SHOW SIDEBAR
BROOKLlN AND THE 1953 PONTIAC PICK-UP

BROOKLIN VIDEO I

John Hammick and David Angel have created in 1992 a video tape cataloging BRK1 through BRK9 and featuring some rarely seen models. This video is extremely well done, right from the start, where nothing is said for the first few minutes, just a parade of Brooklin. This video begins at the beginning, with an interview of John Hall. It's a fascinating story of John's first models, actually made in Oshawa, Ontario and the evolution of model making for the many collectors who wanted them. Over an hour's time, it presents the viewer with approximately a hundred Brooklins, interspersed with Brooklin stories and commentary from John Hall. The first special in this series is a 1953 Pontiac Pick-up in colors reminiscent of the first Brooklin box, metallic silver with blue interior. There is also a blue tie-down cover over the bed and blue "Brooklin Video" decals on the sides. One twenty of the Video Sets contained a special color version of the model, in colors of the second Brooklin box, beige with brown tie-down cover and brown decals. These beige versions were placed at random in place of the silver version and sealed at the factory before the packages were addressed and posted. A total of 500 sets were produced, with 475 in silver and 25 in beige. This volume is the first of three.

 

 

 

MODEL GARAGE

Model Garage, Redruth, had its roots in a model car shop, Gems & Cobwebs "specialists in toys and models of yesterday and today". When Bernice Du Cros moved from Reading, Berkshire, to Redruth, Cornwall, she established Model Garage, which combined her husband's love for full-size automobiles with her own love for scale miniatures. Thus, it was a rare establishment which featured a gasoline station with full service bays and a model car shop. The Model Garage's special for 1991 is a wrecker truck, a modification of the standard van into a pick-up, with the rear portion of the roof removed and the addition of a rear wall to the cab and the formation of a pick-up bed in the back. It is finished in yellow and features a hook and boom in the bed in gloss red with the hydraulic cylinder and towing hook in chrome. Instructions are included to assemble it into a well detailed base in black, featuring a winch and other objects. The rear tailgate has been reworked and features D-rings at the top for chain attachment, and lower hinges to allow the tailgate to be lowered. The front door decals include a Shell emblem. 750 Model Garage Pontiac Wreckers were produced.

 

 

 

WESSEX MODEL & TOY COLLECTORS

This special is based on the 1953 Pontiac Pick-up and features a load of six wooden beer kegs in the pick-up bed. A sign board, meant to be inserted between the barrels, is two-sided, with one side reading "Wessex Model & Toy Collectors" and the opposite side reading "Ushers’ Famous Trowbridge Ales, The Brewery, Trowbridge". The date 1991 is found in a gold circle on the doors and a certificate of authenticity is included. Only 250 of these pick-ups were produced, done in maroon, with interior in light tan, maroon wheels and whitewall tyres and distributed at the W.M.T.C. meeting held in January 1992.

 

 

 

MILANO 43

This 1953 Pontiac Pick-up was sponsored by Milano 43, a model shop in Milan, Italy. Done in black with yellow interior, whitewall tyres on yellow-orange wheels, blue license plate and a yellow-orange container in the pick-up bed, this representation of a Milano 43 shop vehicle "delivers" a message of getting down to business in an elegant way. The Milano 43 logo appears in black on the yellow-orange box and the shop address is found on the door in reverse color scheme. Brooklin produced 750 Milano 43 specials in 1992. Later on, Alain Thiolouse bought 100 pieces from the Milan model shop for conversion, therefore only 650 pieces of the original model exist.

 

 

 

BAUR – CODE 3

Toward the end of July or early August 1990, Harry Baur from Strasbourg, France distributed a few Code 3 1953 Pontiac Pick-ups. The first one was set up as a service vehicle  with ”Harry’s Auto Repair” on the doors. It is finished in red and white with red sun visor and grey interior. It was produced in quantities of 25 pieces, each hand numbered on the base.

 

Another Pontiac Pick-up is all red with beige interior and has the Coca-Cola logo on the sides. It also features a white sun visor. It was produced in quantities of 25 pieces, each hand numbered on the base.

 

The third Pontiac Pick-up belongs to the “Parker & Co. California Palo Verde” vegetables company. It is finished in yellow with red sun visor, blue interior and red decals. A load with two big baskets containing oranges is placed on the bed. It was produced in quantities of 25 pieces, each hand numbered on the base.

 

The last Pontiac Pick-up has the livery of a U.S. Air Force pick-up. It is finished in blue with red interior and yellow sun visor. The words “U.S. Air Force” are on the bed and the pick-up number on the front fender. Two containers are positioned in the bed. It was produced in quantities of 25 pieces, each hand numbered on the base.

 

 

 

 

 

THIOLOUSE - CUTTING BAND SAW

Alain Thiolouse of France has produced a number of Code 3 1953 Pontiac Pick-up’s from the Milano 43 version. Each model has an Omen figure and comes with a certificate and a picture of the model itself. All models are limited to 10 each version and individually numbered. The first one is a transportation pick-up with light blue interior and the back lowered due to the weight of the cutting band saw carried. The figure of the operator stands beside the pick-up

 

 

Author: Gianluigi Cappi

You may find more pictures and information on this model plus many other Brooklin stories in the Brooklin Models Collectors Guide.