Promotional Model

This is a few inaccuracies (headboard height and lack of sliding door) but what real charm and nostalgia this well detailed model has. Shop here

Posted in Ford, Vanguards

Such is the success of the Ford Transit that its name has almost become the British word for light commercial vehicles. As a model name or even perhaps a sub brand within Ford it has outlived all its contemporaries such as the Escort Cortina or Granada. Often sold as `Transit the Backbone of Britain' (at one point Ford even produced T-shirts with that slogan written vertically down the wearer's spine) it shows no sign of dying yet. Bazooka Gum was launched just after the WWII and is best known for the character Bazooka Joe who appeared in comic strips enclosed in the packets. Shop here

Posted in Ford, Vanguards

The Birds Eye range of frozen foods was launched in the UK in 1938 and this Birds Eye Austin A40 van was used in the late 1950's when efforts were made to launch a direct delivery service for frozen foods.

Posted in Vanguards

The Cinzano brand can be dated back to the fifteenth century with Antonio Cinzano, an Italian property owner of the oldest vermouth producing house. Apparently the term 'Vermouth' comes from the German word, 'Vermud' for the herb wormwood. It was in 1925 that the famous red and blue logo was introduced - the red symbolising passion, pride and vivacious radiance. The blue representing nobility, tradition and the depth of the Mediterranean.

Cinzano is bottled at around 15-18% Alcohol by Volume and Dusty assures us that he only consumed a few bottles of this whilst designing the product.

Posted in Vanguards, Volkswagen

BRS Rental, one of the UK's largest commercial vehicle hire companies operates nationwide with more than 2000 vehicles and over 1000 support staff. The Ford Transit MkI was one of the earlier vehicles in the fleet.

No other light commercial vehicle has had such a wide variety of uses as the Transit, think of a task and someone has converted the ever ready Transit to do it. In fact at its launch in 1965 the Transit range contained a staggering seventy-eight different models, and the range has continued to expand. Shop here

Posted in Ford, Vanguards

The 1971 Morris Minor LCV modelled, in this case one of the rare Austin badged examples, is in the livery of the French Michelin tyre company and carries an illuminated Bibendum figure on its roof. Bibendum's name comes from the Latin pharse "Nunest bibendum", meaning "now is the time to drink (or celebrate)". This was used as a title for one of the earliest illustrations featuring the Michelin man, who was shown holding a cup filled with glass shards, nails, and other tyre hazards to indicate that a Michelin tyre takes obstacles in its stride, or, in the French vernacular, 'drinks' them. The name stuck and he is now known all over the world as Bibendum. See more

Posted in Michelin Tyre Vehicles, Vanguards

The J2 range of 15cwt vans and pick ups was designed by Morris but was very much a BMC product and was the corporations first unitary construction van. Launched in 1956 it continued in production until 1967 by which time over a 120,000 had been built. The J2 was originally fitted with the 1489cc version of BMC's B-Series engine, which was used in many different vehicles including the Austin Cambridge and MGA. In 1962 it gained the enlarged 1622cc engine, which was been fitted in the rest of the corporation's products, and a floor change gearbox. A diesel version using the same engine was also offered. In line with BMC's thinking in the late fifties, an Austin badged version of the J2 was made, which differed only grille shape, the Austin being plainer in style and more rectangular. The BMC JU van that was announced in 1967, and produced until 1974 was actually a very heavily revised J2 under the skin. Shop here

Posted in Vanguards, Whitbread Models