Greetings and welcome to Forty 3rd which focuses on models within the 1/43 - 1/50 scale.
I say, going on holiday? This term is the same as going on vacation for Americans and this van is the way to go. But seriously a British Ford? For those who associate Ford as an American company there is also a Ford of Britain which is a British wholly owned subsidiary of Ford of Europe, itself a subsidiary of Ford Motor Company. Its business started in 1909 and has its registered office in Brentwood, Essex. It adopted the name of Ford of Britain in 1960.
The model we will be looking at is a vintage die cast Ford Thames “Airborne” Caravan by Corgi.
What’s more British than using the name “Thames” similar to the River Thames that flows through southern England. I believed this is based on the Ford Thames 400E which is a commercial vehicle that was introduced in 1957. Production of the range continued until September 1965, by which time a total of 187,000 had been built.
Special bodies from outside suppliers were used to convert this into either a pickup, bus or van. The Thames van was also instrumental in helping the motorized caravan to establish itself in a period when people were extending their horizons with regard to holidays and camping. Numerous companies like Airborne Service Equipment Ltd which probably is what this model is based upon appeared in Ford’s “Holiday Adventurers” brochure dealing exclusively with motor caravans.
As for the name Corgi, it is a well known die cast brand that started in 1956 and was produced by Mettoy Playcraft Ltd. in the United Kingdom.
The name ‘Corgi Toys’ was chosen by Philip Ullmann taken from the Welsh breed of dog. Corgi Toys also included plastic glazing, which lent the models a greater authenticity, and they carried the advertising slogan “the ones with windows”.
The Thames Airborne Caravan was introduced in 1962 and was deleted in 1966. Colours were two-tone mauve, pale green over mid green, white over metallic blue and pale green over metallic blue. All colours are sought after and are fairly highly priced.
Features include opening rear doors to show the interior, spring suspension and even venetian blinds.
The model has moderate details as there were not a lot of separate parts and lights were molded with the body. There are no side mirrors and the interior is molded together in one color. Of course I understand the reason for this as it is not marketed for collectors but for kids at that time. With opening parts and no fragile parts this is truly a fine playable model.
Here is an actual caravan.
Lastly I have a short story of my memories on the Ford Thames. I used to have a bus version of this model made of plastic and probably Hong Kong made. It included figurines in sitting position with something pointy at the bottom where you stick it on the seats with holes. The size if I remember is close to 1/25. The color is probably yellow. It comes with a removable transparent roof with luggage rack which is like the size of a fully opened sunroof. This provides you a way to insert the figurines and to view the inside. It probably also comes with miniature luggages but I can’t be sure. I really enjoyed playing with it and probably broke a few of the figurines. With the toy long gone this Corgi which was acquired thru ebay was a good reminder of those days.