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This is a K21 Tractor Transport which I bought because it was red instead of metallic blue. However, it' has a number of odd features, and I really don't know whether it's a repaint, a preproduction, or a colour trails. Members comments and opinions are therefore most welcome.

- The body has damaged rivets, but they do not look to have been drilled out. When I received the model, the body was paired with a early-type, silver-painted baseplate with no obvious casting differences from the ones pictured on Ebay.
- The inside of the body is painted a uniform light metallic purple. The outside of the body appears to be painted red, but a closer inspection reveals it to have once been a metallic colour (the metallic specks are clearly visible), and areas of paintwork which face downwards still show as metallic purple. This suggests something like sunfading to me.
- Inside the cab, the areas on both sides immediately to the rear of, but not covered by the window insert have been shaded in what looks like pencil.
- There is also pencil shading and a couple of gouge marks (post painting) on the inside of the bed.
- The casting of the inside of the cab's back left corner is extremely rough. (I hope this shows in the photograph.)

Are you branching out? Not my area either but this looks to me like an excellent prepro - the metallic purple paint must be original. I wonder if it was overpainted in red as a trial? Good find!

DrJeep wrote:Are you branching out?

Just happened to be in the right place at the right time, and Charlie's model review confirmed that the model was only known in metallic blue.

Great model H, just wondering if you have the MB25 Mod Tractor? This model looks very similar to the colour of the models that would have come with the transporter, which would have looked very nice.
J

Comparing them, it looks to be a bit lighter than the Mod Tractor purple, but that may simply be because it is a relatively thin coating on the inside of the K21 bodyshell. On the other hand, it looks to me to be closer to some of the lighter K10b Pipe Truck purples, but I don't have any of those and so cannot make a comparison.

I wonder if the same upper body casting was used for the K36b Construction Transporter without altering the number inside the casting. I do not have a beater to check that detail.

It could perhaps account for colour testing given another version was being planned.

1974/5 was release year for K21 and 1978 for the K36b. The K36b was mainly yellow on general release models.

In looking through all the pocket catalogues only the blue and yellow are shown.
I have seen a few shades of the blue in hand.

It is interesting that the base plates are identical apart from model name and number but no sign of any plinth given a four year spacing between release dates of virtually the same model with a different load.

Bert

I think the K36 is an identical body casting but, having had a quick look on Ebay, it seems to have the later base design with the distance ridges (see last post here) to keep the wheels away from the baseplate.
Does anyone have a dismantled blue K21 Tractor Transporter of which they could show both the inside of the bodyshell and the window insert so that i can compare the production mouldings with what I have?

Wonder if the colour is from the K21-B Cougar Dragster which the Transporter replaced.
J

Hi H,
Definitely earlier than the ones I have, I have 3 models all with supports above the rear axles. Tried to take a picture as I have no beaters of this model. J