Benbros Qualitoys
State Landau
Variation 1: Silver Landau
Variation 2: Gold Landau
Black/red
Variation 1: Silver Landau
As a companion to the Royal Coronation Coach, Benbros produced this attractive model of another Royal coach, the open State Landau. Cast on a larger scale, it was a more detailed model with two separate little footmen figures who sat at the back.
The Landau was cast in one piece with a crest on each door and 'Made in England' included underneath. The two sets of different size wheels were fixed directly to the Landau on flat-head and crimped axles before painting.
Benbros produced the Landau in three separate colours, silver, gold and black. There was no extra trim added except for the black version which had red painted seats.
At the front of the Landau the shaft for the horses was attached by a simple hole and peg arrangement. Four horses were attached to the shaft with the two on the left having riders. Both shaft, horses and riders were painted white with red trim for the horses' saddles and the riders' coats.
With the silver and gold Landau, black trim was added for the horses' manes, eye-flaps and other parts of the harnesses, and also for the riders' hats and boots. On the black version of the Landau, the trim on the horses was dark-brown but the riders' hats and boots remained black.
Sitting at the back, the two detatchable footmen were painted in a similar livery to the riders. Both figures were held in place by pegs which slotted into holes in the Landau.
Like the Royal Coach, the State Landau had a bright box with illustrations on both faces and 'State Landau Miniature Model' on each side between two ringed crowns. The end-flaps carried 'Qualitoy Benbros'.
The State Landau is not too hard to find but the black version is more scarce. Surprisingly, the little figures of the footmen are often still included when the model comes up at auction.
Benbros Qualitoys State Landau
Variations
1) SILVER Landau, WHITE shaft, WHITE horses & riders with red & black trim, 2 Footmen
2) GOLD Landau, WHITE shaft, WHITE horses& riders with red & black trim, 2 footmen
3) BLACK Landau (red trim), WHITE shaft, WHITE horses & riders with red/black/brown trim, 2 footmen