One of the few vehicles my cuz and I can both agree on liking is that four wheeled hardy perennial the Unimog.
This true multi-purpose vehicle has been working hard in all conditions and situations since 1947 but I was surprised to find out recently that it was not designed or conceived by Mercedes Benz in the first place.
The idea came from German engineer Albert Friedrich immediately after the war and he intended it to be an all-purpose farm tractor. He started building prototypes at a former jewellery making factory and had them ready for sale remarkably quickly. When it became apparent that there was a great demand for the vehicle and they just couldn’t build them fast enough engine supplier Mercedes bought the whole project and many versions later it’s still going strong.
The Unimog’s image, longevity and wide range of bodies and fitments means it has been modelled by just about everyone over the years in every scale you could wish for, think I’m exaggerating?
Here’s a small selection: Atlas, Britains, Bruder, Brekina, Corgi, Carson, Cursor, Cararama, Dinky, Dickie, Hachette, Hot Wheels, Kibri, Lego, Legler, Majorette, Marklin, Matchbox, Minichamps, NEO, NZG, Nikko, Premium Classixx, Polistil, Revell, Schuco, Siku, Solido, Tamiya, Tippco, Tomica, Weise Toys, Welly, Whitebox and Wiking.
Images Courtesy of Vectis Auctions Ltd.
A few of my favourites are the Corgi 1145 Unimog with Goose Dumper Trailer and coils sprung suspension; the French Dinky 567 with snow plough; the Tippco tinplate first generation models.
Best of all to me is Marklin’s 1:43 scale version with opening doors, tipping cap and back and interchangeable fitments front and rear and the quality of it is particularly impressive.
It comes in two very period correct colours of bright orange and institution green. Marklin also do 00 gauge railway suitable models, some as trackside decoration, some as train transporter loads and even a powered rail riding version!
Have you got a collection of Unimoggies ? If so, send us a pic and leave a reply in the box at the bottom of the page – we’d love to hear from you!
