Dear Joan

Congratulations on your first post. You've been a member longer than I have so I'm sorry that you've waited so long to do so.

Regarding the Vanguard, bearing in mind that I'm very much a tyro, I have some concerns with it.

In some of the photos there appears to be some paint in the ends of the axles. This would not be there from the factory and can only have been added later, during a full or partial repaint of the model.

In the view of the underside there appear to be two different colours of red inside the edge of the wheel arch, one being much lighter than the other. Whether this is an actual difference or a trick of the light I can't say. It's true that wheel colours do differ from body colours so that is perhaps an explanation but I believe that the wheels were painted separately from the bodies so should not be a cause for overpaint.

Again I must say that I'm no expert but other members may have something further to say about it. Perhaps I am unjustifiably being negative about the model so a more expert opinion may offer you a more positive appraisal. I hope so as it will teach me something new.

Kind regards

John Powell

John---Very good observations.  To me, the photos are not quite high definition or close enough to tell real well, and I always really like to focus on the silver detailing on the front of the model.  Another potential red flag is the appearance of that lightly treaded tire on one of the wheels.  Meccano only used those on late pre-war and very early post war models, and that Vanguard, with the closed rear arches is not early post war.  Another concern is the appearance of the baseplate areas around the rivets....they all look somewhat scratched, as if they have been possibly replaced.  I would need to see the model in person to be definitive, but I would be cautious....

        Best regards,  Terry

Thanks Terry. I missed the tyre tread completely because I was concentrating on the paint and now that I look again there are traces of red paint on one of the rear tyres. Not conclusive but suggestive of touching in on the hubs. Perhaps there's more to learn from another pair of eyes.

Hi, Terry and John, Thank you both very much for your comprehensive comments, they are very helpful. I had not noticed the red paint on the axles, or the different colour reds on the wheel arches. Also the tyre tread had escaped me, so I am really pleased that I posted this and am very grateful to you both for your helpful comments. I will advise the owner of the model regarding your points.

You have also both encouraged me to post on the DTCA fora again as it is clearly the best place to receive top-class advice on Dinky models (of which I am very fond).

Cheers,

Joan

Just a fondamental question before the year ends :

is the rear axle of the Vanguard with closed wings domed ?

The axle ends on my closed-wheelarch models are plain, like the Austin A40 van and Studebaker tanker - the wheels can come off if the baseplate is loose.

Many thanks Kevin.

                                             This is the last change made to the Vanguard, WHY ?