T is for a Tale of Three Trolleys

Well, it's all got to appear here eventually, so by way of box-ticking toward that goal, and because I picked-up the first, die-cast version the other day, it's trolley madness at Small Scale World today; like Reefer Madness but with less murder, divorce and . . . err . . . madness . . . maybe?

Wardie's Mastermodels OO-gauge compatible 1:76th scale die-cast platform/post/parcel/baggage trolley and trailer, this one in an odd colour - as far as railway company liveries is concerned - but I don't know if they came in other colours?

The driver too is die-cask zamac/mazak and plugs-in loosely to two holes in the standing-platform, the control/power lever (sort of dead-mans handle) for these, which is not modeled, were on the face where his left hand is hinted at being, I think?

Merit inherited some of the BJ Ward moulds when the latter went bust and unpaid workers took themselves and some moulds over the road to Randall's in Potters Bar, or so the story goes - one suspects that actually Merit probably shelled-out for some of the intellectual (or actual) property?

Later Merit and current Modelscene sets only supply one unpowered trailer, but the early 'matchbox' issues (which aped the earlier Mastermodels boxings) had two.

Merit have re-cut the driver thought, whether as a new tool, or just in 'cleaning' the cavities//re-servicing the tool, I don't know.

 Airfix's set (bottom right) dates from 1958 (if memory serves) so was probably more contemporary than copy, but they have 'previous form' and the Wardie one would have been around by then I think so . . . no matter, it gives us our trio! I'll chuck a different comparison in the relevant entry on the Airfixfigs Blog.