Sunday, February 14, 2010

MATCHBOX REGULAR WHEELS - COMMER TV SERVICE VAN




In July 1963 another Commer Q25 van was added to the line as a derivative of the 47b Ice Cream Van. The TV Series Van (62b) was replacement for the general service truck and it came complete with three with three plastic television sets, a ladder, an aerial and a working rear roller shutter door.

During most of its five year life it advertised ‘Rentaset’ in red script lettering but just before it was replaced, green ‘RADIO RENTALS’ advertisements were substituted. The windows were always of green plastic but whereas earlier models had the black painted baseplate connected to the body by means of base clips, front and rear, later releases included a river at the front.
There are also minor casting changes concerning the ladder rests. Though most vans had black wheels, both variations were available with grey wheels in very small numbers. This is sometimes a difficult model to find complete because the small parts were originally part of one plastic red moulding on a sprue. As soon as they were separated, it was easy for the small television in particular to be lost as they were carried loose in the black of the van whereas the ladder and aerial could be clipped to the roof of the van.--Model Collector

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