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Benbros Qualitoys

No.223 Royal Mail Land Rover

For the Royal Mail Land Rover Benbros used the same model as A107 Army Land Rover but with added lettering cast on the sides.

 

The main body, whiich also formed the underside so there was no need for an additional base, was a complex casting in one piece comprising the front wings and bonnet, the floor of the model including the figures, and the lower halves of the sides and rear. The exception was the heads of the figures which were separate castings secured to the body by single pins. Another casting made up the roof, windscreen and upper sides on which 'Royal Mail' and 'EIIR' were cast around a central crown symbol.

 

There were extra castings for the two opening side doors, for the rear tailgate and the tail-lift, and for the front bumper. Underneath 'Benbros Qualitoy' and 'Made in England' were added but there was no number. On the front and at the rear the number-plate 'TML 448' was included in the casting. 

 

Although the roof had small holes for a screen at the front (see AA Land Rover) there is no evidence that the Royal Mail Land Rover had one and it was not included in the drawing on the box. Nor was an aerial fitted as these were not required on Royal Mail vans but the nodule on the roof remained. 

There was one minor change to the casting. One early models (with red wheels), there were two holes at the rear of the bonnet beneath the windscreen. These had been included on the earlier Army Land Rover though what they were for is not clear. These holes were filled in on later models (with black wheels) when Benbros recast the model for the second issue. 

 

The Royal Mail Land Rover was painted bright red including the figures and doors, after which the roof and the front bumper were over-painted gloss black. There was no silver trim added so to highlight the number-plate and side lettering the paint was rubbed off these.

 

The '6-bolt' metal wheels or hubs were coloured on the outside only either red or black and fitted with chunky black treaded tyres. They were fixed to the model on the underside of the body after painting using round-head and crimped axles. A spare tyre was carried on the bonnet. 

 

No.223 Royal Mail Land Rover was included in a yellow multi-model box with illustrations of eight other numbered models. In the blank panel on one end-flap 'Royal Mail Van (Large)' was stamped. What the number 223 referred to is not known but several models which shared the box were ex-Timpo items, although not the Land Rovers.

 

The Royal Mail Land Rover and the box are very hard to find making them one of the rarer Qualitoy models.

Benbros Qualitoys Royal Mail Land Rover
Benbros Qualitoys Royal Mail Land Rover

Variation 1: Red wheels (model missing bumper and a door)

Benbros Qualitoys No.223 Royal Mail Land Rover

 

Variations

 

All models had

RED body, doors & figures

BLACK roof with aerial nodule

'Royal Mail EIIR' cast on sides

Painted metal wheels with black tyres

Multi-model box

 

1: RED wheels

2: BLACK wheels

Benbros Qualitoys Royal Mail Land Rover
Benbros Qualitoys Royal Mail Land Rover with box

Variation 2: Black wheels (model missing bumper & aerial nodule)

Benbros Qualitoys Royal Mail Land Rover
Benbros Qualitoys Royal Mail Land Rover
Benbros Qualitoys Royal Mail Land Rover

Royal Mail Land Rover id.stamp on end-flap panel

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