birthday wheels: The Die is Cast

Its unusual to find anything worthwhile in a charity shop, but recently I came upon a small box of die casts in a corner of a local store. 

Whereas its usually Macdonalds and Malaysian Hot Wheels, this box had clearly been donated by an older collector and was full of early Matchbox, Dinky and Corgi Rockets.

At a pound each, it would have been an expensive trip to clear out all the good examples, so fighting off a grandma eager to tempt her charge with a pocket money toy, I dived in.

There were a lot of early 60's Matchbox models, most of which I have already, but one took my eye immediately. 

The Scammel 6x6 Tractor and Low Loader was one of Lesney's early Major models which came in a much larger box. 

The 12 wheel loader always put me in mind of the rocket transporters from Gerry Anderson and the box also had the silver container trucks that often appeared in Thunderbirds, but they were missing the cab.

The other model which immediately caught my eye was the Alfa Romeo OSI Scarabeo, which complimented an earlier find of a Dinky Fiat Abarth 2000, both classic examples of late sixties, early seventies toy design.