Issued 1955-1957    Length 136mm

Among collectors, Morestone is perhaps best known for its range of four Foden trucks. They represented a marked upgrade in the quality of the Morestone range and heralded the emergence of Budgie Toys a few years later.

The first in the series was the No.1 Foden Petrol Tanker which continued the link between Esso and Morestone by being painted in the 1950's Esso livery of bright red with decals on both sides and at the rear. Silver trim was added to the grille, front bumper and headlights, and black trim to the side ladder on the tank, the top walkway and the tank-lids.

Like the other Fodens with which it shared cab and chassis castings, the tank body was rivetted in place onto the chassis by two central rivets. Between them 'Made in England' and 'Morestone Series' was cast. There was also a small front base under the cab but this carried no id.

Unlike the other three Fodens, the Petrol Tanker was fully assembled before painting. Thus the eight metal wheels (on round-head and crimped axles) and the tank, the cab base, both rivets and all the axles were painted red. The wheels were fitted with chunky black tyres. Silver and black trim and decals were then added to finish the model.

The box was a shared one with all four Morestone Fodens illustrated, one on each side. The end-flaps however were different for each model and for the Petrol Tanker stated 'Morestone Series No.1 Petrol Tanker'.

The Fodens were popular toys and and most are not hard to find although many are playworn so a mint, boxed Tanker is still a scarce model.