I had for a couple of years the idea to write this post on the COMMER BREAKDOWN... I searched all casting variants and color schemes I had in my own collection, and here they are... (All the models shown here are in original condition, none having been dismantled or repainted).
Clockview of my COMMER variants...
With a model composed of two distinct parts, instead of the french CITROEN U23 counterpart composed of a single casting, the Liverpool factory could have produced a far more important diversity of this truck than they did, with a couple of interesting color variants, although creating finally a nice articulated truck at the very end of the production.
This interesting truck was one of the first models studied years and years ago in the very early issues of MODEL COLLECTOR. An article was published in winter 1987 (Vol.1 Issue 3) followed by some add-ons in the next issues. But who but me has kept these magazines ?
THE REAL TRUCK
This picture of an articulated truck of the time seen on a sales brochure shows how accurate the model was. You will see a real breakdown truck here. Amazing !
Another interesting detail to point : the cab of the COMMER was later modified to look more modern and the new bodyshell closely looks like the french #35A DINKY-TOYS CITROEN U23 ! Isn't it ?
THE CASTING VARIANTS
The main casting variant on this model is the withdrawing of the side hole which could have nested the crank if the casting had been used to produce another truck than the breakdown (i.e. tipping wagon or refuse wagon). Only the side hole was filled, and the rest of the underside of the casting was not modified to delete the rest of the supports, as shown here. The explanation of this oddity can be very simple : to fill the side hole, they only had to remove a part of the die. To remove the other part, they should have to add a new filling part on the die...
By the same time (or at the same time) the name COMMER was added under the bonnet of the cab. So far, I didn't find any model having only one the both modifications...
The casting has also been modified around 1960 (I suppose at the same time as the BEDFORD) to add a spigot in the roof in order to secure the glazing.
No modification has been noted to the tin baseplate, but this one has been painted with a very shiny black paint for a long time, and with a matte black paint near end of the production.
I have not noticed any casting modification on the back of the truck or on the jib itself. It had been planned to add a rear tinplate hook under this part, but this one was never added. The picture above shows the underside of the rear body.
All my models don't have their original hooks. But for the lucky ones, the older ones have a metal hook with a wire insert, the most recent ones were fitted with an all-plastic hook.
ABOUT THE COLOR SCHEMES
The most common color scheme is of course light brown cab-chassis and light green back with black lettering and red ridged hubs. But there are numerous other color schemes, that appeared before or after this one. Here are the ones of my own collection...
The first color scheme to appear is dark grey cab with dark blue back. There are several shades of grey as well as two very distinct dark blue colors. In both cases the hubs are red.
Then we have a dark brown cab with a dark green back, lettered in white. Red hubs.
The truck was then produced with the same cab-chassis in dark brown, the back being now the well known light green with white lettering. Red hubs.
After that, the common color scheme light brown/light green appeared. On the early ones the lettering was white instead of the more usual black. Few examples were fitted with light green hubs instead of red ones, as it also happened on the BEDFORD REFUSE WAGON. One can notice several shades of the light brown color of the cab (darker on early issues, lighter on later ones), the back having instead a constant color. The deletion of the side hole and the fitting of the windows and treaded tires took place during the life of this color scheme.
White wording - lateral hole
Black wording - lateral hole
Black wording - no lateral hole
Black wording - no lateral hole - windows - treaded tires
Between the deletion of lateral hole and the addition of glazing, another uncommon color version was produced with a cream cab and a bright blue back lettered in black and red hubs.
The first red cabs and light grey back with blue lettering models appeared then, fitted with red or blue ridged hubs, always with windows, treaded tires and closed side hole.
Then with the same color scheme, the breakdown was then fitted with blue plastic hubs and treaded tires. Some examples received red plastic hubs.
By the end of the production, some cabs of the #428 COMMER ARTICULATED TRUCK were fitted to the breakdown, hence a light yellow cab with blue plastic hubs and grey back with blue lettering, but this scheme is very hard to find and seems to have been sold only in north America. Treaded tires.
One must notice that during all the production the DINKY SERVICE lettering was applied with stamped paint (white or black) or ink (blue), as were the PETROL (or POOL) letterings on the #25D tankers and PETROL too on the early STUDEBAKER tankers. The breakdown never received any sort of decals. If you have one with decals, this is a repaint !
