NO.24 FODEN OPEN TRUCK (TIPPER)

---

First of the Fodens and appropriately numbered No24 as it featured Foden’s attractive S24 tilt cab. Lone star launched their Foden tipper (or ‘Open Truck’ as they named it) in mid-1967 and it was the first commercial vehicle in the Impy Super Cars range. Despite the larger size of the Impy commercials Lone Star maintained the same price point as the Impy cars but in doing so had to cut back on most of the special features found on the cars. That said Lone Star’s Foden did have a realistic tilting cab as well as tipping body and an opening tail gate

Despite there being plenty of evidence of Lone Star looking to its rivals for inspiration for new models, their S24 tipper appeared well before Matchbox’s very similar S24 cabbed Foden 8-wheel concrete mixer. This could also be why Lone Star never issued a cement mixer despite it appearing in catalogue and box listings for a number of years. Maybe Lone star thought it would look too similar to the Matchbox model.

The 8 wheel Foden S24 cab and chassis from the ‘Open Truck’ were also used for a Mobil tanker and ‘Express Freight Truck,’ plus later on a fourth version which is a real rarity - See No.41.

In 1972 new ‘Hi-speed’ wheels arrived as did a new range of plated ‘Silver Commercials’ which included the ‘Open Truck’ as No.S24. Also around this time a second tipper was added to the range when the No.24 chassis and tipper body were married to a new S50 Foden half cab to produce a Tilcon promotional model (See No.42). These two Fodens continued in the range until 1975 when the Tilcon version was dropped and No.24 replaced by a smaller, cheaper to produce 6 wheel tipper (No.49). The good news is this model was also based on a Foden, the S50.

Following on from No.24, the second model to utilise the 8 wheel Foden cab and chassis was No.26 Foden Tanker. Initially this was listed as ‘Foden Bulk Sugar Transporter’ presumably inspired by Matchbox’s similar No.10 ‘Tate & Lyle’ sugar transporter tanker.

The first illustrations were in the 1967 trade catalogue and a May 1967 leaflet. The trade catalogue showed the model with what looks to be a blow-moulded tank body, though this could just be a mock up based on a press photo of the real thing (see below). I doubt a version with this style of tank was ever issued. Meanwhile the leaflet drawing depicts the tanker in an attractive BP livery. Again Lone Star appear to have looked to Matchbox for inspiration and copied the livery from their Bedford BP tanker!

When the model finally appeared, it was of course sporting ‘Mobil’ labels and had an attractive tanker body design. Despite the box artwork showing an unusual white cab and orange body colour scheme, the model actually appeared with a blue or green cab and a red plastic tanker body.

Sometime around 1972, shortly after the model had been updated with ‘Hi-speed’ wheels, Lone Star issued the tanker in a new yellow and blue colour scheme complete with square ‘Shell’ labels. At the same time these Shell stickers also appeared on No.31 Ford Transit breakdown truck. Both ‘Shell’ models are hard to find so presumably they had a very short production run. Did Lone Star run into licencing problems with Shell? Whatever happened the tanker quickly returned to carrying Mobil labels which it did for the remainder of its production.

Also around 1972 Lone Star launched its ranges of silver plated cars and commercials where the Mobil tanker became S26 in the ‘Silver Commercials’ range. This range appears to have been issued for the Japanese market only and all ‘Silvers’ are hard to find.

This attractive model used the existing Foden S24 cab and chassis married to a new curtain-side box-van body.

Initially issued as a promotional model for Lucas Batteries which did operate similar Foden lorries. I believe Lucas gave this model away at the October 1968 Earls Court Motor Show. Some promotional models also had the Lucas Batteries transfers applied to the box packaging. This model joined the main Impy range and featured as ‘new’ in Lone Star’s 1969 trade catalogue which made a special mention to the model’s box not having an illustration of the contents (unlike the rest of the range). Once stocks of the Lucas Batteries transfers were used up they were replaced by ‘Express Freight’ labels followed by a new blue/grey/red colour scheme and a new box now featuring a drawing of the model.

Like the rest of the range the Express Freight truck was given hi-speed wheels around 1972 and production continued until the range was dropped in 1976. A new ‘Commercials’ box was produced with attractive artwork but these only had a short production run and are now hard to find. A special version of this Foden was issued in Japan carrying ‘Railway Container’ labels (in Japanese).