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Hi,
I have been collecting Dinky and Matchbox for years now, I can not afford mint ones so I usually buy battered ones and some of them I restore (shudder the thought) but at least I am saving them from the bin and they look good in my collection. The rarer ones I leave as they are. Recently I bought a 64a Scammel which is indexed as only having black plastic wheels but this one has 9 x 20 GREY wheels with crimped/domed axles (see attachments) can anyone shed some light on it?

I doubt this is original and strongly suspect tampering by an owner.

Tinman wrote:I doubt this is original and strongly suspect tampering by an owner.

I agree. The original listing says that the wheels have been replaced, and the way the paint has been removed makes it look like a half-finished restoration. On the other hand, the axle crimps do look pretty good, and it looks like it was done a long time ago. But probably not original.

Tinman wrote:I doubt this is original and strongly suspect tampering by an owner.

I agree it does look odd but it will stay in my collection, thanks.

DrJeep wrote:

Tinman wrote:I doubt this is original and strongly suspect tampering by an owner.

I agree. The original listing says that the wheels have been replaced, and the way the paint has been removed makes it look like a half-finished restoration. On the other hand, the axle crimps do look pretty good, and it looks like it was done a long time ago. But probably not original.

What the original listing actually states is: “…has been fitted with 9.5 x 20 grey plastic wheels, not black 12 1/2 x 30…”, which is an ambiguously-worded statement – it merely highlights the fact that the model has GPW rather than BPW. On the basis of the listing, the GPW could have been fitted either by Lesney or by an unknown third-party

Quite right! I should have said “implies that the wheels have been changed”. It was this wording and the stripped paint that made me pass it over a couple of times (it was on for a while, if I remember correctly).

I’d like to see some more pictures, especially of the base and axles. I suppose it’s possible that someone dismantled it and then realised how unusual it is. It could, conceivably, be one of those items made by a bored worker just for fun. It’s hard to imagine such small wheels being a serious Lesney trial. The real thing had wheels that filled the arches - here’s a great you tube video of a Scammell in action!

IIRC, Antonin ("Diecast") once posted something on the Forum about a pre-production military issue (the 62a general Service Lorry or the 63a Service Ambulance I think?) with GPW. (I just done a quick search, but can't find it.) However, I would agree that the wheels on this one are almost comically small, and therefore unlikely to be factory fitted.

It's surprising that Lesney was sufficiently disciplined to avoid the occasional short run of grey plastic wheels on these military vehicles. As you say, the 62a lorry and 63a ambulance would have been obvious candidates, with car-sized wheels.

Benbros liked the comical small-wheel look (see the milk float here)

My first thoughts on the photos available was that this is a factory axle crimped model but for my liking I need in focus images.
Based on the flashing that is still on this upper casting I also wondered if this was not the original body for the painted base and jib.

So I sent a message to Capri 2.8 yesterday morning UK time requesting a base view photo and a couple of clear in focus crimped views. I would also like to see a top view just to code this one. It does have early hook and fastener and it would be interesting to see if this is an original.

I do not think it was an authorized wheel and crimping. Perhaps if it was done by a factory worker and he wanted it to match the wheels on the 73a RAF refueller, ie if the wheels are 9.5 x 20. The listing actually says 9.0 x 20 and also 9.5 x 20 so confusion all round.

I hope Capri 2.8 can provide some more photos, it would be nice to know a bit more about how this may have come about but we can only keep guessing until good photos are shown.

I see Capri 2.8 has not picked up my message and I notice others have commented they have not received PM’s also. Is there a PM problem at present?

Bert

yellowfoden wrote:My first thoughts on the photos available was that this is a factory axle crimped model but for my liking I need in focus images.
Based on the flashing that is still on this upper casting I also wondered if this was not the original body for the painted base and jib.

I think you're right that the body doesn't match the base - this picture seems to show infill behind the cab that doesn't match the early jib. We really do need a picture from underneath to see what's happened. The base has certainly seen some play. I don't think these come apart very easily, but a picture of the rivet would help. I also noticed what appear to be mechanical scratches behind the rear wheel - these could be where the original wheel was levered off. But you'd need it in hand to see.

yellowfoden wrote:Is there a PM problem at present?

I'll send a test message to you and Hugh to see.