Matchbox 11a; ERF Road Tanker (52mm)

As frequently happened in the early days of Matchbox there were two versions of this model. This is the earlier one, 11a which was produced from 1955 to 1958 when the new casting was released. You can tell them apart in a couple of ways, most simply because the earlier one is a hollow casting and the later one has a baseplate. There is also a size difference. The early one is 52mm long and the later one is 63mm.

11a can be found in green and in shades of red and yellow. The one to find is the green one. It can be significantly valuable. Other rarities are around the number and positioning of the Esso decals found on the red version. There are a number of these but the rule of thumb is that if they have decals on the sides of the tank they are ones to go for. Of the yellow version the darker yellows are harder to find.