fodens contributed to the short life of the Morestones - the dies were sold to a toy manufacturer in Israel called Diti, along with the dies for the Magirus Tipper from the 'Trucks of the World' series (I do rather like the Scammell from that series too!). Anyway, I quite like my Foden, so if funds and availability allow in the future I can see a little collection starting here - thin end of a big wedge
I am however a fussy git
- I've looked at loads of possibilities from the Morestone Miniatures to the Matchbox Majors and there is always at least one model I just don't like I was aware of the Morestone Fodens before, but that didn't stop me jumping to the immediate conclusion upon reaching the bottom of my joblot box that this was a Dinky, it wasn't until I turned it over that I realised it was a Morestone, and I must say I rather like it. So I went 'googling' - and here is some of what I found
The Morestone Fodens seem to have been produced for a relatively short period of time, roughly from 1955 to 1957 and there were 4 different models in the series:
#1 was a Petrol tanker in Esso livery. I've seen this with 2 different decal types but wonder if some of them are Dinky decals on home restoration jobs.
#2 was the Long Distance Diesel Wagon - basically a dropside - and I've only seen it with a tan and red colour scheme
#3 was the 14 ton Milk Wagon - a flatbed with chains - I've seen it in green/cream and green/white
#4 was the Express Delivery Diesel Wagon - a flatbed - I've seen this in yellow/grey (mine); orange/grey; red/grey and a lovely (but was it original?) green/brown one with grey tyres.
I would be very interested to know if there are any other variations out there, or indeed if anyone has a collection stashed away that they'd like to share photos of!
My own particular model has a loose flatbed, caused by a vanished rivet, and the breakage of whatever part of the bed came through the round hole in the front baseplate. I don't know if this is a common problem but at least one of the other Fodens I've seen on ebay has a completely detached flatbed so I'm guessing it may be. The cab roofline does not look like the Dinky one, and I have seen it described on another forum as 'ugly' which I think is a bit extreme, but then 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder'. I wonder if the success of the Dinky Fodens contributed to the short life of the Morestones - the dies were sold to a toy manufacturer in Israel called Diti, along with the dies for the Magirus Tipper from the 'Trucks of the World' series (I do rather like the Scammell from that series too!). Anyway, I quite like my Foden, so if funds and availability allow in the future I can see a little collection starting here - thin end of a big wedge
