Issued 1953    Length when assembled 225mm 

 

During 1951 at the time of the Korean War, restrictions were imposed on the supply of zinc for diecast manufacture. This made it hard for toy makers to develop new models unless they turned to new materials such as plastic. The Road-Master Prime Mover and Trailer was a good example of Morestone's experimentation with plastic where the trailer and all the wheels were made of it as well as the little yellow driver.

 

The Prime Mover tractor was a smaller copy of an earlier Moko-Lesney toy and was cast in one piece with a hollow centre. It incorporated some moderate detail and included 'No.311 Max 20 mph' to reflect the slow speed at which the real vehicle travelled. On the doors 'British Road Services' was cast and on the right side a hole was included for the 'peg' which held the yellow plastic driver in place. The Prime Mover was painted dark-red without trim and the six wheels were black plastic on crimped axles.

 

Modelled on the lines of a low loader, the Trailer was made of orange-yellow plastic with permanently lowered ramps at the rear. The towbar was also plastic, usually a slightly darker orange colour than the trailer. The towbar was quite breakable so metal replacements are sometimes found. The six wheels were black plastic on crimped metal axles.

 

The Prime Mover and Trailer was sold in its own Morestone Series box marked 'Road-Master'. It carried illustrations of the model viewed from the rear on both faces. The sides of the box stated 'Morestone Series Road-Master'.

 

Despite the nice quality of the model, these early plastic toys were often quite brittle and have not survived too well. As a result, the Morestone Road-Master is now one of the hardest Morestone models to find in a complete set. In addition, it was on sale for only a short time, and carried no maker's identification.

 

Occasionally the Prime Mover tractor turns up at auctions reflecting the ability of its sold metal casting to last but the Trailer is rare and the little plastic driver is very rare. The box is almost unknown.