Issued 1950-1960    Length 67mm    'OO/HO'scale (1:76)

 

Britains started making OO/HO scale Farm items for Trix Twin Railway model trains in 1937 but it is not thought that the Lilliput Tumbrel Cart was made until after WW2. 

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The Tumbrel Cart was a scaled down version of the 1:32 model (No.4F) which dated from 1921 when Britains introduced their Farm Series. The Lilliput model was made from two castings rivetted together before painting, one being the floor and shafts from the Milk Float and the other a cart body to which were added two detachable hay ladders or raves. 'Britains Ltd England' was cast under the shafts.

 

The horse was a different casting from that used for the Milk Float but the figure of the carter was the same as the milkman with an added coloured waistcoat. 

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Painted a mid-green colour, the cart was finished with red trim on the tips of the shafts and the front edge or corners of the body. Red was also used for the painted metal wheels. The two hay ladders, which fitted into slots on the cart, were always painted a beige colour. The mid-brown horse was given a white blaze and sometimes white hooves, with a black mane and tail. The harness was picked out in tan and black.

 

With the cart, Britains included the carter dressed in brown breeches, white shirt, black cap and boots, and a blue coloured waistcoat. The blue colour varied over the life of the model and ranged from turquoise to dark-blue. After 1956, when the open fronted boxes were introduced, the carter was omitted.

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When the Tumbrel Cart was added to the Lilliput Series, it was given a small replica of the box from the large-scale model with a full picture on both faces. Details of the firm W.Horton (Toys & Games) Ltd. who made the model under licence from Britains, was printed in blue on one side of the box, and the 'W.Brtiains' trade-mark on the other with model details. The end-flaps carried more information about the model including the number.

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Like all Lilliput models, the Tumbrel Cart had a new open fronted box after 1956 with a pictorial insert to which the model, without the carter, was secured. Details of the model were on one of the end-flaps. 

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The Tumbrel Cart was included in the Vehicle Set LV/SA and the Farm Set L/7, and it had a long life so examples are not hard to find but the open fronted box is rare.