HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT BROOKLIN AND THE UNITED NATIONS "EL CAMINO"

The story of this charity model is an important one for Brooklin collectors to know. Early in 1994 the Brooklin Club Deutschland, under the direction of Dietrich Lohmann, formulated plans for the production of a special Brooklin model, with sales benefiting organizations in Germany involved in a campaign to Stop Racism. This was in response to several recent incidents in towns in Germany where racist groups had attacked and fire-bombed the homes of immigrant families. The chosen model was a 1959 Chevrolet El Camino, unique and unusual except for its black interior and black UN lettering on the hood and doors. It was done completely in matte white, with no plating on the bumpers, grille, fender ornaments or wheel covers. Black wall tyres are mounted on white wheels. An equipment box, specially fashioned by the Brooklin factory, with two closed doors and two open doors exposing simulated fire fighting equipment, is found in the rear, making the model distinctive and unlike any previous Brooklin.

Sale of this special model was to be combined with $4.100 raised at the Brooklin auction held in Bath on May 21, 1994. By the end of the fund raising effort, however, just 175 of the 500 U.N. El Caminos had been sold. In the spring of 1995 plans were made for the conversion of 100 of the unsold El Caminos into companion pieces, with fire apparatus box removed and a tonneau cover in its place. The matte white finish was retained and all work was done at the Brooklin factory in May 1995, resulting in a Code 2 designation for this second El Camino, re-named as UN Emergency II. Both models come with “Stop Racism” badge. This El Camino was also met with limited demand and only 50 were sold to collectors.

Dietrich Lohmann stated that he purchased the remaining 275 models for conversion into a Code 3 series of special models. This was a private venture as the B.C.D. had ceased to exist. He reported that 25 models were for design, development and prototypes. 50 were converted into Code 3 Coca-Cola trucks, finished in yellow orange with red wheels, "Coca-Cola" in red on the doors and an intricate "galvanized steel" platform in red in the rear, on which is mounted a large advertising Coke bottle, supported by a chrome frame and yellow circular Coca-Cola sign. 50 were converted into Code 3 Mobiloil tow trucks finished in white with red wheels, "Mobiloil" in blue on the hood and the famous gargoyle on the doors. In the rear is mounted a complex tow mechanism ending with a silver big hook and a spare tyre sitting on it. The rest should have been converted into Code 3 Warner Brothers camera vehicles, but were never done. Each model in this Code 3 series is packed in a neutral white box, without any Brooklin Models designation.

You can find many other Brooklin stories on the fourth edition of the Brooklin Models Collectors Guide. Click here