VBD2 is closed. Please go to https://vbd3.co.uk instead.

Any thoughts on this one, whether genuine or not. Grey base but with the exhaust bracket, which isn't listed. Is it possible some painted bases were used up a little later? The rivet appears to have most of its grey paint, with a slight loss, but it's not clear to me whether this was assembled and painted or painted and assembled. Note the trim to the headlights only too. The pair were under a fiver so worth a gamble.

Interesting.
The assumption has always been that the grey baseplate was the result of it being rivetted in position prior to painting. If that were indeed the case, then there would be no grey baseplates 'left over' to attach to later chassis castings.

The front of the exhaust pipe looks odd to me - shouldn't it be like this? (this isn't mine - it's from Nick's listing page) I think the silver trim on the headlights but not the grille is not quite right.

I think it's either a very interesting trial or a repaint.

Looks very interesting John, Can you make a mark in the paint with your finger nail? Does the other model have any signs of restoration?
J

Hi Jason, it's strange, it's one of those that a bit of a puzzle. If it's a repaint, it's difficult to tell. If it was done for financial gain, you would have thought an earlier casting would have been used, if it was a hobbyist then you'd expect the finish, the rivet, the axle ends etc to give it away more easily. I tried the paint carefully underneath with a fingernail and it didn't make any impression. The refuse truck just looks like a factory common. The exhaust is interesting (thanks DrJeep). It seems to have no brace at the cab end at all.

I think the exhaust has been broken and bent up, possibly with a bit of glue to hold it in place, or maybe just paint. I see a little dimple where it should be attached. I think there's debris under the paint on the grille - does that indicate a repaint or just poor preparation at the factory?

Great pictures - we'd never see any of this if they weren't so clear!

Houghton does list a similar pattern exhaust, but it is so obviously either a mis-casting or damage caused during tumbling that I didn't list it in my catalogue review

Idris wrote:Houghton does list a similar pattern exhaust, but it is so obviously either a mis-casting or damage caused during tumbling...

That makes a lot of sense - I was wondering how such a break could occur.

I think that the axles have been sanded clean, though that's not necessarily a sign of anything untoward. I wonder if the "CLEANSING DEPARTMENT" transfer on the 38a is original? On those that I have, DEPARTMENT is in smaller letters than CLEANSING, presumably to fit the longer word into the same space. This one looks - from this angle - to have the same size letters in both words, but with DEPARTMENT more squeezed together.

DrJeep wrote:

Idris wrote:Houghton does list a similar pattern exhaust, but it is so obviously either a mis-casting or damage caused during tumbling...

That makes a lot of sense - I was wondering how such a break could occur.

I think that the axles have been sanded clean, though that's not necessarily a sign of anything untoward. I wonder if the "CLEANSING DEPARTMENT" transfer on the 39a is original? On those that I have, DEPARTMENT is in smaller letters than CLEANSING, presumably to fit the longer word into the same space. This one looks - from this angle - to have the same size letters in both words, but with DEPARTMENT more squeezed together.

It was damaged during the Fettling (tumbling) process. I've owned ones like it and seen many more. It goes hand in hand with the missing rear bracket. Some were knocked out during fettling and others failed to form.

Houghton lists the details of the bent exhaust pipe model as follows: grey/maroon, 11.5 x 45 BPW, no tipper support block, large no. on cab base, silver trim. Excepting the exhaust, this is equivalent to Nick's variation code 6. (It should be noted that Houghton's example is even more extreme than the one shown here, with the inlet end of the exhaust pipe bent up to above the top of the chassis.)
If this 3b example matches that specification, then it could be seen as evidence that a significant number of faulty chassis castings were produced and made it through to retail outlets.