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Hi fellow collectors!
Can anyone tell me if the wheels on this model are genuine?

Thanks in advance!!

Hi L-esney

we need to see the other side - the small end of the axles. Two of your pictures show the same side. You're looking for ends that look like this.

Some other pictures.

Sorry for the poor quality of the pictures,... I thought they were much smaller,... I will make some new ones and remove this tread.
My apologies!!

It's really hard to tell because the pictures aren't really sharp enough. From the top view, I think that the smaller end of the axles looks thinner than the thick end (as though they've been filed) and I wonder if the axle ends are a bit too flat. On the final picture, the back wheel on the left hand side looks damaged and the axle end looks uneven, as though it's been hammered into shape - but this could just be the way it's catching the light. Sharper (and smaller!) pictures would help, and I'm sure other, more informed, people will be able to say much more. A final thought - is this the right casting for black wheels?

I have all the above pictures resized, but in this case I have not reposted them yet as it is handy to keep the original file size pictures here for studying the the wheel/axle combination.

Ghosthunter.

Hello L-esney and all,

The known genuine 73a with BPW has the casting with the round brace between the tank and the pump box and it also comes with knobbly or 10 x 24 BPW.
This model has fine tread wheels and the casting has full brace.
Making it unlisted on two counts??
What is also of interest is that on such a well played with model one would expect to see tiny score marks on the plastic hubs of the wheels on axle free end created by the axle ends as the toy is rolled along or wheels spun around. These look a bit too new on this model.
This is only the second time I have seen fine tread BPW on this 73a model and they were also on a different casting to this model and the genuine listed.

Bert

Bert, thanks for your information on this model! I will try to make new, more decent pictures one of these days.

Hi L-esney

Could you tell us where it came from? As Idris said earlier this week, between us we have a good idea of reliable and unreliable sources.

Glenn

After looking at all the photos, I'm convinced those wheels joined this model long after it was made. My conclusion is that the model has been tampered with and thus is a fake.