The latest diecast and resin models for collectors

Mike Neale takes his monthly look at a selection of recently-released diecast and resin models of interesting vehicles for collectors.

Oxford Diecast has gone slightly off-piste and introduced a new range of 1/120 scale models to go with TT Gauge model railways. ‘TT’ signifies ‘table top’, originating in the USA, before spreading to central and eastern Europe, and more recently to the UK, with trains now produced by Hornby. Well, now you can have some British vehicles to go with them. Six models have been released by Oxford to begin with.  

There’s a Bedford OB coach in ‘blood and custard’ (officially Crimson Lake and Cream) British Railways livery, priced at £7.95. The OB was launched in 1939, with a 14ft 6in wheelbase, bodied as a 26- or 29-seater. Only 73 were sold in 1939 and 21 of those were exported. After the war they were standardised as 29-seaters and over 12,500 were built up until 1950. As ever with Oxford, there’s a fine level of detail at a small scale.

Next up is another British Railways vehicle, the ubiquitous Morris Minor 1000 van, or LCV. It represents a 1967 F-reg example. There’s even a tiny British Railways logo above the windscreen, and the model’s RRP is £7.45.

A Land Rover 109in Series 2 hardtop also wears this livery. The Series 2 was in production from 1958-61, when replaced by the Series 2A until 1968. The model carries a B-registration of a preserved real vehicle in this colour scheme, a 1964 model, which would actually make it a Series 2A, but they looked the same. The price of the model is £7.45.

Then there’s a Scammell Mechanical Horse in Great Western Railway livery with a flatbed trailer. Production of the three-wheeled Mechanical Horse ran from 1934 until the updated Scammell Scarab was introduced in 1948. They were built on a steel channel frame and fitted with a wooden cab, the earlier versions having canvas doors. This model is priced at £7.95.

There’s a Dennis F12 pump escape in London Fire Brigade livery, built in Guildford with a wooden frame with an aluminium skin. Most British fire brigades ordered the F12. They were powered by a straight-eight, 5.7-litre Rolls-Royce B80 MkX petrol engine producing 195hp. The price is again £7.95.

Finally in this scale for the moment, is an Austin Low Loader taxi in black. The type was introduced in 1934 using a modified 12/4 chassis to comply with the London ‘Conditions of Fitness’, and became the most popular cab of the decade, being cheap to buy and reliable. The RRP of this one is £7.45.

The models illustrated can be found online and at various model shops, such as Hattons, Sheffield Transport Models, Jacksons Models, Scale Farm, Farm Models, Brushwood Toys and Diecast Legends.

This feature comes from the latest issue of Old Glory, and you can get a money-saving subscription to this magazine simply by clicking HERE