Matchbox Mercedes Scaffolding Truck and Bedford Site Hut Truck

While we collectors appreciate finely detailed diecast models of real vehicles, some of us and especially kids like the functioning parts like opening doors and removable parts.  The last area is a grey area because companies must decide if opening or removable parts are worth the cost and also the safety factors behind them.  Plus with removable parts a model loses its value because the parts can become missing after years of child’s play.  Since then opening and removable parts have been used at a minimal pace, though they are starting to make a comeback, so it’s pretty hard to believe that back in the mid-20^th century these functioning parts were very common.  A good example here is these two Matchbox truck models that both feature removable parts that, yes, can get lost over time unless they were handled by a collector with little play.

Mercedes Scaffolding Truck

Probably the most interesting model is this Mercedes Scaffolding truck that has parts inside to create a scaffold platform.  Scaffolds are used to allow workers to work along the side of a building, whether painting or repairing a sign or wall, without being dangled by rope from the top or using a ladder that needs constant movement.  Here the ladder is used as the entrance/exit point for workers on a flat platform that rests against pipes that contribute as legs to the ground and this allows the workers to go across the wall with only the tools in their hands.  Scaffoldings can scale from low (one-story building) up to about five floors or so; anything higher and a scaffold will not work.  Scaffoldings are also flexible as they can come apart and transported in a box truck or trailer or moved to the next site, and even though scaffoldings can be tipsy there are various ways to secure the platform to the ground.  As for the truck Mercedes-Benz is one of Germany’s large automakers and despite the luxury image of the brand they must also do the blue-collar jobs for other countries.  The T2 is just one of the many commercial trucks offered by Mercedes back in the 1960’s features a rounded one-piece windshield with headlights integrated into the grille.  The back area uses a commercial utility body with open roof for hauling the scaffolds.  The engine is a diesel I-4 likely a 2.0 liter that makes an estimated 90 horsepower through a 4-speed manual transmission.  The interior, though quite sparse, has a few familiar controls and steering wheel from their passenger-car division.

Starting in silver with red grille and red Builder’s Supply Company on the sides the Mercedes truck stands out from the crowd.  The front cab has a cab-over look with a slight hood protruding forward with detailed vents and handles, three-point star on the hood and on the grille with headlights that connect to the grille, and a small lower bumper with Euro plate numbers.  The rest of the casting is all-metal with two axles that feature the black disc Matchbox wheels, detailed rear leaf springs, and of course no interior.  The scaffolding equipment nicely stacks inside the box of the truck, though enough play and warpage can cause the stack to stick out of the top.  What really amazes me about this casting is the platform that uses six H-shaped legs that have female ends at the bottom and male ends at the top to connect to each other and can be configured in many ways.  To top it off is a wooden platform that slots between two of them and this creates the scaffold platform.  Problem is that when used as a child’s toy the pieces can be lost and can range from just a few legs, no scaffold board, or no scaffold equipment at all so finding one with all of the equipment is a rare thing nowadays.

Leyland Site Hut Truck

The other one is less complex though it too can lose some of its parts over time, the site hut truck.  When you are in construction there is a need to have an on-site office to conduct business right next to the planned site, so in that case a portable office is used and that requires a truck to transport it.  Two options are considered in this matter: either a trailer with rear wheels towed by a truck, or a flatbed truck to transport the mobile office.  Matchbox started with a flatbed truck from Leyland to carry its site hut, which looks more like a small house or shed than an office.  Leyland motors was a prominent British truck manufacturer creating trucks, buses, and trolleys for Great Britian and other countries.  The company was started in 1896, but the troubled British economy that caused many home automakers to disappear or go into bankruptcy caused the brand to end production in 1968 and merge with another company.  This FG was the cab-forward truck that positions the cab over the engine for better visibility and navigation through tight Europe streets and strangely enough looks a lot like other cab-over trucks from Britian, especially the Bedford that Matchbox also produces.  Like a lot of trucks at the time the engine is a diesel I-4 and 4-speed manual transmissions were the norm, as was various utility bodies added to the rear chassis of the trucks.

The blue cab looks nice against the yellow and green house that sits on the back of the flatbed body, and even if the house goes missing the flatbed is always open to carry anything else.  Problem is the Leyland truck looks rather plain without it.  Like the Mercedes it does not have an interior, has two axles with Matchbox disc wheels, and a one-piece windshield.  The Leyland adds front corner windows for better visibility, a larger chrome grille above the smaller lower unit that also houses the round headlights and LEYLAND letters.  The house is all-plastic and has two windows and one door on the sides and as a nice feature the roof comes off so that you can create your own furniture layout inside.  It would be nice if the house already had some furniture molded into the house inside.  Still, despite lacking enough detailing it’s the functions that count for these two trucks and their added play value gives them imagination no matter where they go.