Benbros Mighty Midgets
No.33 Breakdown Lorry
The last of the AEC/Bedford models in the Benbros Mighty Midgets was No.33 Breakdown Lorry. This was a more complicated item involving two separate castings for the body and the crane as well as a third for the cab/chassis section. The crane was a nicely detailed molding but instead of a hook it had a ball.
As previously, the AEC version appeared first and Benbros gave it a multi-coloured look with an orange cab & chassis, bright green body and a yellow crane. There was no silver trim on the front or the 'hook' of the crane and the wheels were unpainted metal on flat-head & crimped axles.
Two more multi-coloured variations of the AEC followed, both with metallic paint on the cabs and chassis. One was green with a red body and yellow crane without silver trim, and the second was metallic brown with a similar red body and yellow crane, and this variation probably had silver trim on grille, headlights and crane 'hook'.
Assembling multi-coloured models must have been difficult with each casting having to be seperately painted before assembly so eventually this was abandoned in favour of single colour models.
The last AEC variations were painted metallic green or metallic blue, both with silver trim. At first it seems that these had the paint applied over previous colours and the metal wheels but this soon changed so that most metallic AEC models were issued with unpainted metal wheels.
When the Bedford version of No.33 Breakdown Lorry appeared they too were single colour models but Benbros added several extra colours making at least eight variations. The first were green with silver trim (on the cab only), beige with red trim including 'hook', orange-red with full silver trim, and bright red with full silver trim, all variations having unpainted metal wheels on round-head & crimped axles.
Another Bedford variation which has recently been discovered (listed as a new variation 5) was a bright yellow model with silver trim and grey plastic wheels. Benbros used gpw on only a few models and they are rare.
The last eight Bedford variations of No.33 Breakdown Lorry had black plastic wheels using a variety of axles, nail-head, flat-head & crimped, or on the beige variation push-fit axles. The colours were red, orange, metallic blue, cream, beige, yellow, dark-blue and dark-red, all with silver trim on grille, headlights, and bumper and usually on the 'hook'.
On the Mighty Midget box for the Breakdown Lorry, the illustration appears to show a Foden cab similar to No.23 Delivery Van but it seems unlikely that a Foden model was intended.
Although models of No.33 turn up at auction from time to time, it is usually the metallic painted, umw AEC variations which are most common. Other AEC variations, especially the multi-coloured ones, are scarce, and all the Bedfords, especially the yellow and beige models, are scarce or rare.
AEC variation 1: orange cab/chassis, green body, yellow crane
AEC Variation 2: met.green cab, red body, yellow crane, no trim, umw
AEC variation 4 : metallic green (overpainted), pmw
AEC variation 5 : metallic green, umw
AEC variation 6 : metallic blue (overpainted), pmw
AEC variation 7 : metallic blue, umw
Benbros No.33 Breakdown Lorry : some AEC colour variations
Benbros No.33 Breakdown Lorry
Variations
All models had Mighty Midget boxes
AEC
(1) ORANGE cab & chassis, GREEN body, YELLOW crane, NO silver trim, umw
(2) METALLIC GREEN cab & chassis, RED body, YELLOW crane, NO silver trim, umw
(3) METALLIC BROWN cab & chassis, RED body, YELLOW crane, silver trim, umw
(4) METALLIC GREEN cab & chassis, body & crane, silver trim, PAINTED mw
(5) METALLIC GREEN, silver trim, UNPAINTED mw
(6) METALLIC BLUE, silver trim, PAINTED mw
(7) METALLIC BLUE, silver trim, UNPAINTED mw
BEDFORD
(1) GREEN, silver trim, umw
(2) BEIGE, RED trim, umw
(3) ORANGE-RED, silver trim, umw
(4) BRIGHT RED, silver trim, umw
(5) BRIGHT YELLOW, silver trim, GREY PLASTIC wheels
(6) RED, silver trim, BLACK PLASTIC wheels
(7) ORANGE, silver trim, bpw
(8) METALLIC BLUE, silver trim, bpw
(9) CREAM, silver trim, bpw
(10) BEIGE, silver trim, bpw (push-fit axles)
(11) YELLOW, silver trim, bpw
(12) DARK-BLUE, silver trim, bpw
(13) DARK-RED, silver trim, bpw
BEDFORD variation 1 : green, umw
BEDFORD variation 2 : beige, red trim, umw
BEDFORD variation 3 : orange-red, umw
BEDFORD variation 4: bright red, umw
BEDFORD variation 5: bright yellow, grey plastic wheels
BEDFORD variation 7: orange, bpw
BEDFORD variation 8: metallic blue, bpw
photo Robert Newson
BEDFORD variation 10: beige, bpw, push-fit axles
BEDFORD variation 11: yellow, bpw
BEDFORD variation 12 : dark-blue, bpw
BEDFORD variation 13 : dark-red, bpw
Benbros No.33 Breakdown Lorry : some BEDFORD colour variations