While I was at it doing comparasing pics. (MB Vs. Morestone/Budgie) on the Bedford I took some of the VW and the Austin Taxi as well. I think the Morestone did an excellent job on the VW, In my oppinion a better casting than the MB, The Austin MB is the better casting of the pair, but at least Morestone painted it black :rolleyes:

Karl-E. Denmark

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I see what you mean. The Matchbox versions do not have as much detail.

Were these originally available for the same retail price?

What are each of them worth now?

Superb photos, THANX Karl :thumbsup:
We all know that Lesney won the sales and marketing battle, perhaps by giving a whole boxful ;) .It shows that Morestone clearly intended to compete head on with Lesney back in the late 1950s
Perhaps the Morestone taxi has the rear window shape correct -I cant find a photo of the real deal to check.Lesney didnt like black -its a shame because the black cab is iconic in London -even when they are not black they are referred to as black cabs because of their shape to avoid confusion with minicabs.I dont own any of these 4 castings yet -the price hasnt been right when i have seen them.....Lesneys both show casting lines where different parts of the tool fit together - the Morestone tool lines are less noticeable. perhaps its because they didnt plan to make 5 million of each model :cool:

Scalewise the Morestones are more consistant, and they did in general do a good job capturing the shape of all the real vehicles, except the VW Kombivan which looks like a real pigs ear, and Lesney 34b is only somewhat better, not a great model.

I see what you mean. The Matchbox versions do not have as much detail.

Were these originally available for the same retail price?

What are each of them worth now?

I'm not sure, but I think I've read somewhere that the Morestones/Budgies were slightly cheaper than the Matchboxes, I just can't find that reference right now :freak:

At this moment, the Matchbox version is the most valuable, depending on variation and boxtype I guess around $100 in mint boxed condition.
The Morestone is rarer, but with fewer collectors interested in this line the value is around $40-$50.

Karl-E. Denmark