Mack R-Series

In 1971 the 'standard' Corgi Majors lorry moved on again. It had been originally the 'Big' Bedford S Type, then the Bedford TK followed by the H Series Ford and the Scammell Handyman. Now it is the Yankee Mack. The Mack R was a range of heavy-duty trucks introduced in the early 1960s. It replaced the very successful Mack B series. R Model production ran for 40 years until the RD model was discontinued in 2004 and the RB and Mack D series DM models were discontinued in 2005. So the truck was far from new in 1971 but it still had a long production life in front of it.

1152 Gloster Saro Petrol Tanker

How far is it from Albuquerque to Abingdon? Fairly close together in the index of the Atlas, but in real life? Well that is where I found the Exxon truck, out there in New Mexico (via EBay of course). It cost me a $20 bill in total to buy it and get it shipped, which at the time was just over a tenner (2004). Well worth it for a rare example of this truck in fabulous condition. The UK version has Esso stickers, the Exxon version was export only. The UK release truck was introduced in October 1971 and remained in the range until 1976.

1100 Trans-Continental Trailer

First came the tanker and this is the second release for the Mack re-using the box trailer first seen behind the H series Ford. It works well, it is still a Corgi in the tradition of the brand and a very nice model. It was introduced in November 2001 and remained in the range until 1973. The cab and trailer chassis are always orange, the trailer superstructure can be metallic blue or metallic green. The green trailer is less easy to find and is valued more highly

1106 Container Trailer

In July 1972 the flatbed trailer version with two containers was released.  The core range version has ACL containers but a promotional version is know with 3M containers, unsurprisingly it is worth a lot more money than the ACL version. Other than this there are no listed variations and production continued until 1977. The containers though have had a very long career all of their own and can be seen popping up on the back of more Corgi Toys trucks and on Corgi Classics trucks in the post Mettoy years. This truck came with a plastic sling which clipped in the top of the container and allowed it to be lifted off using a crane.

1154 With Priestman Crane

How many bits can you recycle in one product? It is obviously the Mack Prime Mover tractor unit with a rear body added, this rear body could be original as I can't see any other model with it, but I'm sure the pull out stabilisers come from the Simon Snorkel fire engine. The cow-catcher is from the military low-loader, the crane cab is from the Priestman Cub shovel, the jib is from the old International 6x6 Chipperfields Circus crane with a newly fabricated socket to allow it to pivot from the end rather than the middle. The winch is new though. Good thinking really, re-use all that stuff from the parts bins and make a quarter of a million more sales. I have seen also this with a grab rather than a crane hook on the end of the cable. It is supposed to go with the Mack container truck and lift the containers on and off. Good model.

GS10 Tank Transporter

This item marks some milestones. It is the first release of a series of really rather good military models featuring contemporary tanks and fighting vehicles and as far as I can see it is the first use of a low loader trailer which keeps coming back for many years in the post Mettoy era. The Mack Tank Transporter and Centurion Tank was released in October 1973 and remained in the Corgi Toys range until 1978.