Benbros Mighty Midgets
Nos.43-48 Bedford Articulated Lorry Cabs
In 1957 Benbros added a range of Articulated Trucks to the Mighty Midget series forming numbers 43 to 48. All the models had interchangeable cab units based on Bedford 'S' type tractor vehicles.
The models were small scale and not unlike the early Lesney Bedfords (Matchbox No.27a) but can be told apart by the silver-trimmed fuel tank which the Benbros version did not have.
Hollow cast in one piece, the Bedford Cabs also had 'Benbros' inside the roof with 'Made in England' and 'Qualitoy' under the chassis. The axles were fitted directly to the body and all types were used, flat-head, round-head and one batch of nail-head & crimped.
To start with, Benbros used unpainted metal wheels (umw) but these were later replaced by black plastic ones (bpw), some colours having both. The wheel type on the cab was always uniform with the wheels on the various trailer units of each model. There was also a very rare silver plastic wheel cab in pale blue which was issued with No.44 Low Loader and No.45 Timber Lorry.
Early issue Bedford Cabs were painted all over including inside the cab and on the underside. These were yellow, red or orange with silver trim, or yellow with red trim, and all had unpainted metal wheels. However, Benbros quickly discontinued the inner painting and subsequently cabs had unpainted undersides with silver trim on grille, headlights and bumper apart from some dark-yellow cabs which continued with red trim.
Some articulated models such as No.46 Petrol Tanker were issued with just one cab colour but most had more than one. The cab/trailer colour combinations listed for each model are the most commonly found but with a wide range of colours available they were easily interchangeable..
Collecting Bedford cabs is interesting because of the range of colours, wheels and axle types. There is also the possibility of discovering a previously unknown combination.
Variation 1 : yellow with painted underside, umw
Benbros No.43-48 Bedford Cabs
Variations
(1) YELLOW, painted underside, silver trim, umw, r-h axles
(2) RED, painted underside, silver trim, umw, r-h axles
(3) ORANGE, painted underside, silver trim, umw, r-h axles
(4) YELLOW, painted underside, RED trim, umw, r-h axles
(5) PALE-BLUE, unpainted underside, silver trim, umw, r-h axles
(6) ORANGE, unpainted underside, silver trim, umw, r-h axles
(7) GREEN, unpainted underside, silver trim, umw, r-h axles
(8) YELLOW, RED trim, unpainted underside, umw, f-h axles
(9) RED, unpainted underside, silver trim, umw, f-h axles
(10) PALE-BLUE, silver trim, silver plastic wheels
(11) PALE-BLUE, silver trim, bpw, f-h axles
(12) GREEN, silver trim, bpw, r-h axles
(13) BEIGE, silver trim, bpw, f-h/r-h axles
(14) DARK-RED, silver trim, bpw, f-h/r-h/n-h axles
(15) YELLOW, silver trim, bpw, r-h axles
(16) MID-BLUE, silver trim, bpw, f-h axles
(17) DARK-BLUE, silver trim, bpw, r-h axles
Axle types
f-h = flat-head r-h = round-head n-h = nail-head
Variation 2: red with painted underside (cab has some metal fatigue), umw
Variation 3: Orange cab with painted underside, umw
Variation 4: Yellow cab with painted underside and red trim, umw
(6) orange, umw
(7) green, umw
(8) yellow, unpainted underside, red trim, umw
(9) red, umw
(11) pale-blue, bpw
(12) green, bpw
(13) beige, bpw
(14) dark-red, bpw
(15) yellow, bpw
(16) mid-blue, bpw
(17) dark-blue, bpw
Bedford Cabs : painted/unpainted undersides, umw/bpw
round-head (l) & nail-head (r) axles