Corgi’s Little Tows
Mike Pigott continues his series on Corgi Juniors with a look at the model trailers from the range.
Most diecast manufacturers have featured trailers in their ranges. Sometimes these were issued as single models, but often they were issued in sets or twin packs, together with a towing vehicle. Matchbox released a number of model trailers in the 1-75 range, and others that were exclusive to the Two-Pack line. Majorette of France also had an impressive line-up of trailers, including some doublelength items. Husky Models, and its successor range, Corgi Juniors, had a small number of trailers, some of which were in production for a very long time. Surprisingly, there have never been any in the Hot Wheels ‘Mainline’ range.
Model trailers always had a lot of appeal for children. The fact that they could connect them to miniature cars with a towing hitch gave a lot of extra play value. Many of them also had the additional novelty of moving and removable parts, such as boats that could be detached or separate model animals. The most common types of trailers were caravans, boats and horse floats. The first miniature trailer, the Rice Horsebox, was added to the Husky range in 1968. This was soon followed by a speedboat, the Batboat, and two farm trailers. However, in the Corgi Juniors era, only a few new examples were added - a dinghy, a field gun, a caravan and a cement mixer. Towards the end of the original Corgi period, three American style trucks with matching drawbar trailers were added to the Corgi Twin range. In this article, we will be looking at mainly domestic trailers made by Corgi Juniors and its predecessor marque, Husky Models. Character toys and military models have been covered previously, and we will cover agricultural models and truck drawbar trailers in future issues.
its size, and includes planking, vents, and a front window for the horse. The wheels are crimped to the base, and initially were black wheels with chrome hubs. There is one action feature, a dropdown, bottom-hinged rear door. At first, this door was painted body-colour, but later examples were unplated bare metal. Inside the trailer is a fairly realistic plastic horse, which was initially moulded in white, and later in brown.
Early examples were painted a bright turquoise colour, but this was quickly changed to metallic green. After the changeover to Corgi Juniors in 1970, the horsebox was recoloured red. Early releases still had Husky wheels, but WhizzWheels were soon made standard. Later colours included bronze, metallic yellow and, in the final days, bright green.
Rice Beaufort Single Horsebox was sold as a single model until 1971, at which point it was only available in sets. In the Corgi Twin range it was normally teamed up with a metallic green Land Rover Pick-up, which was a perfect companion for it. In 1983, it was packaged with a matching green Matra Rancho.
SPEEDBOAT ON TRAILER
This model of a speedboat was released in 1969 as a Husky Model. It was an all-plastic boat mounted on a diecast trailer. The boat was removable, and was clipped to the trailer by means of pins at the rear, fitting into slots on the boat’s stern. Unlike the Rice Horsebox, the boat manufacturer’s name was not given - it may have been based on a Glastron, like the larger Corgi model. The boat had a plastic hull and a separate deck, which included the seating, although there was no steering wheel. There was a clear, wrap-around windscreen at the front and a swivelling outboard motor at rear.
Early issues had a blue or metallic blue trailer with Husky wheels. The boat had a red hull, white deck and blue motor, with a blue-tinted windscreen. Sometimes a gold trailer was included, as this component was shared with Batman’s Batboat. In 1970, it was moved across to the Corgi Juniors line, and the trailer casting was modified to fit the wider Whizzwheels. Later examples had a white trailer, white hull, red deck, black motor and clear windscreen. A version with a silver trailer, white deck and black hull was exclusive to a James Bond gift set.
Speedboat on Trailer was sold as a single model until 1973, but afterwards was only sold in sets.
In the Corgi Twin range it was first paired with a metallic red Jaguar XJ5, then a rather under-powered Citroën Dyane, and finally a Ford Mustang.
CARAVAN TRAILER
Given that most diecast ranges included a caravan or two among their ranks, it was quite surprising that there were none in the Corgi Juniors line until 1976. (The main Corgi Toys series was also a late starter, with the first trailer caravan having appeared in 1975.) The Corgi Juniors caravan is a single-axle model with a slightly-arched roofline. The body is diecast, and includes a raised central roof area with two skylights, fluted sides, and a pair of gas bottles at the front. The base is blue plastic, and incorporates the interior floor and furniture; a sink, oven and table with two bench seats are visible through the windows. Unfortunately, there is a casting lug passing through the centre of the dining table. The door is also in blue plastic, and opens when a small door catch is pulled with a finger. A towing hitch is fitted at front, made of a tough black plastic. Clear
glazing is fitted, and the van rolls on two standard Whizzwheels.
Caravan Trailer was available as a single model from 1976 to 1980, and was always finished in white with a blue interior, base and door. From 1977, it was also included in a twin pack, in its standard colours, together with a blue Mercedes-Benz 240D. This set was later recoloured with a red Mercedes, plus a cream caravan with a brown door and base. It was also packaged with a metallic green Volvo Estate, when it was coloured ivory with a red door and interior. The caravan was the only trailer revived in the ‘New Corgi’ era after 1984, when it was painted an unlikely colour scheme of red with a tan door.
DINGHY & TRAILER
The next trailer, first released in 1977, was another boat, but this time an infl atable-type dinghy made to a larger scale than the speedboat. Again, only the trailer was diecast, while the boat was all plastic. The trailer was a fairly simple casting, and was fl at except for the wheel arches. The wheels were standard Whizzwheels, with the axle crimped to the base of the trailer. The boat had three small holes in the underside which clipped on to three corresponding studs on the top of the trailer. The trailer was normally painted blue, but could also be found in metallic blue.
The dinghy was made from four pieces of plastic. The hull was red plastic, and the sides and floor were a separate piece, also red. The upper front end was yellow plastic, and this part also incorporated the seats and ropes along each side. There was a rope reel moulded into the prow and an oar moulded into each pontoon. A swivelling blue outboard motor was mounted at rear - this was the same component as on the speedboat.
Unlike the previous models, Dinghy & Trailer was not sold as an individual model, it was only ever available as part of a twin pack. Initially, it was packaged with a strange blue and white pick-up called Rough Terrain Truck. In 1979, it was packaged with Triumph TR-7, a somewhat more unlikely pairing. From 1983 it was recoloured black and yellow with a white trailer, and could be found in a twin pack with either Ford Sierra or Rover 3500.