Matchbox 11b; ERF Petrol Tanker (63mm)

As frequently happened in the early days of Matchbox there were two versions of this model, similar to look at but in different sizes. This is the later one, 11b which was produced from 1958 to 1964. You can tell them apart by the size difference, the early one is 52mm long and the later one is 63mm.  If you turn them over you will see that the tank on 11a is a hollow casting while on 11b is has a baseplate. You will also notice from the pictures below that on some 11b toys there is a strengthening brace between the cab and the tank. It is common to see where one of these has been trodden on that they have bent in the middle and the cab is leaning backwards, a common hazard for toys played with on the floor by small children, I guess the brace is there to prevent this happening. The later casting was only available in red with an Esso decal on the back of the tank. Variations are in trim colour and wheel type.

The Petrol Tanker (11b) was released in 1958 and remained in the range until 1964. Examples with silver plastic wheels are very rare and really valuable also look out for gold detailing on the grille and lights on the grey metal wheels version which is also worth good money. Of the rest grey plastic or black wheels are harder to find than grey metal wheels which when coupled with silver trim is the commonest version.

It is worth noting that the truck being modelled in an ERF V. It was superseded at ERF by the KV two years before 11b went into production and had been out of production for 8 years when Matchbox stopped making it.